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Sacramento
, CA ---In response to the emergency closure of salmon fishing
on the West Coast, the Recreational Fishing Alliance has announced
a proposal for a Federal Salmon Stamp, modeled after the Federal
Duck Stamp, which has raised over $600 million for wildlife
habitat conservation since 1934.
"There
are no short-term solutions to the Pacific salmon collapse
described by Pacific Fishery Management Council Chairman,
Don Hansen, as a 'disaster'," said RFA's Executive Director
Jim Donofrio. "The Pacific Northwest will never return to
pre-Lewis & Clark environmental conditions. The future
depends on anglers and everyone interested in healthy salmon
runs stepping to the plate and making sustained and significant
contributions to the restoration of coastal salmon populations
critical to U.S. fisheries."
A
coastal Salmon Stamp costing $15 for recreational anglers
and $150 for commercial fishermen would raise millions for
salmon restoration and habitat conservation.
Funds
raised by the stamp will be used for:
-purchasing
important salmon habitat, including estuarine habitat and
retiring inefficient farm land
-building
more hatcheries and replacing environmentally obsolete facilities
-purchasing
water contracts for fish
-funding
salmon protection technologies, including water diversion
screening, culvert replacement and safe passage through man-made
obstructions.
Recreational
salmon fishermen on the west coast are losing a precious heritage. We
need to use the time we have to get this done.
"Hatchery-produced
salmon make-up the vast majority of the harvested salmon on
the West Coast," said RFA Washington State Chairman Mike Gilchrist. "Past
and current policies have allocated harvest of naturally-producing
salmon to environmental degradation, sometimes to the point
of extinction. Work underway to restore habitat, although
well-intentioned, has failed to protect fisheries. People
who go fishing are the strongest advocates for conservation
and restoration of salmon."
The
recreational community needs to maintain an open dialog with
the agriculture, power, and logging industries to adopt practices
that strike a balance for all user-groups dependant upon adequate
water levels and river ecology.
"A
Federal Salmon Stamp is the perfect way for all
salmon fishermen to work together to make meaningful contributions
to the long-term sustainability of this valuable resource,"
explains Rex Murphy, owner of Winter King of Homer, Alaska
and founding member of the Alaska Charter Association.
The
Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is a national 501(c)(4)
non-profit grassroots, political action organization whose
mission is to safeguard the rights of salt water anglers,
protect marine, boat, and tackle industry jobs, and ensure
the long-term sustainability of our nation's marine fisheries.
"RFA
is looking forward to working with the recreational fishing
community to make this important initiative a reality," continues
Donofrio.
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