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Treaty. The fact that Alaskan fisheries are targeted on local salmon stocks, 

 taking salmon bound for Canada incidentally only, is the key to the 

 situation. As long as a cooperative attitude exists between professional 

 managers on the two sides, an informal arrangement probably is 

 preferable. 



TREATY SUCCESSES-AND SHORTCOMINGS 



From a fishermen's perspective, the Treaty has generally been successful 

 in dealing with practical fisheries issues in the north. First, the health of 

 resource in terms of conservation on both sides of the border has 

 improved. Good stock conditions exist across species, there are significant 

 harvest levels, and there are more than adequate escapements. Second, 

 the fisheries annex arrangements have worked in terms of fisheries to 

 everyone's benefit. Significant gains in cooperative management between 

 the U.S. and Canada have occurred in the north. The Alaska delegation has 

 agreed to three increases in the Canadian Area 1 troll harvest levels in the 

 northern boundary area in order not to disrupt Canadian fishermen. 



The fishery arrangements negotiated for the Alaska District 104 purse 

 seine fishery (Noyes Island) have been successful, despite partisan 

 negative publicity, in that the fishing regime has done precisely what it 

 was designed to do in 1985. Most simply, from the Canadian point of view, 

 an unrestricted District 104 fishery held the potential to impact sockeye 

 harvests in northern British Columbia on which its fisheries depended. To 

 the United States, this fishery represented a key to the largest pink salmon 

 resource in North America. In the agreed solution, the United States 

 recognized that Canada held legitimate interest in some of the major 

 sockeye stocks passing during early July. The U.S. agreed to limit its 

 fishery during that portion of the season in which sockeye comprised a 

 large part of the catch, that is, prior to the arrival of large segments of the 

 Alaska pink salmon return. Prior to statistical week 31 (July 25) the U.S. 

 was willing to accept the costs of a limited fishery, even at the risk of 

 losing access to pink and especially chum salmon. Beginning with Week 

 31, however, abundance of pink salmon increases rapidly as the sockeye 

 distribution has passed its peak and abundance declines. Seventy-five per 

 cent of the pink salmon harvest occurs in weeks 31, 32, and 33. Through 

 the peak of the pink salmon return, the fishery was permitted to be 

 abundance-driven on pinks with sockeye demonstrably incidental. 



It is not at all reasonable for Canada to object to recent sockeye harvest 

 levels in District 104. The negotiated provisions of the annex have not 



