No helping hand for West Coast commercial fisherman

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


First, West Coast fishermen lost 90 percent of their salmon season, which amounts to an estimated $81 million loss. Then lawmakers tried to get federal disaster assistance to help the industry survive. They received $2 million.

At the core of the fishermen’s struggle is the protection of Klamath River Chinook salmon, whose numbers have plummeted due to low water flows, unusually warm water, parasites, and dams. Congressman Mike Thompson, (D-St. Helena), has been fighting for disaster assistance for California and Oregon in Congress. He holds the Bush administration is responsible for the loss of fish, and he finds it particularly galling that the government now refuses to declare the situation a disaster, let alone deal with it. Listen to an interview with Mike Thompson.

Duncan MacLean is a salmon troller working out of Half Moon Bay, California. The slashing of his season and disaster relief is threatening his livelihood. Listen to MacLean on his boat 5 miles off the coast collecting his crab gear.

Zeke Grader, Executive Director of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association (PCFFA) says the situation for fishermen this year is disastrous and will be continue to be so for years to come if the Klamath River doesn’t get fixed. Listen to Zeke Grader here.

(You can read more about the Klamath in Mother Jones’ 2003 article “What’s a River For?” and about the fishermen’s efforts to organize in protest here.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate