Zeke grader biography

By Steve Rubenstein

Zeke Grader, a lifelong conservationist who loved wild fish, wild rivers and the good fight necessary to protect them, has died.

He was 68.

“You would probably not be eating a wild California salmon today if it were not for Zeke,” said his friend Tim Sloane, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

Grader's roots in the West Coast fishing community were multi-‐generational.

A tireless advocate for fisheries and fishing families, Zeke Grader, died the night of September 7th.

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“Zeke” Grader, Jr., a legendary veteran of the fight to protect fishing communities and the fishing way of life.

Zeke Grader, who was born into the fishing industry, spent a lifetime representing fishermen and was a staunch advocate for sustainable seafood, died Monday of.

“He was not afraid of speaking truth to power. He wasn’t afraid of anyone.”

Mr. Grader, 68, died Monday night of pancreatic cancer at a San Francisco hospice.

From 1976 until this summer, Mr. Grader held the executive director position for the federation, the largest trade group of commercial fishermen on the West Coast.

He represented commercial fishermen in their efforts to keep streams and rivers flowing, the San Francisco Bay healthy, and wild salmon and other native fish plentiful and viable.

In the constant battle over California water, Mr.

Grader frequently fo