90 



believes equity was a commitmeni ot the original Treaty, not a subsequent desire. Canada's 

 cancellation of the Portland meeting was intended to express this view. Canada consistently 

 indicates its intention to negotiate tishing regimes only if equity proceeds, and to make 

 concessions on fishing regimes only if it is provided an additional quid pro quo. 



As a result, a viable negotiating strategy must include progress on the equity issue, but should 

 not include unrealistic expectations about the concessions on fishing regimes to be achieved 

 thereby. 



CHINOOK REBUILDING 



The sioal of rebuilding depressed natural chinook stocks originating in both the U.S. and 

 Canada was a primary driving force behind the signing of the Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1985. 

 The Chinook Annex to the Treaty was intended to be the basis of a coastwide chinook 

 rebuilding program. The agreement included ceilings on major mixed-stock chinook fisheries 

 off Alaska, the northern coast of British Columbia, the west coast of Vancouver Island, and 

 in Georsiia Strait. Limits or reduction in impacts in other, more terminal fisheries were 

 called for as well. 



Canada has long viewed its harvest of U.S. chinook and coho off British Columbia as its 

 primary opportunity to balance U.S. interceptions of all species in Alaskan fisheries and by 

 Washington commercial fishers of Fraser bound sockeye and pink stocks. Prior to the 

 Treatv, Canada had allowed catch levels in these fisheries to increase over time. The 

 resulting high harvest rates, combined with reduced survivals of chinook stocks, contributed 

 to the declines in natural stock production. 



To date, the rebuilding program has achieved only limited success. Some stocks, primarily 

 those with far northerly distributions, have rebuilt or been maintained at target levels. 

 Others, many of which are affected by Canadian fisheries off of the west coast of Vancouver 

 Island and in Georgia Strait, have declined in recent years. In addition, the survival of 

 hatchery stocks have declined as well. 



In December of 1993, the U.S. provided Canada with a comprehensive proposal for 

 addre.ssing the chinook rebuilding program. That proposal called for a 5-year management 

 regime with provisions for annual adjustments to adapt to changing stock conditions. The 

 package included processes to increa.se responsiveness to annual fluctuations or trends in 

 abundance, to develop specific rebuilding plans for certain chronically depressed stocks, to 

 pursue a coordinated coastwide approach to minimizing incidental mortalities and to 

 increase coastwide efforts to optimize production. 



