West Coast Fish Collapse

03/24/2008

A collapse in West Coast salmon fish runs threatens to severely restrict the upcoming season for commercial fishermen. KUOW's Liz Jones reports.

AFTER 35 YEARS IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY, PHIL ANDERSON SAYS THE LOW LEVEL OF SALMON IS THE WORST HE'S EVER SEEN. HE'S WITH THE WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE.

Anderson: "I have not seen this type of coast–wide collapse in fish abundance in the time frame that I've been involved in it. It's clear to me that just restricting fishing is not going to solve this problem."

ANDERSON SAYS SCIENTISTS BLAME THE COLLAPSE ON POOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE OCEAN, INCLUDING LOW OXYGEN LEVELS AND NUTRIENT–DEPRIVED DEAD ZONES.

CALIFORNIA SALMON RUNS ARE HIT ESPECIALLY HARD THIS YEAR. AND IN WASHINGTON, QUOTAS FOR SOME SALMON ARE FORECAST TO ONLY BE ABOUT 20 PERCENT OF LAST YEAR'S CATCH.

IF FEDERAL OFFICIALS CLOSE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES IN CALIFORNIA IN OREGON, ANDERSON EXPECTS MORE COMPETITION FOR WASHINGTON'S ALREADY DEPLETED SALMON STOCKS.

ANDERSON: "We typically have about 60 trollers that actively participate in our fishery, that are Washington based. And there certainly is the potential that another 60 or 70 could enter that fishery. Boats that are based primarily in Oregon."

THAT WILL CREATE A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP FOR MANY WEST COAST FISHERMEN, ANDERSON SAYS.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS CONSIDERING WHETHER TO DECLARE THIS YEAR'S WEST COAST OCEAN SALMON SEASONS A FEDERAL FISHERIES FAILURE. THAT COULD PROVIDE SOME FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR MANY COASTAL FISHERMEN. LIZ JONES, KUOW NEWS.

℗ Copyright 2008, KUOW News