Salmon Means Jobs

President Barack Obama came to California on Wednesday on a fundraising blitz, and California’s salmon-dependent communities tried a blitz of their own to turn his attention towards protecting the Sacramento River king salmon run. San Francisco Bay Area commercial and sportfishing groups, restaurants and seafood distributors published a half page ad in the San Francisco…

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President Barack Obama came to California on Wednesday on a fundraising blitz, and California’s salmon-dependent communities tried a blitz of their own to turn his attention towards protecting the Sacramento River king salmon run. San Francisco Bay Area commercial and sportfishing groups, restaurants and seafood distributors published a half page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle on page A9. Longtime California troller Tom Stickel and his working salmon boat Regina served as spokesmodels for their message.

There’s not much to add to what they had to say to the president, and in the hopes he listens to California’s fishing businesses, it’s worth repeating here:

Dear President Obama:

Healthy salmon depend on healthy rivers. Each year, California and Oregon’s salmon fishing industries have provided thousands of family-wage jobs, world-class recreational opportunities, and millions of pounds of delicious, healthy seafood for America.

Yet a politically-driven push to overturn protections for fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could mean the end of the king salmon run which has formed the backbone of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational salmon fishing industry for generations. The Bay Area’s sustainable seafood leaders, business owners, and fishermen urge you, Mr. President, to ensure we continue to follow science and the law—not politics—and protect our iconic salmon, our jobs, and our way of life.

Jim McCarthy worked with Earthjustice attorneys to shine a press spotlight on West Coast salmon and water issues.

The California Regional Office fights for the rights of all to a healthy environment regardless of where in the state they live; we fight to protect the magnificent natural spaces and wildlife found in California; and we fight to transition California to a zero-emissions future where cars, trucks, buildings, and power plants run on clean energy, not fossil fuels.