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Sustainable Fisheries Division Disaster Relief: Low numbers of fish returning to the Klamath Basin in 2006 were likely due to a combination of factors including poor ocean conditions, flows in the mainstem Klamath River representative of dry water years, and the proliferation of endemic diseases resulting from the poor in-river conditions. The 2006 preseason forecast of approximately 25,000 naturally spawning KRFC was close to the record low, and less than the minimum required to allow fishing between Cape Falcon, Oregon and Point Sur, California (the Klamath impact area) under the KRFC conservation objective established in the Pacific Coast Salmon Plan (Salmon Plan). A complete closure of the Klamath impact area was avoided through a collaborative effort by NOAA Fisheries Service, Council, state and tribal representatives to identify a limited fishery that would address conservation concerns for KRFC while preventing a total closure of the fishery. NOAA Fisheries Service issued a Temporary Rule for Emergency Action, or emergency rule, to implement very restrictive 2006 annual management measures for the west coast ocean salmon fishery. These regulations closed a majority of the fishery in the Klamath impact area between May 1 and August 31, 2006, reducing fishing opportunity in this area by more than 70% from recent years. As a result, catches declined substantially, and the commercial salmon fishery and the shore-based support sector endured severe economic hardship in 2006 along this 700 mile stretch of coastline. For instance, catches in California and Oregon in 2006 showed a decline of approximately 83% from the 2005 season and 87% from the 2004 season. The Secretary of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez, first declared a fishery resource disaster under section 308(b) of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act on July 6, 2006, which made available low-interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Association. Then on August 10, 2006, after an expedited economic impact data collection process performed by NOAA Fisheries Service in conjunction with state agencies, Secretary Gutierrez determined that a fishery failure due to a fishery resource disaster existed under section 312(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. A fishery failure determination serves as a trigger for authorities to respond to the economic impact of the failure and to promote the recovery of the resource. Since the fishery failure determination was announced, legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate that includes dedicated Klamath disaster relief funding, although no final appropriations have been made at this point. |
NOAA Fisheries Service Pacific Salmon Fisheries Management general Information Anadromous Fish Conservation Act Grant Program Projects NOAA Fisheries Service-Disaster Relief Pacific Fishery Management Council Links |
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