ABSTRACT 



The excess fishing gear used to harvest the salmon resource of 

 northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca has endangered 

 the conservation of the sahrion runs and greatly reduced the earnings 

 of the men and vessels engaged. The International Pacific Salmon 

 Fisheries Commission has officially requested that the gear be re- 

 duced, but it lacks the power to require its reduction. 



This study is the result of a request by the Governor's Fishery 

 Advisory Committee and the Legislative Interim Committee on 

 Fisheries to the University of Washington. The study has been organ- 

 ized in three main parts: (A) Biostatistical analyses of the catches 

 to determine the amount by which the gear can be reduced and the 

 runs still harvested; (B) Economic studies to determine the recent 

 earnings of men and vessels and to estimate the effect on earnings 

 of a reduction in gear; and (C) Legal studies to determine whether 

 a legislatively-prescribed scheme for restricting the number of units 

 of gear fishing would be valid. 



The findings are: 



1. The number of units of fishing gear can be reduced to two- 

 thirds the recent amount, and all runs can be fully harvested. 

 The number might be reduced to as little as one-half the 

 recent amount with no effect on the full harvest of any except 

 very large runs. 



2. The recent earnings of all three major types of gear are 

 severely depressed despite record or near-record runs of the 

 most valuable species, the sockeye. 



