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Over the past decade, the Pacific Salmon Treaty has produced 

 significant accomplishments in the conservation and wise use of 

 our Pacific salmon resources. However, progress toward treaty 

 goals has not always been as rapid as we would have liked, and 

 pre-treaty expectations have not uniformly been met throughout 

 the different treaty areas. The treaty principles of conservation, op- 

 timum production and fair sharing, are also fundamental to Alas- 

 ka's fisheries management program. 



In 1959, when Alaska became a State and assumed responsibility 

 for managing its fisheries, salmon runs had been drastically declin- 

 ing for over two decades and were in serious, serious trouble due 

 to Federal mismanagement and associated overfishing. With state- 

 hood, local fisheries managers were encouraged to make the tough 

 decisions to forego immediate harvest and dedicate fish to spawn- 

 ing escapements. And protection of critical salmon habitat was also 

 identified as the foundation for healthy fish production in Alaska 

 then and continues to be the case today as well. 



Alaska's participation in the Pacific Salmon Treaty process has 

 been guided by a fundamental principle of conservation and wise 

 resource management. These principles are common to both the 

 Treaty and Alaska's own salmon management program. 



The northern treaty area includes southeast Alaska and northern 

 British Columbia. In southeast Alaska alone there are approxi- 

 mately 5,370 streams and lakes producing anadromous salmonids. 

 In truth, really few conservation problems exist in the northern 

 treaty area. That is the northern portion of the Canadian treaty 

 area, as well as in Alaska. 



When conservation problems do develop in Alaska, immediate 

 conservation closures are routinely implemented actually during 

 the season. We have emergency order authority delegated to biolo- 

 gists located out in the areas where the fisheries take place. 



In contrast to the condition of salmon stocks in Alaska and 

 northern British Columbia, Pacific Northwest stocks are experienc- 

 ing grave difficulties. The American Fishery Society, a professional 

 society of fishery scientists and managers, published a report in 

 1991 that documented 106 Pacific Northwest salmon stocks as ex- 

 tinct and 214 stocks at risk of extinction or of special concern. 



The demise of these stocks really represents a tragic loss of cul- 

 tural as well as economic value to both present and to future gen- 

 erations. Since this report, the National Marine Fisheries Service 

 has listed a number of these stocks as threatened or endangered. 



Furthermore, the National Marine Fisheries received petitions to 

 list hundreds of additional stocks from the Pacific Northwest. De- 

 clines in Washington and Oregon coho and chinook salmon stocks, 

 at this point caused in part by extended series of drought years, 

 unfavorable El Nino ocean conditions, and long-term habitat deg- 

 radation, really have created many new challenges for the commis- 

 sion. Reduced harvest of these stocks by Canadian fishermen off 

 the West coast of Vancouver Island has upset the equity balance 

 for Washington State catches of Fraser River sockeye stocks which 

 are currently at extremely high, very healthy levels. 



The challenge of the next decade of the Treaty will be to use the 

 experience gained during the first decade to build on the progress 

 already made. Inabilities to find quick solutions to very complex 



