Oregon’s fishing fleet needs help to survive this season. The feds are starting to understand that, thank heavens.
On Thursday, Bill Hogarth, the director of fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, met in Portland with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and representatives of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hogarth pledged to step up efforts to get the fishermen’s plight recognized for the high-level disaster that it is. Also, a U.S. Senate committee OK’d $10 million to help West Coast communities cope with severe fishing restrictions this season.