Implementing the U.S.‐CANADA pacific salmon treaty: The struggle to move from “fish wars”; to cooperative fishery management

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Abstract
On January 28, 1985, the Pacific Salmon Treaty was signed in Ottawa, Canada, culminating 15 years of negotiations to end an increasingly tense “fish war”; between the United States and Canada. The treaty provides a means to manage, conserve, and rebuild stocks of the five species of salmon that inhabit coastal waters of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and British Columbia Canada. The primary purpose of the treaty is to address equitably the problem of ‘'interceptions''—that is, the harvest of one country's salmon by foreign fishermen. The treaty established the Pacific Salmon Commission as its decision‐making body. To say the Commission's task is difficult is an understatement. Implementing the treaty involves international rules, numerous parties, and several competing interests. The Commission deals with five species of salmon, three major commercial gear groups, and both sport and native American fishermen. In addition, the Commission faces the sensitive task of dealing with four governments (Canada, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon) and various Indian tribes with a treaty right to a share of the harvestable fish passing their traditional fishing grounds. During its first three years of implementing the treaty, the Commission grappled with a number of issues, including those of interpreting treaty ambiguities.

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