While applauding the White House decision to give States the lead on coastal salmon restoration, the West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA) questioned the federal government's fisheries conservation priorities. WCSPA represents the majority of groundfish, crab, and shrimp processors in Washington, Oregon, and California.

"We're pleased to see the President endorsing the approach developed by Governor Kitzhaber to restore coastal salmon runs through partnerships," said Rod Moore, Executive Director of WCSPA. "However, we continue to ask why the White House is throwing more money at salmon while ignoring the Pacific groundfish fishery which supports thousands of fishermen, processing workers, and their families on the west coast."

"To date, over $3 billion has been spent on Columbia River salmon restoration with little in the way of results. Now we are going to spend another $100 million on coastal salmon. At the same time, the National Marine Fisheries Service cannot find the money to replace fisheries scientists working on groundfish, because they need to spend the money on resource surveys. In 1997, the value of the groundfish fishery in Oregon was greater than all other fisheries combined. Why do we keep feeding the insatiable salmon monster while letting our coastal fishing communities sink beneath the waves?"

According to a paper presented by fisheries managers to the Pacific Fishery Management Council last November, groundfish harvest reductions due to lack of good scientific data will result in a loss of $32.8 million to fishing vessels by the turn of the century. Using standard economic multipliers, this means an $82 million dollar loss to coastal communities in the three west coast States. One major processing company has stopped buying groundfish and another company has been sold.

Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service allocates slightly more than $2 million for Pacific groundfish research, nearly $1 million less than the minimum amount recommended by the agency's own Office of Science and Technology. Several experienced groundfish scientists have transferred away from the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center and no money is available to fill the positions. The west coast seafood industry has contributed several hundred thousand dollars worth of its own resources over the past four years in an effort to help avoid a collapse in basic scientific research.

"You can't conduct a sustainable fishery with zero information," said Moore. "The administration claims it is committed to making the right investments for the oceans. For Pacific groundfish, it's time to back up that rhetoric with action."