472 



First the region 

 should decide how 

 many fish are 

 needed to spawn. 

 Only then should 

 the harvest rates 

 be set. 



NMFS and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council set limits 

 for the U.S. Pacific Coast between 3 miles and 200 miles 

 offshore. For the most part, coimcil members represent fishing 

 industry organizations up and down the coast. 



Since each group competes for a share of the fishery, there is 

 little incentive to limit the harvest. Self-interest, rather than the 

 interest of the salmon, often predominates. 



And whDe the council's authority stops at the international 

 boundary, the migrating salmon don't. Columbia and Snake 

 river salmon migrate through Canadian waters along Vancouver 

 Island, while Fraser River salmon migrate south through U.S. 

 waters. 



The Pacific Salmon Commission manages harvest under the 

 U.S-Canada Treaty which attempts to sort out which fish can be 

 harvested from southeast Alaska to the international border. 

 Once again, the many interest groups involved maneuver to get 

 what they regard as their share. 



Focusing On Survival 



With so many people fishing for the salmon, it's possible to see 

 why overharvesting occurs. The solution is to shift the focus 

 from the fish that are caught to the fish that survive. 



PNUCC believes the region should set a goal for the number of 

 fall Chinook passing Lower Granite Dam. This escapement goal 

 should be included in NMFS' Biological Opinion for 1994. 



In order to influence ocean catch, the goal would also have to 

 be incorporated in U.S. v. Oregon, the legal fmding that sets the 

 ground rules for in-river harvests. There are several mechanisms 

 for iiKorporating the escapement goal in the fmdings. 



"Right now, the process works backwards," Al Wright said. 

 "Fish managers decide how many are going to be caught, and 

 that influences how many are left. By setting an escapement 

 goal, we decide up front how many should make it back to 

 spawn, and that gives us the harvest rate." 



The region has invested enormous time and resources to save 

 these fish, Wright added. "In effect, they're the seed com for 

 fumre runs. We need to protect them from overharvesting. 

 Otherwise, we're literally fishing for trouble." 



