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Recovery Plan for Salmon Flounders by Ron Richards The Seattle Times, October 23, 2009

To a commercial fisherman whose livelihood depends on sustainable populations of salmon, Will Stelle's endorsement of the 2009 Obama administration's salmon recovery plan rings hollow.

The plan might make for good sound bites, but it is not good for the fish or for the thousands of commercial and recreational fishermen and businesses dependent on healthy fish runs. In reducing the court-ordered spill, the plan threatens to undo the most positive and effective change the hydroelectric system has done to improve fish runs. This will almost certainly bring into play another insidious portion of the plan: eliminating all kinds of fishing when the fish populations fall further, which is the probable consequence of the reduction in spill.

The plan will result in continued uncertainty and no real solutions. Thus far, fishermen, certain tribes and the state of Oregon have been left out of the current so-called collaboration.

It is time to bring everyone together to reach an effective solution.

Related Pages:
Obama's Salmon Plan Just Repackages Bush's Failed Effort by Glen Spain, The Register-Guard, 10/17/9