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Alaska Trollers Association

American Sportfishing Association

Commercial Fishermen of America

Northwest Guides and Anglers Association

Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations

Washington Trollers Association

September 8, 2009

Gary Locke, Secretary

U.S. Department of Commerce1401 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20230

Dear Secretary Locke,

Congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of Commerce. As representatives of thousands

of commercial and recreational fishing families and businesses from across the Pacific Coast, weare encouraged that a former Governor of a Pacific salmon state will be leading efforts in the

Department of Commerce to create jobs, promote economic development, and properly stewardthe ocean and its bounty.

Given the enormous economic importance of West Coast salmon fisheries to the health of ourcoastal and rural economies, we are writing to request a meeting with you in order to discuss

both the serious challenges that confront salmon fishing communities and, more importantly,how best to seize an historic opportunity to address these problems in an effective way.

Within the Obama Administration, your Department plays an essential role in managing

productive and sustainable West Coast salmon fisheries. As a Washingtonian, you are nostranger to the significant economic contributions that healthy, harvestable populations of salmon

and steelhead make to West Coast communities. We represent commercial and recreationalsalmon fishing industries that bring billions of dollars into the regional economy and employ tens

of thousands of people. If imperiled salmon and steelhead runs were even modestly restored, ourfishing industries could contributesubstantially more toward our regions economic well-being.

However, given the recent and ongoing declines of Columbia and Snake River salmon, our

industries have suffered greatly; many fishing businesses have shut down, boats have been

docked, more than 25,000 family-wage salmon-dependent jobs have been lost, and our manycoastal communities have experienced the economic, social, and cultural ramifications ofpersistent unemployment. Under weak stock management, decades of declining Columbia

Basin salmon runs now greatly constrain the salmon fishing industry from northern California tosoutheast Alaska. The more recent and precipitous collapse of the California Central Valley

salmon runs further cripple fishing-dependent industries.

Clearly, the policies and priorities of the previous administration have proven extraordinarilydamaging to the watersheds upon which salmon and our communities depend. In order to meet

short-sighted political goals, the nations environmental and fish and wildlife laws wereweakened or ignored, and good science was suppressed or dismissed. The restoration of the

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freshwater and estuary ecosystems that support salmon will require a rapid reversal of thesepolicies, along with a renewed commitment of resources to protect and restore vital salmon

habitat.

Through his early statements, appointments, and policies, President Obama has given ourmembers new cause for hope. In his inaugural speech, for example, the President pledged to

restore science to its rightful place in policymaking, and later, before the National Academy of

Sciences, the President promised that policy decisions would be informed by science, not theother way around. He has placed smart and effective leaders in important positions that havedirect oversight over salmon policy planning and implementation. Some of the Obama

Administrations early decisions affecting salmon restoration reflect this welcome change. The2009 Central Valley Biological Opinion, for example, provides a sharp contrast to the 2008

Columbia Basin Biological Opinion that was inherited from the previous administration and isnow likely on the verge of being invalidated in U.S. District Court.

Across the Pacific Coast today, major salmon-producing watersheds like the Columbia-Snake,

Klamath, and Sacramento-San Joaquin face very real challenges. As a result of many salmonpolicy failures, all three of these major salmon-producing watersheds are now in a state of crisis -

- and all being run by Court Order. The new Obama Administration can surely chart a bettercourse with the states and affected publics - out of the court room and toward meaningful

recovery.

New leadership today presents a tremendous opportunity to bring together diverse constituenciesto craft constructive, collaborative strategies that can serve fishermen and farmers, utilities and

ratepayers, and our cities and towns. We look forward to sitting down with you soon, to discussour priorities and how best to confront challenges and develop solutions to solve problems,create jobs, and protect and restore healthy, self-sustaining salmon fisheries across the West

Coast.

Thank you for your time and commitment to the resources of this great nation. We will follow upwith your office soon after delivery of this letter to check the status of our request.

Sincerely,

William F. Zeke Grader, Jr.,

Executive DirectorPacific Coast Federation of

Fishermens Associations (PCFFA)San Francisco, California

Liz Hamilton, Executive DirectorNorthwest Sportfishing Association

Oregon City, Oregon

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Gordon C. Robertson, Vice President

American Sportfishing AssociationAlexandria, Virginia

Dale Kelley, Executive DirectorAlaska Trollers Association

Juneau, Alaska

Bob Rees, Executive Director

Northwest Guides and Anglers AssociationTillamook, Oregon

Doug Fricke, PresidentWashington Trollers Association

Kingston, Washington

Captain Jim Ruhle, President

Commercial Fishermen of AmericaWanchese, North Carolina