House Dems seek to protect declining salmon populations

January 26, 2022

NOAA and the Fish and Wildlife Service would be required to identify the nation’s “core centers of salmon abundance” and do more to restore and protect the habitats of the fish under a $90 million bill introduced by a key House Democrat yesterday.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who oversees fisheries issues as chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife, said his bill — H.R. 6491, the "Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats (FISH) Act" — would “ensure these areas receive the protection, support and funding they need to continue to sustain the healthiest remaining salmon populations.”

Among other things, Huffman’s bill would require that federal agencies not take actions to undermine salmon habitats. It would authorize $50 million in grants each year over five years to help restore and conserve salmon. Other provisions include giving priority to forest road decommissioning projects and fish passage projects. The bill would also authorize $40 million each year for five years to preserve existing watersheds for salmon and identify other salmon habitats.

Huffman, who is also co-chair of the Congressional Wild Salmon Caucus, said the species is facing “numerous threats, and their populations are declining across the country.”

He blamed a number of factors for the decline, including habitat degradation, pollution, dams, overharvesting and the effects of climate change.

“The ecological, cultural and economic importance of salmon is hard to overstate — they support tens of thousands of jobs, sustain fishing communities, generate billions of dollars in economic activity and provide a food source for millions of people,” Huffman said. “They also hold immense cultural significance for tribes, like many in my district, who have fished for salmon since time immemorial.”

Four other Democrats signed on as co-sponsors of the bill: Reps. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, and Mike Thompson and Alan Lowenthal of California.

Several conservation groups endorsed the bill, including the Wild Salmon Center, American Sportfishing Association and Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association.

"It is so important for us to take special care of the remaining productive salmon habitat that we have left,” said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association. “If we don't, we'll stay on the path towards devastated fishing communities and Pacific ecosystems and, ultimately, salmon extinction."


By:  Rob Hotakainen
Source: Greenwire