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since its inception, almost all PSC salmon management regimes 

 expired at the end of 1993 . They have not yet been renegotiated 

 despite extended efforts both within the PSC and in exploratory 

 consultations between senior government officials. 



Background 



The basic principles of the Treaty (set forth in Article III) 

 call for the United States and Canada to work together "to (a) 

 prevent overfishing and provide for optimum production, and (b) 

 to provide for each Party to receive benefits equivalent to the 

 production of salmon originating in its waters." The former is 

 referred to as the "conservation principle, " and the latter is 

 referred to as the "equity principle." 



The PSC is unique in that Federal law dictates that decisions can 

 be taken only when there is no dissenting vote by the U.S. 

 Commissioners from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and Treaty 

 Indian Tribes . (The Federal Commissioner has no vote and can 

 therefore only play a conciliatory role.) Given the competing 

 interests represented by each of the Commissioners, obtaining 

 consensus on key issues has often proven difficult and time- 

 consuming . 



The United States and Canada attempted to negotiate multi-year 

 salmon management regimes in 1993, but were only able to achieve 

 a one-year agreement. Considerable effort has been expended to 



