Sacramento, CA---In response to the emergency closure of salmon fishing on the West Coast, the Recreational Fishing Alliance has announced a proposal for a Federal Salmon Stamp, modeled after the Federal Duck Stamp, which has raised over $600 million for wildlife habitat conservation since 1934.

"There are no short-term solutions to the Pacific salmon collapse described by Pacific Fishery Management Council Chairman, Don Hansen, as a 'disaster'," said RFA's Executive Director Jim Donofrio. "The Pacific Northwest will never return to pre-Lewis & Clark environmental conditions. The future depends on anglers and everyone interested in healthy salmon runs stepping to the plate and making sustained and significant contributions to the restoration of coastal salmon populations critical to U.S. fisheries."

A coastal Salmon Stamp costing $15 for recreational anglers and $150 for commercial fishermen would raise millions for salmon restoration and habitat conservation.

Recreational salmon fishermen on the west coast are losing a precious heritage. We need to use the time we have to get this done.

"Hatchery-produced salmon make-up the vast majority of the harvested salmon on the West Coast," said RFA Washington State Chairman Mike Gilchrist. "Past and current policies have allocated harvest of naturally-producing salmon to environmental degradation, sometimes to the point of extinction. Work underway to restore habitat, although well-intentioned, has failed to protect fisheries. People who go fishing are the strongest advocates for conservation and restoration of salmon."

The recreational community needs to maintain an open dialog with the agriculture, power, and logging industries to adopt practices that strike a balance for all user-groups dependant upon adequate water levels and river ecology.

"A Federal Salmon Stamp is the perfect way for all salmon fishermen to work together to make meaningful contributions to the long-term sustainability of this valuable resource," explains Rex Murphy, owner of Winter King of Homer, Alaska and founding member of the Alaska Charter Association.

"RFA is looking forward to working with the recreational fishing community to make this important initiative a reality," continues Donofrio.