WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today Congressman David Wu voted to provide $170 million in disaster funds for commercial and recreational fishermen who have been affected by the recent fisheries failure.  The funds were included in the farm bill, which the House passed by a vote of 317 to 109, overriding the president’s veto.

This year’s fisheries failure was the biggest closure ever declared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  It runs from Santa Barbara through Cape Falcon and affects fishermen from southern California through Washington.

The fishery failure is estimated to have a $45 million economic impact in Oregon and a total $290 million impact across the West Coast.  The disaster funds cover expenses such as boat payments, moorage fees, and maintenance costs for fishermen who are affected by the closure.  

“These funds are a major step toward helping fishermen whose livelihoods have been devastated by the latest closure, but they are not enough to help all of those who need assistance,” said Congressman Wu.  “The salmon run problems that the Pacific coast has experienced in recent years are not the fault of the fishermen whose families depend on sufficient stock.  The repeated disasters are the result of gross ecological mismanagement by the Bush administration, and I will continue to fight for funds that compensate Oregonians for the full economic impact.”

Experts contend that this failure was caused by the fact that water in the mouth of the Sacramento River was siphoned off for irrigation and urban use, leading to habitat degradation and the proliferation of invasive species.  It is estimated that only 50,000 Chinook will make it back to the Sacramento River this year, when hundreds of thousands typically do.

The salmon disaster funds will become law after the expected Senate veto override of the farm bill.