As the US and Canada have agreed to on salmon fishing more Washington chinook would be coming home to spawn under proposed changes to a US-Canadian salmon treaty. The agreement could give a boost to the flagging fortunes of chinook runs in Puget Sound and the Columbia River, now protected under the endangered species act. The proposed agreement includes cuts in salmon fishing in Alaska and Canada so that the prized fish can each their home rivers for spawning.
Washington governor Christine Gregoire said that the agreement is an opportunity to take a concerted effort forward on conservation. Jeff Koenings, director of the state’s department of fish and wildlife, and a lead US negotiator, told that 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.
The proposed terms in the agreement is still to be reviewed by the two national governments, and would need their approval. Northwest tribes with fishing rights and Washington commercial fishermen have decided to endorse the proposed changes. Recently salmon fishery has been closed in the Oregon and California coasts and commercial fishermen are in distress.
Dale Kelley, of the Alaska Trollers Association, told that the cuts in Alaskan fishing were just a bargaining chip, traded so the Canadians would agree to less fishing off Vancouver Island. In Canada, negotiator Gerry Kristianson, who sits on the Pacific Salmon Commission and represented sport-fishing interests, said he supported the deal partly because the US was willing to cut Alaskan fishing levels in return for the Canadian cuts.
