Wild Salmon Center Helps Strengthen Pacific Salmon TreatyNews & Program Updates

Over the last two years, the Wild Salmon Center has worked with international conservation partners to strengthen protection for wild salmon under the 23-year old Pacific Salmon Treaty, recently renegotiated and signed by the U.S. and Canada. Due to the work of the Wild Salmon Center and our partners Trout Unlimited, the David Suzuki Foundation and the International Environmental Law Project, the treaty--which governs the harvest of salmon stocks shared between the two countries--contains some important improvements for wild salmon conservation.

Under the treaty, the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), consisting of representatives from both countries, is committed to develop and implement measures to protect and conserve the biological diversity of wild salmon. PSC scientists will develop a framework for those measures within the next five years.

Chinook salmon

The parties also agreed to make a 15% cut in the U.S. catch of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaska, and a 30% cut in the Canadian catch of Chinook off of the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The cuts in the Alaska Chinook fishery will benefit Oregon Coastal Chinook stocks, including the fish that return to the Trask, Wilson, Kilchis and Nehalem Rivers, as well as mid-Columbia and Snake River fall Chinook. The reduction in West Coast Vancouver Island fisheries will benefit Puget Sound Chinook, lower Columbia River fall Chinook and upper Columbia River summer Chinook.

The Wild Salmon Center and conservation partners testified before the Pacific Salmon Commission during treaty negotiations. This marked the first time that conservation interests formally participated in a PSC meeting during treaty negotiations. A special thanks goes to Jeff Curtis of Trout Unlimited, who organized the efforts of the conservation coalition.