Gov. Gregoire�s statement on salmon emergency federal aid distribution

For Immediate Release: October 27, 2008

OLYMPIA � Gregoire released the following statement on the distribution of federal funding for salmon fishers:

�I am pleased that the funding to help West Coast fishers that Governor Kulongoski, Governor Schwarzenegger and I requested from the federal government has not only been approved, but is being distributed to families in our coastal communities.

�The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the tri-state contractor responsible for distributing $170 million in federal salmon emergency funds, has processed approximately 2,500 applications and distributed nearly $54 million to fishers in the three states, including $6.5 million to Washington fishers.

�Through coordination with our neighbors to the south, working closely with our congressional delegation and the National Marine Fisheries Service, struggling fishing families and businesses are receiving this much-needed aid.�

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