Good news for commercial salmon fishermen

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By Tim Novotny

CHARLESTON, ORE - West Coast commercial salmon fishermen get the answer they were hoping for, as the Commerce Department responds to plea's from two west coast Governors by releasing 53-Million dollars in Salmon Disaster Aid.

After the third fishery failure in four years, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made the announcement in a letter back to those Governors on Thursday. In the letter he says the continued low returns to the Sacramento River have led to the latest disaster.

Locke released the 53-Million from unspent money that came from a disaster declared last year. Governor Ted Kulongoski says Oregon will receive 6.7-Million dollars of that amount.

Thursday's declaration also opens the way for Congress to allocate more money for salmon fishermen.

They appropriated 170-Million dollars in 2008 and 60-Million in 2006.

Commercial Salmon fishing for Chinook, also known as King Salmon, has been closed for months off California and most of Oregon due to those low returns to the Sacramento.
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