Woods Institute - Pacific Salmon Workshop

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1985: Treaty signed by Canada and the United States
The arrangements and institutions established in 1985 proved effective in the early years of the Treaty but became outmoded after 1992 when the original fishing arrangements expired.
1992 to 1998: Canada and the U.S. were not able to reach agreement on comprehensive, coast-wide fisheries arrangements.
June 30,1999: the United States and Canada reached a comprehensive new agreement (the "1999 Agreement").
End of 2008 - renegotiation of Annex IV, which expires at the end of the 2008 fishing season.

Function: The Treaty sets long-term goals for the benefit of the salmon and the two countries
Fundamental Principles:
1. Prevent overfishing and provide for optimum production, and
2. Provide for each party to receive benefits equivalent to the production of salmon originating in its waters.
Parties Involved:
- Canada
- Alaska
- Washington/Oregon
- 24 Treaty tribes located in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho
Note: The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) is the body formed by the governments of Canada and the United States to implement the Pacific Salmon Treaty. More on PSC below
Geographical Area: The PST covers the area from Cape Suckling Alaska, south to the borders of California, including the coasts of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.

The original treaty called for periodic bilateral agreements to implement the PST's conservation and harvest-sharing principles.
The main hang-up was that each party argued that the other was exceeding its share of the catch under the "benefits equivalent" principle.
The conflict was sparked by strongly divergent trends in the abundance of northern and southern salmon stocks, and a consequent change in the balance of each nation's interceptions of salmon spawned in the other nation's rivers
Eventually, 3 major factors helped the countries come to a new agreement:
Additional studies conducted by William Ruckelshaus and David Strangway (jointly appointed by the two countries)
Joint-fishery restrictions to protect wild stocks
The involvement of high-level government representatives
Additionally, the two nations realized that failure to reach an agreement on conservation and harvest-sharing was in no-one's best interest.

(The 1999 agreement does not replace the 1985 PST, but rather includes additional obligations for both parties)

The 1985 Treaty established fixed-catch ceilings (rather than abundance-based).
A focus on conservation and habitat protection was added into the 1999 accord.
The 1999 agreement included side payments for the first time (which allows for greater flexibility).
The 1999 agreement was a breakthrough in the following ways:
It established abundance-based fishing regimes for the Pacific salmon fisheries under the jurisdiction of the PST (i.e. larger catches will be allowed when abundance is higher and catches will be constrained when abundance is down).
It created two bilaterally-managed regional funds to promote cooperation, improve fishery management, and aid stock and habitat enhancement efforts (the fund was capitalized by the U.S. in recognition that U.S. fishermen have taken more than their share for years).
Included provisions to enhance bilateral cooperation, improve the scientific basis for salmon management, and apply institutional changes to the PSC.

Perhaps the most controversial issue currently facing the PSC concerns the coast-wide harvest and conservation of Chinook salmon, many runs of which are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Chinook harvest issues are the subject of several lawsuits recently filed against NMFS, as well as the subject of a recent speech by the Chair of the President's Council on Environmental Quality.
First Nations issues are making negotiations on Transboundary stocks trickier.

Represents the interests of commercial and recreational fisheries as well as federal, state and tribal governments.
Sixteen-person body with four Commissioners and four alternates each from the United States and Canada.
Four Panels provide technical and regulatory advice to the Commission. Each Panel is made up of no more than six representatives and alternates from each country. Membership reflects a range of governmental and fishing interests.
Panels provide the Commission with specific recommendations for the development of fishery plans.
There are also three classes of Committees: Technical, Standing, and Restoration and Enhancement Fund. The first two report directly to the PSC and provide data, information, and scientific input. The Funds were established in the 1999 Agreement and their decisions are final and not subject to review by the Commission.
The PSC meets annually to review fishing activities in the previous year, to advise the PST parties on the status of the fishery, and to suggest any necessary adjustments to the regime.

Pacific salmon directly affect the ecology of many aquatic and terrestrial consumers, and indirectly affect the entire food web.
Pacific Salmon are important in the transport of energy and nutrients between the ocean, estuaries, and freshwater environments.
Wild Pacific salmon are a key component of the economy of British Columbia and, increasingly, the Yukon, providing jobs for thousands of workers.
For centuries wild salmon have been of both cultural and economic significance to the many First Nations people inhabiting the region, and continue to be an important resource for them today.
Each year commercial and recreational salmon fisheries are worth millions of dollars to the economies of both the U.S. and Canada.
Fishing dependent operations include: marina operations, fish processing industries, transportation, fuel sales, boat building and repair, retail fish sales, tackle manufacturers and distributors, hotels, restaurants and resorts.

There are 5 species of Pacific Salmon found along the west coast of North America - chinook, chum, coho, pink, and sockeye.
These species hatch and live the first part of their lives in fresh water, then migrate to the ocean to spend their adult lives, which may be as short as 6 months or as long as 7 years.
When they reach sexual maturity, they return to the freshwater stream of their origin to lay their eggs. Pacific salmon make the round trip only once, whereas Atlantic salmon may repeat the cycle several times.
Each stock is genetically adapted to the environment in which it resides, and exhibits unique characteristics such as migration route, migration timing, and productivity.
The largest of the Pacific salmon, chinook average about 24 pounds when they return to their natal river to spawn. The chinook is the least abundant of the Pacific salmon.

This information was compiled from online research by Jamie Dean, Research Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment.