Monday December 9, 2024
The World Link —
South Coast salmon fishermen gave U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden an earful when he visited Charleston on Wednesday, part of his swing through Coos County to meet with local residents.
Most people at the meeting were angry over the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s salmon-rearing practices.
Many blasted ODFW for paying little attention to the salmon problem and taking too much time to find a solution.
They asked Wyden to bring accountability to the agency.
“This is not a fishery problem; it’s an agency problem,” one fisherman said.
Wyden said government either can adopt policies that will help expand the fishing industry or can seek more fish from other countries.