BECOME A 2008 MEMBER

OF CENTRAL COAST SALMON ENHANCEMENT

AND HELP ENHANCE FISHERIES

WHILE IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT

As you probably know, 2007 was a year of transition for Salmon Enhancement. A new executive director, new board members, new staff members, new events, new projects, new energy…lots of great new things. At the same time, we were proud to maintain our identity and our commitment to the world of fisheries enhancement.

• We had 28 classrooms participating in our Trout in the Classroom program and caring for incubator aquariums.
• We continued our hard work of watershed restoration in Arroyo Grande and Pismo Creek Watersheds.
• We released 140,000 Chinook salmon into the ocean.
• We secured a contract to write a Watershed Management Plan for the Nacitone area.
• We gave more than 200 community presentations to more than 4000 students and adults on the importance of our watersheds and our fisheries.
• We started work on an ivy removal project for Arroyo Grande Creek.

…the list goes on and on.

And now in the first few weeks of 2008, we find ourselves challenged and dismayed. Challenged by the disappointing news that for the first time in 25 years we will not be receiving salmon from the Department of Fish and Game for our pen rearing project. Dismayed by the causes.

Populations of returning spawning salmon on the West Coast are at a 15 year low. The Sacramento River, with an average annual return of 250,000 salmon each year has preliminary returns of 90,000; this is actually an 88 percent decrease from numbers just five years ago. The Mokelumne Hatchery, which supplies our pen rearing project with juvenile salmon, saw returns so low they are unable to supply our project with fish. The news is discouraging for our pen rearing project, devastating to commercial and recreational anglers who might see a complete closure of the salmon season, and frightening for what it says about the over-all health of our creeks, oceans and environment. 

In February of 1983, Central Coast Salmon Enhancement was officially founded as a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that salmon populations are available for commercial and recreational fishing. Our founders recognized that the salmonid fisheries were declining and dedicated themselves to finding ways to ensure salmon fishing for generations to come. Now, 25 years later, we continue to feel the urgency of this mission. While we find ourselves challenged and frustrated by the current state of our global fisheries, more importantly we find ourselves with great resolve. Our commitment to fisheries recovery, restoration and enhancement is stronger and more important than ever.

It is with this commitment and dedication that we ask you to support our efforts and become a member of Salmon Enhancement today. You can choose to support Salmon Enhancement all year by becoming a monthly donor or use the enclosed remittance envelope to pay your annual membership today. We need your support to fight for our fisheries, protect fishing men and women, restore our oceans and creeks, and enhance our community. This is a global issue with grass-root needs. It is time we come together as a community and find innovative solutions before our salmonid fisheries collapse completely.

Your 2008 membership will help us work with our community to come up with tangible ways to solve this problem. Achieving measurable results; improved creeks and oceans with an abundance of salmon and Steelhead trout, requires coordination of effort.  Over the months to come, beginning in March, we will be holding community meetings led by fisheries experts, including NOAA Fisheries, Department of Fish and Game, the fishing industry and others, to help us all work on positive, practical solutions. If you are interested in providing input please come to these meetings. For updates, come back to our website at www.centralcoastsalmon.com or give us a call at (805) 473-8221.

Thank you for your support.