55 



Canadian salmon were taken incidentally. Recent increases in incidental catches of Canadian sockeye 

 are associated with greater than average fishing effort directed at record level Alaska pink salmon 

 stocks and with an increased presence of Canadian fish fiooding across the Canadian border into 

 Alaskan waters. 



Scientific and Fishery Information 



Another area where the Treaty has met pre-treaty expectations is in the compilaUon and exchange of 

 scientific and fishery information on salmon stocks and fisheries of interest to the Pacific Salmon 

 Commission. Each year numerous fishery and technical reports are prepared and exchanged 

 between fishery managers and scientists of the two countries. 



There is no doubt that, in the absence of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, decades would have been 

 required to accumulate the voluminous information on Pacific salmon stocks and fisheries which has 

 occurred during the first ten years of the treaty. This expanded knowledge and understanding of 

 salmon stocks and fishery interactions has significantly contributed to improved conservation and 

 wise management of these resources. 



Equitable Harvest Sharing 



Perhaps the area where the least progress has been made since 1985 is in reaching an understanding 

 between our two countries as to what constitutes a fair and equitable sharing of intermingling salmon 

 Slocks. Several decades of pre-treaty negotiations were also unsuccessful in resolving this issue. 

 Recognizing the complexity of the "equity" issue and being unable to resolve it, negotiators of the 

 1985 treaty passed the problem along by providing some general treaty principles and considerations 

 and leaving it to the newly formed commission to interpret and implement. The negotiators 

 acknowledged that the issue would not be quickly resolved. 



One Canadian perspective on equity that is particularly troubling is the contention that any salmon 

 produced from an egg located in a Canadian hatchery or stream is 100% Canadian owned, where ever 

 it may roam (some may say trespass). Through natural genetic programming most salmon swim to 

 the north. Many move across the Canadian border into Alaska territorial waters early in their life 

 history at the size of a minnow where they feed and grow to full size adult salmon. Not only do these 

 foreign salmon compete for space and food with United States salmon, but their simple presence 

 either disrupts domestic fisheries or unilaterally impose a "debt" on the United States even if only 

 incidentally caught. I view salmon born in Canada and raised in the United States as jointly 

 produced, shared, fish requiring cooperative management and allocation. No exclusive property 

 right should be assigned to these jointly produced fish. 



The commission has spent a very considerable amount of time since 1985 in attempting to develop a 

 mutually agreeable equity framework. During the past year, the governments of the two countries 

 also conducted a series of meetings focused specifically on the equity issue, and while substantial 

 progress was made, substantial differences remained between the two countries. More recent 

 government-to-government meetings appear to have agreed on a process, including a date certain 

 schedule and a potential international dispute resolution mechanism. 



While the exact nature of the equity solution is unclear, one thing is abundantly clear. Differences 

 between the United States and Canada regarding interpretation and implementation of the treaty's 

 equity provision should not be allowed to hinder progress on conservation and wise resource 

 management which we have proven is possible under this treaty. This was the pragmatic decision 

 made by treaty negotiators in 1985, and it is equally valid today. 



THE PACIFIC SALMON COMMISSION PROCESS 



Mr. Chairman, the Committee has posed a series of questions relating to the decision making process 

 of the Pacific Salmon Commission which was established to implement the treaty. 



1 ) Is there an alternative to the management regime in the Pacific Salmon Treaty? Is 

 unilateral fisheries management of mixed stocks possible? 



