Zeke Grader has died in San Francisco of cancer, aged 68.
He served for almost 40 years as executive director of the US Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, and, since 1992, also as the executive director of the Institute for Fisheries Resources. Born into the fishing industry, he spent a lifetime representing fishermen, advocating sustainable fishing, and passionately defending wild salmon and their riverine habitat. Some fishermen had said that there would not have been any small boat commercial salmon fishermen left if it was not for Zeke Grader.
A Marine Corps veteran, Zeke Grader was a graduate of Sonoma State University and earned a law degree from the University of San Francisco. Hehas been the recipient of numerous commendations and awards, including
He is survived by his wife, mother, two sisters and a brother.
