Testimony of Robert Turner, Commissioner 



U.S. House of Representatives 



Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 



Subcommittee on Fisheries Management 



Subcommittee on Environment and Natural Resources 



Pacific Salmon Treaty Hearing 

 Almost Z 1994 



Thank you for the opportunity to address the status of our salmon resources and the 

 performance of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. My name is Robert Turner. I am Director 

 of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and serve on the Pacific Salmon 

 Commission. 



The timing of this hearing is critical. The top priority for the state of Washington in the 

 Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations is to address conservation concerns for our stocks of 

 Chinook and coho. In recent years Washington chinook and coho fisheries have been 

 severely restricted in response to the conservation needs of a wide range of stocks. 

 Canadian fisheries, primarily those off of the west coast of Vancouver Island, harvest the 

 largest portion of the harvest of many, if not all, of these same stocks. 



Conservation of these stocks has become a national issue. Snake River chinook stocks 

 recently listed under the Endangered Species Act are impacted by fisheries in both 

 countries. Coho stocks originating throughout the Pacific Northwest are currently under 

 consideration for listing by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Rebuilding and 

 protecting these runs will require actions to protect and improve the fish throughout 

 their life cycles. Fisheries management is only one of the areas that we need to address 

 to ensure that this basic natural resource is sustained for the long term. 



Chinook and coho issues have been at the top of our negotiating agenda since the treaty 

 was signed. Other issues, primarily stemming from Canadian concerns about relative 

 interception levels, have prevented the two countries from making significant progress on 

 improved chinook and coho management regimes. I have provided briefing summaries 

 to the Washington Congressional delegation describing our negotiating objectives during 

 the last two Treaty cycles (attached). 



To date, we have had little success in getting Canada to implement more responsive 

 management measures to address these basic concerns. What is needed is a viable 

 negotiating strategy that recognizes the objectives of both countries. 



