The yurok tribe will be receiving $8,158,623 for the 2021/2022 yurok tribal klamath river commercial fishery disaster

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) was awarded a $8,158,623 Cooperative Agreement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Fisheries Disaster Relief program (CFDA 11.477). The funding will support the Yurok Tribe's efforts to provide financial relief to commercial fishers affected by the 2021/2022 Yurok Tribal Klamath River Commercial Fishery Disaster, as well as projects to restore the Klamath River fishery and improve fisheries management through population supplementation and the use of genetic tools. The award period runs from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028.

The following outlines the tribes proposed scope of work for the use of this funding. This scope of work was developed pursuant to the yurok tribal councils guidance regarding how to best use these limited funds to address the commercial fishery failure that the tribe experienced during 2021 and 2022. An utmost priority for the council is to provide financial relief to commercial fishers that have essentially received no economic opportunity associated with the fishery since 2015. The financial assistance that individual fishers will receive from the 2021 and 2022 disaster relief funding is somewhat minimal relative to years when we have viable commercial fisheries, however the council anticipates this funding will help fishers with some level of economic relief and help them to maintain their fishing infrastructure, so they are prepared for upcoming commercial fishery opportunities. The tribal council also identified salmonid population supplementation projects and fishery resource management using genetic tools as high priority initiatives. These projects will help restore the klamath river fishery and will provide harvest managers with information that will assist with developing responsible fisheries management strategies.