A tag with the number 707 on it marks one of the trees the Coos Watershed Association planted about three years ago near Rogers Creek in Coos County. World Photo by Susan Chambers

It's official: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez declared the commercial salmon fishery a failure today.

Originally, federal officials said it could take until February to make the determination.

“The evidence is clear - our fishing communities have been significantly impacted,” Gutierrez said in a press release.

“We have moved quickly to gather the necessary facts in order to make this declaration and we will continue to work closely with the communities and their elected leaders.”

It was only last month that National Marine Fisheries Service Director Bill Hogarth was in Charleston to meet with salmon trollers to gather information about how this year's regulations are affecting West Coast fishermen.

Gutierrez held today's conference call with Deputy Secretary David Sampson, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. and other officials.

Smith said today that part one of the process was requesting Sampson and Hogarth to Oregon to make the declaration in person to fishermen in Oregon.

Part 2 is up to lawmakers, Smith said, who now have the full authority to request appropriations for states affected by the fisheries failure.

“The green light is on,” said Smith. “This declaration makes it official.”

Congress already is working on a federal budget bill that likely will include funding for the West Coast salmon industry and Smith is hoping the bill gets passed soon.

“My timetable is September, before the campaign season begins,” Smith said. “This needed to be a political issue.”

Support for the salmon industry has been bipartisan - both Republicans and Democrats in both the Senate and the House, as well as at the state level - since February, when the first rumblings of a problem surfaced.

Gutierrez already ruled the salmon fishery a disaster under the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act in July, which opened the door for a economic development grants and Small Business Administration loans. More than $200,000 in SBA loans already have been approved.

This notification, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, can do more - as long as funds are made available in the federal budget. The designation also triggers authorities to respond to the economic impact of the failure and to promote the recovery of the resource.

Smith said this is not the end, though. He and other lawmakers are looking to the future of the Klamath River system - the river from which projected low returns of fall Chinook prompted this year's drastic cutbacks and closures.

“Systemic changes need to be made to the Klamath so that fishermen and farmers can live in harmony,” Smith said. “It's doable. It should be done.”

Additionally, Gutierrez requested Kulongoski and Schwarzenegger closely review their pending 2006 Pacific Coast Salmon Recovery Fund grant applications and determine how to best channel existing resources and speedily disburse monies to programs to help fishermen.