18 August
2003
Media Contact:
Charles Hudson, CRITFC,
(503) 731-1257
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Funding shortfall jeopardizes
U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Commission
Portland, Oregon
- The United States
government is weeks away from defaulting on a key element of the Pacific
Salmon Treaty for lack of money, and the crisis could compromise full
implementation of the treaty, first signed by the two countries in
1985 and substantially revamped in 1999.
The situation could undo nearly 20 years of bilateral cooperation
to rebuild depressed salmon runs and severely impact recreational,
commercial and tribal salmon fisheries from Alaska to Oregon, Northwest
tribes say.
"The treaty fishing tribes of the Columbia River Basin have been
seeing some of the best salmon runs in years thanks, in part, to the
efforts by the Pacific Salmon Commission to see that ocean conditions
are improved and over-harvest is reduced or eliminated," said
Olney Patt Jr., executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission. "We know that Congressman Norm Dicks is aware
of the funding problem for the PSC and we're confident that he can
rally the Northwest delegation to address it promptly."
The bilateral Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), based in Vancouver,
B.C., is the body that oversees implementation of the Pacific Salmon
Treaty. By treaty agreement, the U.S. and Canada equally share the
cost of the commission. So far this year, the United States has not
made its annual payment, and the commission has been operating solely
on the Canadian government's share, which will soon run out. The United
States' contribution of approximately $1.1 million was due in April
2003. If it is not paid by mid-September, the commission will start
shutting down its office.
The Bush Administration's budget proposal for FY2003 included full
funding for the Commission. However, the budget passed by Congress
in February unexpectedly did not include the funds for the U.S. share
of the commission.
The U.S. Department of State has attempted to cover the shortfall
on a temporary basis by redirecting funds from other accounts, but
that approach, which requires concurrence from Congress, so far has
not succeeded. U.S. representatives to the commission will travel
to Washington, D.C., when Congress reconvenes in September to urge
federal appropriators to provide funds for the commission's operation.
The government of Canada already has expressed serious concern over
the failure of the United States to provide its share of the funding
and the resulting disruption of the treaty's implementation.
"The Commission has greatly scaled back its routine activities
to provide the U.S. State Department additional time to address the
funding issue, but time is running out," said Roland Rousseau,
a U.S. commissioner and chairman of the Finance and Administration
Committee. "Without the U.S. payment, the Pacific Salmon Commission
soon will be forced to lay off staff, comprised mostly of scientific
experts and administrative support personnel, and curtail all other
support activities critical to treaty implementation."
The 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty governs the interception of intermingling
salmon stocks from the two countries. The treaty is designed to prevent
over-fishing and to ensure that each country receives the benefits
of its salmon production. It also pledges both countries to work together
to rebuild weak wild salmon stocks.
The commission office provides support services for the annual meetings
between the two nations. Representatives of the countries meet to
share information on the status of the runs and agree on annual fishing
levels affecting shared salmon stocks, consistent with fishing regimes
established in the treaty. The commission also maintains a scientific
and technical staff dedicated specifically to the management of the
sockeye and pink salmon runs originating in the Fraser River, the
harvest of which has long been shared by the two countries.
"By not funding the Pacific Salmon Commission, the United States
is failing to meet an international treaty obligation, and is jeopardizing
Northwest salmon recovery efforts in Puget Sound and the Columbia
River. This could be the first step in unraveling all the progress
achieved under the treaty over the past two decades," said W.
Ron Allen, a U.S commissioner and chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam
Tribe.
"This funding crisis is causing alarm and great concern among
the fishery managers and fishers on both sides of the border,"
Allen said.
Within Puget Sound, the most immediate impact is on the management
of the shared Fraser River sockeye fishery that occurs each summer
in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and northern Puget Sound. Already, the
commission's efforts to stretch existing funds have led to reduced
sampling of fisheries, thereby reducing managers' ability to monitor
the run size and adjust fishing schedules.
"This increases the risk of mistakes that can hurt the weaker
components of the run, while increasing the potential that the U.S.
fishery will not be able to harvest its full share of the stronger
components as negotiated under the provisions of the treaty,"
Allen said.
Over the longer term, the loss of bilateral cooperation made possible
through the Pacific Salmon Commission would have a severe impact on
salmon fisheries from Alaska to Oregon, and may undermine support
for the massive efforts throughout the Northwest to rebuild salmon
stocks.
"Loss of the commission would mean our ability to manage chinook
fisheries coastwide would be dramatically impaired, putting at risk
the sacrifices made by local communities in the Puget Sound and Columbia
River Basin to restore stocks listed under the Endangered Species
Act," said Larry Cassidy, U.S. Commissioner from the State of
Washington.
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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