S-0230.1  _______________________________________________

                    SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 8003

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Senators Owen, Oke, Sutherland, Kohl, Drew and Winsley

Read first time 01/12/95.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Requesting the negotiation of a United States/Canada salmon treaty that conserves each country's salmon stock, equitably shares catch, and restores chinook and coho salmon in Washington state.

    TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, The anadromous chinook salmon and coho salmon runs of the State of Washington have declined greatly in recent years; and

    WHEREAS, Some stocks of chinook salmon have been listed as threatened or endangered, and some coho salmon stocks may soon be listed as threatened or endangered; and

    WHEREAS, Cutbacks and closures of salmon fisheries have been widespread, and severe economic losses have occurred in fishing ports, in businesses that serve the fishing community, and among fishers; and

    WHEREAS, Predictions for salmon fisheries are poor for the immediate future; and

    WHEREAS, A large proportion of Washington origin chinook salmon and coho salmon stocks are harvested by the Canadian commercial and recreational fisheries on the west coast of Vancouver Island; and

    WHEREAS, The United States/Canada Salmon Treaty was designed to protect and equitably share each country's stocks of salmon; and

    WHEREAS, Negotiations of the current United States/Canada Salmon Treaty are at an impasse; and

    WHEREAS, The Alaska delegation to the United States/Canada Salmon Treaty is advocating fishing rates on Canadian origin salmon that are disproportionally high, which results in Canadian overfishing of Washington origin stocks in return for overfishing of Canadian stocks in the Alaskan fishery; and

    WHEREAS, Continued overfishing will result in destruction of the stocks and bankruptcy of the fishers and businesses that support them, and perhaps in eventual extinction of the stocks;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the negotiators for the United States/Canada Salmon Treaty negotiate in good faith to achieve an agreement, and that the agreement achieve conservation of each country's salmon stocks, establish equitable catch sharing, and provide for the restoration of chinook and coho salmon in Washington State.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington, and to the State Department.

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