Proposed Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement AnnouncedIncludes Improvements in Modeling, Mitigation, Stock Assessments, and Implementation FundingBy MARY KAUFFMAN
September 20, 2018
With the current harvest sharing agreement set to expire on December 31, 2018, Canadian and U.S. representatives on the Commission met regularly over the course of two years for extensive negotiations leading to the new 10-year proposal.
The bilateral Pacific Salmon Treaty governs the shared harvest and conservation of Pacific salmon species along the Pacific Northwest coast. Treaty-based agreements for harvest sharing and fishery management between the United States and Canada are renegotiated every ten years, with the last renegotiated annex signed in 2009. The 2018 recommended agreement, announced on Monday, September 17, 2018 includes additional funding for Treaty implementation, accountability provisions to ensure management is based on standardized and unbiased science, and renewed commitments from both the United States and Canada to apply appropriate management measures to transboundary and coast-wide salmon stocks. “It was gratifying to know throughout the negotiations that conservation of coastwide salmon stocks was the highest priority of every commissioner,” said NOAA Fisheries’ Bob Turner, U.S. Commissioner and current Chair of the Commission. “I’m pleased the Commission was able to bring forward this recommendation, and that the Parties were able to reach an agreement that we feel will support the conservation and long-term sustainability of this important resource” said Rebecca Reid, Canadian Vice-Chair of the Commission and Regional Director General, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region. The proposed agreement covers highly-migratory salmon stocks from Cape Falcon, Oregon in the south to Southeast Alaska in the north, including Pink, Coho, Sockeye, Chum and Chinook salmon. Among the changes recommended by the Commission are new conservation objectives for several salmon populations, as well as a renewed commitment to science and stock assessment to inform decision-makers in both countries. The proposed agreement also includes harvest reductions for Chinook fisheries in both countries that will help protect stocks while providing sustainable harvest opportunities for First Nations, Indian Tribes, and commercial and recreational fishers in both countries. The Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement between the U.S. and Canada determines shared harvest levels for British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and for the first time since the creation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1985, the 59-member Alaska Treaty Team unanimously supported the Alaska position contained within the ten-year conservation and harvest recommendations. In the new 10-year recommended agreement, Chinook harvest share reductions are as follows:Alaska will take a 7.5% reduction; Washington and Oregon will take a variable 5-15% reduction depending on the stock; and Canada will take a 12.5% reduction. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) welcomed the announcement this week of the Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Murkowski said, “Coming to an agreement like this no easy task, so to know that the renegotiated Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement received unanimous support from the Alaska Treaty Team, for the first time in history, is extremely telling. While this agreement is not perfect, I know our Alaskan negotiators worked very hard over these past few years to represent Alaskan’s interests. I expect that all parties will continue the cooperative efforts to maintain a conservation-based salmon management system." " While any reduction is difficult, I understand that Alaska’s 7.5% reduction in Chinook harvest share was viewed as a necessary compromise by the Alaska Treaty Team and that Alaska will see the smallest harvest reduction of the Treaty parties, as we share the burden of conservation.” said Senator Murkowski. “Through my work on the Appropriations Committee, I look forward to supporting the next 10 years of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. I will continue to push for robust funding to sustain its implementation and support necessary mitigation and work to ensure that all parties are meeting their Treaty obligations. I remain committed to ensuring Alaska’s priorities are taken into consideration and that our federal government is meeting its commitments regarding the appropriate management of ESA-listed salmon stocks,” said Murkowski. Signed by Canada and the United States (U.S.) in 1985, the Pacific Salmon Treaty provides a framework for the two countries to cooperate on the management of Pacific salmon. Pacific salmon are highly- migratory, often spending years at sea and travelling thousands of miles before returning to their native rivers to spawn. A high degree of cooperation is required to prevent overfishing, provide optimum production and ensure that each country receives benefits that are equivalent to the production of salmon in its waters. The proposed agreement has now been referred to the two governments for their legal review and ratification through formal diplomatic channels. If approved, the new conservation and harvest sharing agreement will be effective on January 1, 2019 and remain in force through December 31, 2028.
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