Salmon war
The "Salmon War" refers to a series of conflicts over salmon fisheries management in the Pacific Northwest, which involve complex interactions between the United States and Canada. These fisheries are considered binational resources due to the migratory patterns of native Pacific salmon, which cross state and international borders. Tensions arose as different groups of fishers, including Native American tribes and Canadian fishermen, accused one another of unfair harvesting practices, leading to disputes over legal rights and access to this vital resource.
Key events include Canada’s imposition of fees on American fishing vessels in 1994 and subsequent legal actions taken by Native tribes and state governments against Alaska's fishing policies. In retaliation for Canadian fishing quotas, American fisheries allowed unlimited harvests on certain salmon stocks, further escalating the conflict. The situation culminated in the signing of the Pacific Salmon Treaty in 1999, which aimed to create a coordinated management strategy for salmon fisheries, distinguishing between different types of harvest quotas.
Despite these agreements, the Salmon War has highlighted ongoing challenges, such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and competition for resources, which have led to drastic declines in salmon populations. In response to these declines, a temporary ban on commercial salmon harvests was implemented along the West Coast in 2008, reflecting the urgency of sustainable resource management in light of these historical tensions.
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Subject Terms
Salmon war
Identification Harvesting dispute between U.S. and Canadian Pacific Northwest fisheries
Date 1994-1999
The salmon war showed the dangers to native fisheries from free-for-all competition and loosely regulated industrial fishing in international and territorial waters.
The salmon fisheries of the Pacific Northwest are binational resources because native Pacific salmon migrate across state and international borders during their ocean life cycle. Difficulties arise when harvesters in one territory intercept salmon heading to spawn in the rivers of another territory. The difficulty of establishing a fisheries management policy satisfactory to all harvest participants is nearly impossible because fishing in one region results in major shifts in abundance of spawning salmon in another region. What one group of fishers interprets as a legal salmon harvest, another group of fishers interprets as theft of their native resource, their share of a potential harvest, and the resultant destruction of their native fisheries’ sustainable potential.
In 1994, Canada attempted to effect changes in the international harvest allocations of Pacific salmon by imposing fees on American fishing vessels passing through British Columbia territorial waters on their way to Alaska. The United States retaliated by threatening to raise trade duties on ships traveling to Canadian ports via the Juan de Fuca Strait. In 1995, Native North American tribes, the Canadian government, and the state governments of Oregon and Washington sued the state of Alaska over what they felt were Alaska’s unfair salmon management policies. Between 1996 and 1998, Canadian officials criticized Alaska’s chinook salmon quota and began again to impound American vessels en route to Alaskan fishing grounds. During this time, the Canadian government also unilaterally established fishing quotas on Pacific salmon. American fisheries managers retaliated by allowing an unlimited harvest on Fraser River Basin sockeye salmon, intercepting the salmon before they could reach the Fraser River spawning grounds in British Columbia. In response, Canadian fishers took as many American salmon as possible to maintain what they felt was equity; in a show of solidarity, Canadian fishing boats blockaded an American ferry in Prince Rupert Harbor.
Impact
On June 30, 1999, the Canadian and U.S. governments signed the Pacific Salmon Treaty in an effort to coordinate management of the North American salmon fisheries. The treaty takes into account the fact that various fisheries along the West Coast differ substantially, and establishes two types of harvest quotas: abundance-based fisheries harvests based on aggregate abundance of salmon present, and individual stock-based harvests based on the evolving status of endangered or threatened stocks. As the salmon war demonstrated, industrial fishing can lead to cutthroat competition as fishers battle for sea space to intercept salmon before their competitors.
Unfortunately, years of unchecked maximum salmon harvests, hydroelectric and water retention dams across spawning rivers, and destruction of spawning habitat from human encroachment have resulted in such low abundance of salmon returning to spawn that a temporary ban on commercial salmon harvests was initiated along the West Coast in 2008.
Bibliography
Brown, Dennis. Salmon Wars: The Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour, 2005.
Cone, Joseph, and Sandy Ridlington, eds. The Northwest Salmon Crisis: A Documentary History. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2000.
Rogers, Raymond A. The Oceans Are Emptying: Fish Wars and Sustainability . Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1995.