Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Brian Baird encourages Washington State salmon fishermen affected by the sharp drop in whole salmon prices to contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to see if they are eligible assistance.  The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently announced that salmon fishermen in Washington may apply for benefits under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers program.   Under TAA for Farmers, USDA provides technical assistance and cash benefits to farmers and fisherman when an increase in imports of a particular good causes  a significant decrease in price and loss of income for American producers.

“Our fishermen have been harmed by unfair foreign competition,” said Baird.  “We must protect our fishing industry jobs with fair trade agreements to ensure that imported goods don’t drive our local workers out of business.

USDA determined increased imports of frozen salmon fillets contributed to a decline in the landed prices for whole salmon in Washington by an average of 32.6 percent during 2002, when compared with the previous 5-year average.  The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will issue payments to eligible fishermen.  Based on the weighted average of prices for three species of Pacific salmon, fishermen may receive 5.6 cents per pound for the salmon they landed in Washington during 2002.  Additionally, USDA will provide technical assistance to producers through the University of Washington Sea Grant Program and Washington State University.

Salmon fishermen in Washington may obtain a TAA application (FSA-229) from http://forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eforms/mainservlet or from their local Farm Service Agency service center.  Fishermen have until January 20, 2004, to submit their applications to FSA. After they submit their completed applications, technical assistance and training will begin as soon as possible.  Information on local “technical assistance” workshops will be posted on Congressman Baird’s website as soon as it is available. 
 
For general information about the program, contact Jean-Louis Pajot, coordinator, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers, FAS, USDA, at (202) 720-2916, or by e-mail at
trade.adjustment@fas.usda.gov.

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