Tag Archives: U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
A new report acknowledged the ongoing damage done by dams on the Columbia River. But that’s only part of the story.
The Biden administration released a report this week acknowledging “the historic, ongoing, and cumulative damage and injustices that the federal dams on the Columbia River have caused and continue to cause to Tribal Nations.” In government documents from the 1940s and 1950s, obtained by OPB and ProPublica, officials openly discussed what they called “the Indian problem” on the Columbia River. At times, they characterized the destruction of the last major tribal fishery as a benefit of dam construction. The documents reveal that the government’s 1950s era of dam-building on the Columbia was marked not by a new report, but rather by a well-informed and intentional disregard for Native people. “These documents shine a spotlight on a historic wrong” U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, said in a statement. “The government’s actions wiped out tribal communities, houses, villages, and traditional hunting and fishing sites with thousands of years of history.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 21:10
Experts: Americans are eating fish processed by slaves
North Korean and Uyghur slaves are processing seafood for Chinese companies that export to the United States, experts and lawmakers told Congress on Tuesday, with customs officials struggling to identify and keep the tainted fish off Americans’ plates. The experts told the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that even U.S. military caterers were buying fish caught or processed by laborers trapped in jobs from which they cannot escape and who are seldom paid a living wage. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey and the chair of the committee, said there was ample evidence China-based companies are “exploiting the forced labor of Uyghurs and North Koreans” to undercut international competitors, including in the United States. “From fish sticks to calamari, these products infiltrate the supply chains of major restaurants, wholesalers, and even find their way into the meals served in American schools and military bases,” he said, adding that it violated laws like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. >>click to read<< 16:03
USDA will invest $52 million to help fishing industry on the West Coast
The struggling fisheries industry on the West Coast is getting a much-needed financial boost from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will buy $52 million worth of Pacific groundfish for its food assistance programs. The money is the USDA’s third and biggest investment in the fish in as many years. In 2021, the USDA purchased $16 million of groundfish, specifically rockfish, pink shrimp and whiting or hake, a fish that’s popular in Eastern Europe. It increased that to up to just over $30 million the following year. This year’s $52 million surpasses the $50 million in wholesale sales for those fish last year, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks fisheries in Oregon. >click to read< 09:50
