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Gov. Gregoire praises new salmon conservation pact

For Immediate Release: May 22, 2008

Agreement will drastically boost salmon returning to Puget Sound and Columbia River

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today hailed the news that representatives from the United States and Canada have agreed to recommend their governments approve new coast-wide fishing arrangements under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.

The new ten-year agreement outlines each nation�s fishery management plans for Chinook, Coho, chum, and some pink and sockeye stocks from 2009 to 2018. The treaty, if approved, will result in approximately one million fewer Chinook salmon harvested in Canada and Alaska. About half of those fish saved originate from Washington and Oregon waters.

Many of those salmon will aid in the return of Chinook populations to the Pacific Northwest listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

�I appreciate the work of all parties in reaching this new pact, which will lead to fishery management measures that restore and protect one of Washington�s most important natural resources,� Gregoire said. �This is good news not just for current Washington residents but for future generations.�

Principles of the treaty, originally agreed upon in 1985, define the obligation of Canada and the United States to conduct their fisheries in a manner that prevents overfishing and allows each country to receive benefits equivalent to the production of salmon originating in each nation�s waters.

The U.S. commissioners included representatives from Washington state, Oregon, Alaska and Northwest and Columbia River Treaty Tribes. Jeff Koenings, director of the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife, is the chair of the Pacific Salmon Commission.

The most significant changes in the treaty involve Chinook salmon, which migrate from Washington�s rivers and streams north to the marine waters of British Columbia and southeast Alaska. While feeding in those waters, the fish are vulnerable to sport and commercial fisheries in British Columbia and Alaska.

�With this agreement, we make a substantial down payment in our efforts to return Washington�s weak wild Chinook salmon populations back to sustainable levels,� said Koenings. �By allowing more salmon back to Washington�s waters, this precautionary management agreement provides us a unique opportunity to fulfill our stewardship obligations to future generations. We cannot waste this opportunity.�

The agreement provides new funding from both the United States and Canada to support the agreement, including:


  • $30 million to Canada from the U.S. federal government for mitigation for loss of salmon harvest off the west coast of Vancouver Island.


  • $3 million from the U.S. to Canada to evaluate and consider implementing mark-selective fisheries for Chinook salmon, which require anglers to catch and keep abundant fin-clipped hatchery salmon but release wild salmon.


  • $7 million to Washington state from the U.S. federal government to improve the productivity of ESA-listed Puget Sound wild Chinook salmon through habitat improvements.


  • $7 million to Alaska from the U.S. government for loss of salmon harvest opportunity in southeast Alaska.


  • Approximately $15 million, divided between the two nations, also will be provided for improving salmon fisheries research and data collection.


  • The treaty will be forwarded to the governments of the United States and Canada for final approval.



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