78 



=!OBERT •OIRNEH 



icvng 0;fector 



DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES 



September 8, 1992 

 M£MORAKDUM 



TO: Washington State/Congr^ssional Delegation 



FROM: Robert Turn^ 



SUBJECT: U.S. - Cai4dai Salmon Negotiations 



Thank you for the opportunity on August 11 to brief you and your 

 staffs on the current status of Washington's efforts to develop 

 objectives in upcoming negotiations on the U.S. -Canada Pacific 

 Salmon Treaty. As promised, this memo summarizes the 

 presentation and is intended to be helpful to you in responding 

 to constituent concerns. 



The State's primary objective in the upcoming negotiations is to 

 reduce Canadian interceptions of Washington chinooJc and coho, 

 particularly in years of low abundance. We have established this 

 objective because of the unacceptable constraints we must now 

 place on our Chinook and coho fisheries in order to meet our 

 conservation requirements. 



The status quo is not acceptable. 



The discussion below explains the need to reduce coho and Chinook 

 interceptions and describes the relevant background of the 

 fisheries and the Treaty. 



As I mentioned on August 11, I request your appreciation of the 

 concern for Chinook and coho and your support of the State's 

 effort to address the problems. 



THE EQUITY PRINCIPLE 



The treaty signed with Canada in 198 5 contains a guiding 

 principle that each country should receive benefits equivalent to 

 its production of salzon. While compliance with other treaty 

 principles provides exceptions, this "equity" principle requires 

 that each country gain as much from its interceptions as it loses 

 as a result of the other country's interceptions. If an 

 "equity" balance exists and the U.S. wants to reduce Canadian 

 interceptions, the U.S. must reduce its interceptions of Canadian 



