State Senate Gives Final Approval to Salmon Restoration Bill

State Senate Gives Final Approval to Salmon Restoration Bill

by Dan Bacher

The State Senate gave final approval today (April 1) to Senate Bill 562, legislation by North Coast Senator Patricia Wiggins (D - Santa Rosa) to designate $5.3 million in '"urgent funding" for coastal salmon and steelhead fisheries restoration projects.

The Senate action takes place at a time when West Coast salmon fisheries are in their greatest crisis ever, due to the unprecedented collapse of the Sacramento River fall chinook population. Although poor ocean conditions have played a role in the collapse, fishing, tribal and environmental groups point to massive increases in water exports from the California Delta and declining water quality on Central Valley rivers as key factors in the sudden decline.

Commercial and recreational fishermen face a salmon fishing closure off California and Oregon this year for the first time since commercial salmon fishing began in San Francisco Bay and the Delta in 1848, according to Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA).

"There are many factors that went into our salmon decline, but none as significant as the loss of freshwater flows to the Delta and San Francisco Bay that are essential for maintaining the biological function of this estuary and sustaining native salmon and other fish populations," said Grader at an historic press conference outlining solutions to the salmon collapse in Sacramento on March 14.

SB 562 is supported by a diverse group, including the California Farm Bureau Federation, Association of California Water Agencies, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association, the Karuk Tribe, CalTrout, the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Sierra Club.

"The Assembly approved SB 562 on March 24, so today's 27-10 Senate vote means the bill will soon be on the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for his consideration," said David Miller, Press Secretary for Senator Wiggins. "SB 562 is an urgency measure, meaning the bill will take effect immediately upon signing by the Governor."

If signed into law, the Wiggins bill would allocate $5.293 in Proposition 84 funds to the state Department of Fish and Game, which would use the funding for its coastal salmon and steelhead fishery restoration efforts. Voters approved Prop. 84 - the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act - in 2006.

In addition, Wiggins said that enactment of SB 562 will allow the state to leverage up to $20 million federal dollars for salmon this spring.

"Every week adds a new development to our burgeoning salmon crisis," Wiggins noted after today's Senate floor vote.

In presenting SB 562 before her colleagues, she said that "we have all seen the recent headlines regarding salmon in California: 'Fishermen fear lost salmon season'; 'Officials warn of salmon population collapse'; 'Regulators Could Close West Coast Salmon Fishing This Year.'

"This bill is about this legislature taking action to protect California's $100 million dollar salmon industry," Wiggins added. She later stressed that the industry extends beyond fishermen to include tackle shops, processors, ice suppliers, restaurants and tourism.

Although the bill is a good start, more legislation and aggressive measures are needed to save the embattled salmon of California's coastal and Central Valley rivers. Agricultural diversions on coastal rivers, declining water quality in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Feather and other Central Valley rivers and massive water exports from the California Delta by the state and federal governments are problems that need to be immediately addressed to solve the salmon crisis.

Also, all commercial, tribal and recreational fishermen and all related businesses must be compensated in full for any loss of income caused by the salmon collapse. While environmentally destructive agribusiness interests in drainage impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley have received massive federal subsidies for decades, salmon fishermen and related businesses have had to struggle for any type of significant relief.

Fortunately, federal legislation sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) aims to provide disaster relief to businesses impacted by the salmon collapse.

Senator Wiggins is Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries & Aquaculture. For more information, call (916) 651-1897 or Fax (916) 324-3036