378 



Harvest 



The tragedy is that this sacrifice has not helped the Salmon. Weak stocks 

 are weaker than before the investment of $1 Billion because harvesters have 

 prevented rebuilding - it is a classic example of the "Tragedy of the Commons" - 

 no one owns the salmon runs, there is no consensus approach to maintaining their 

 long term health and they are over exploited. This is a recurring theme in the 

 history of fishing world wide. 



In the case of the Columbia River, consider that in the late 1970' s 

 National Marine Fishery Service decided not to list the salmon but 10 years and 

 approximately $1 Billion later they found the fish were worse off than they were 

 before and now say they should be listed. In the 1980 's it was argued that more 

 flows would produce more salmon so more flows were provided, but we found that 

 the salmon were worse off than when we started. Why is that? 



There are two possible answers -- either flows don't help or somebody went 

 fishing. The record is clear -- they went fishing and wiped out the benefits 

 provided by the sacrifice of the carpenter, widow, the elderly, the farmer and 

 the utility worker. 



This pattern is repeating Itself this fall. Harvesting will allow fewer 

 spawners to reach their habitat than last year. This is the tragedy of the 

 Columbia. 



Change will come but the transition will be hard. 



Transition 



Consider our current situation during this transition. Currently the 

 system is not working for anyone -- not for the carpenter, widow, elderly, farmer 

 or utility worker and not for the harvester who has to catch more and more fish 

 as the real price of salmon continues to fall. We need leadership to move 

 towards a better future -- a future with a sustainable economy and sustainable 

 fish runs . 



What is that future? Hydroelectriclty -- a renewable resource that can 

 produce power indefinitely will be the foundation of a sustainable society. As 

 for fishing, we should: 



Encourage sports fishing - it is biologically sound because streams with 

 weak stocks can be closed and others fished. The Deschutes and the Mid-Columbia 

 steelhead streams are good examples - fish with adipose fins are wild fish and 

 returned to the river - those without adipose fins are hatchery fish and can be 

 kept. 



Moreover, sports fishing has been shown over and over to have higher 

 economic return than commercial fishing. And not just coastal communities will 

 benefit - so will Salmon, Idaho and Imnaha, Oregon. 



We can and should honor our legal and moral commitment to Native Americans 

 - period. 



