Glen H. Spain comment

FISHERIES ISSUES FOR THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST The Oceans Begin in the Watersheds Presentation for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy By Glen H. Spain Northwest Regional Director Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Seattle, Washington 13-14 June 2002 Admiral Watkins, members of the Commission, thank you for the opportunity to address you here today, and welcome to the Pacific Northwest. I am the Northwest Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), the west coast’s largest organization of commercial fishing families. PCFFA represents people and communities who make their living from the sea. In that capacity I am an advocate for family fishermen and fishing-dependent communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, many of whom are now in deep financial distress. I am also the Program Director for PCFFA’s affiliate organization, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, a nonprofit fisheries research and education organization created by fishermen to help restore our damaged fish resources, particularly the Pacific salmon fisheries, and to work toward sustainable fisheries for the future of our communities. In both capacities I have dedicated more than 15 years of my life to salmon protection and restoration throughout the west coast. You have already heard from our PCFFA President, Pietro Parravano, in your Commission hearing in Long Beach in April 2002, particularly about ...