Senior Attorney and California Water Legislative Director
It’s all about jobs, community, family and food. But one sign at the rally didn’t say, “Turn On The Pumps.” It said, “Salmon Mean Business.”
It was an extraordinary scene at San Francisco's Fort Mason Center yesterday, and I'm not referring to the excellent spread provided by Bay Area’s premier seafood restaurants or the massive inflated salmon. Hundreds of angry, anxious and stormy fishermen representing ports covering most of the Pacific Coast converged in San Francisco to tell their stories to the third-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, Rep. George Miller, and other legislators. They came waving home-made signs and holding their kids by the hand, and they came with their stories of economic devastation and community decline.
For hours, Rep. Miller who was joined by Congressman Mike Thompson, State Assemblyman Jared Huffman and a rep from Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey’s office listened to fishermen talk about how the decline in salmon populations — due in large part to how California manages its water supply — has affected their businesses, their lives and their dinner tables.
Fishermen can be notoriously independent–“That’s why we fish,” one said–but yesterday’s salmon summit demonstrated an astounding level of community cohesiveness.
The event brought together commercial and recreational fishermen, and a wide array of businesses and industries that rely on a healthy and robust salmon fishery to support their families: fish processors; marine equipment businesses; harbors and ports.
A bait-and-tackle shop owner grew emotional describing his fear that without fast governmental action to reverse salmon declines, he could lose the business his family has nurtured for decades. A party boat fisherman noted that his work is the economic engine for these communities, supporting not only fishing-related businesses but virtually all parts of the coastal economy and attracting people from all over the country.
A port master said that 70 percent of the boats in his harbor are fishing boats. "People are not just going out on the Pacific to float around," he said to laughter. Restaurateurs passionately pleaded with the Congress members not to stand by while salmon are driven to extinction, replaced by the far inferior farmed fish. “Customers expect to see wild salmon on our menus! San Francisco is a seafood town!”
The legislators got the message. As Congressman Miller said, "This is no April Fool’s joke – the situation facing our coastal communities is serious.” He went on to say that we have "an obligation to base our water policy decisions on the science and to take into account the needs of these Northern California families, businesses and communities. It’s a very important message for Congress to hear – the drought and prior water management decisions are severely affecting fishing businesses and families all over the west coast. What the Bay-Delta ecosystem needs now is a science-based comprehensive program that tackles the challenges before us in a coordinated fashion. We can’t go back to the old way of doing business – water grabs based on politics."
While some legislators have dismissed these businesses as the “supposed fishing industry,” yesterday’s summit made clear that fishermen represent real people, real jobs, real communities, and yes, really good food.