April 16, 2025 2:50 a.m.

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley along with his Democratic colleagues in the Oregon delegation – Senator Ron Wyden, and U.S. Representatives Val Hoyle. Suzanne Bonamici, Andrea Salinas, Maxine Dexter and Janelle Bynum – in urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to declare a federal fishery resource disaster for the 2024 Oregon troll salmon fishery.

A letter from the lawmakers said, “This declaration is critical to provide economic relief to Oregon’s fisheries and coastal communities in addition to protecting the sustainability of wild salmon populations”.

A joint release said in 2024, Oregon’s troll salmon fishery struggled amid the worsening effect of climate change, increased drought, shifting ocean conditions, and other impacts leading to poor salmon returns. Facing these significant challenges, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, estimates that 2024 Chinook salmon populations levels were below forecasts, with 2025 Chinook salmon populations likely “not high enough to allow for target Chinook fisheries”.

The impact salmon loss has on Oregon’s economy is large, as the state’s commercial fishing industry generates more than $640 million in economic activity each year, equivalent to 9,200 jobs.

The lawmakers letter continued, “Despite best efforts from our local fishermen and state and local partners, the economic consequences of this crisis threaten both salmon fishermen and the broader economy of Oregon’s coastal communities which reply on the fishery”.

As the Pacific Fisheries Management Council undergoes the process to finalize its 2025 salmon season management recommendations, the Oregon delegation is pushing for U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to quickly grant Governor Tina Kotek’s for a federal fishery disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The release said the action is critical to access federal funding need to ease the economic uncertainty for Oregon’s commercial troll salmon fishery, while recognizing the immense role salmon hold in the cultural heritage of Pacific Northwest Tribes, recreation and as a treasured natural resource across the state.