THE 2008 WEST COAST SALMON FISHERY DISASTER
INFO AND RESOURCES

PCFFA/IFR Exxon Valdez Amicus Brief -- US Supreme Court (January, 2008)

Talking Points: Why The Klamath Dams Must Come Out!

Special: The Klamath Basin Struggle to Restore Fisheries

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PCFFA is a proud member of the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fishworkers (WFF) and SALMONAID

The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) is by far the largest and most politically active trade association of commercial fishermen on the west coast. For nearly the last 30 years, we have been leading the industry in assuring the rights of individual fishermen and fighting for the long-term survival of commercial fishing as a productive livelihood and way of life.

As its lengthy name makes clear, PCFFA is an "umbrella" group made up of diverse associations all along the west coast. PCFFA is, in fact, a federation of many different port and fishermen's marketing associations with members spanning the US west coast from San Diego to Alaska. It is funded principally through assessments on catches, collected at the local port level; those monies go to support local association activities and a portion is transmitted to PCFFA to fund activities affecting all of its member groups. It is a "bottom-up" organization, rather than "top-down"; it begins with the individual fishing man or woman belonging to their local association.

More than any other fishery organization on the US west coast, PCFFA has come to embody the working family fisherman -- the working men and women operating their vessels to bring to America's -- and the world's -- table the ocean's bounty of fresh wild salmon, dungeness and rock crab, squid, herring, swordfish, shark, blackcod, rockfish, albacore, sea cucumber, California halibut and flounder, urchin and abalone. We are the small and medium sized family businesses, conducted from vessels fishing distant grounds to small, trailerable boats working nearshore waters. We are professionals who derive our incomes largely from harvesting the sea. Large or small vessel operator, full-time or part-time, we all share a common passion for this way of life, a dedication to its future, and a committment to a sustainable resource.

What PCFFA provides the individual fisherman is a vehicle to protect themselves and their industry, to assure the sustainable protection of the fragile resources we all depend upon, and a vehicle for empowerment. PCFFA provides fishermen a means to challenge and counter the dictates of big business or big government. PCFFA provides fishermen with a voice in their affairs, a say about their future.

Whether it's fighting for fishing interests in the halls of Congress, implementing new Coast Guard safety regulations, promoting high quality seafood, implementating the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to double salmon populations, suing the government over salmon-killing dam operations in the Columbia River, or stopping the discharge of pollutants into our rivers and estuaries --- PCFFA will be there as long as individual fishermen and others concerned for the long-term health of the fisheries are there to support it.

If you are a commercial fishermen, PCFFA is about you. It empowers you, but only with your support. Its your future. Get active, get involved and join us in that effort. See the information below to find out how you can help protect your fishery!

"The increasing loss of fish habitat, to pollution, unwise development and other human activities, is the single largest long-term threat to the future viability of the marine fisheries of the United States ... Protection of habitat is the cheapest investment the nation can make to sustain productive fisheries..."

---- From Hinman, K. and C. Safina (1992). Summary and recommendation. In: R.H. Stroud (ed), "Stemming the Tide of Coastal Fish Habitat Loss." Marine Recreational Fisheries Symposium 14:245-249. National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Savannah, GA.

PCFFA is involved and fighting for fishermen everywhere on a wide variety of regional and national habitat protection issues. More than 75% of this nation's entire $152 billion/year fishing industry depends upon the health of this nation's inshore or nearshore environment. These are the nursery grounds for the vast majority of all the species of fish and shellfish caught in US waters. Without clean water, healthy watersheds, biologically productive estuaries and wetlands, and unpolluted oceans, most of this nation's fishing jobs would utterly disappear!

As it is, habitat losses to date already cost our industry an estimated $27 billion/year -- enough to support 450,000 family wage jobs. The west coast salmon fishing industry (including both commercial and recreational components) has already lost an estimated 72,000 salmon-produced family wage jobs over the last 20 years. These losses are directly related to widespread inland habitat destruction and mismanagement of federal hydropower and irrigation dams. According to the American Fisheries Society, more than 106 major salmon runs in northern California and the Pacific Northwest are already extinct and another 214 are at risk of extinction in the near future. Current estimates are that unless northern California and Northwest land use practices change substantially, that eventually Pacific salmon will all but disappear from the lower 48 states -- just like Atlantic salmon have already disappeared from the east coast.

Commercial fishermen therefore must fight to protect wetlands, estuaries, old-growth salmon-producing forests and healthy river ecosystems. We must fight for abundant clean water and pristine oceans. As commercial fishermen, we must always fight for our right to exist. If we do not, our industry will be gradually strangled to death and snuffed out, for if we do not speak for the fish -- who will?

As the largest representative of west coast commercial fishermen, PCFFA has never been shy about taking on these problems. We lead the charge to put a stop to west coast oil drilling in prime fishing grounds. We were key players in passing major water reform legislation for the Central Valley Project (the "Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992"). PCFFA played a key role in improving private land forestry and grazing practices in both California and Oregon, and on all west coast federal lands. We are fighting in Congress almost daily for better fisheries habitat protection all across this nation and in every coastal state.

PCFFA's habitat protection program is now expanding and being carried on by its sister organization, the Institute for Fisheries Resources. Please jump to IFR's Home Page for more information on our efforts on behalf of the men and women of the commercial fishing fleet to protect fish habitat throughout the country. You can go directly to the Institute's Home Page by clicking here:

This page is always under construction and soon going through a major update. Last update was done 4/21/08. For comments on this page or to correct any broken links please contact Glen Spain at fish1ifr@aol.com. This page's web-counter says that you are visitor number since this counter was created on 11/27/96.

Don't forget to check out PCFFA's sister organization, the Institute for Fisheries Resources Home Page, for updates on our joint habitat protection programs.