For many people, the name British Columbia is almost synonymous with salmon fishing. The value of this resource to the commercial and sport fishing industries, and to coastal First Nations is enormous. Many species are caught for sale or consumption in this region. Familiar among these species are chum, pink, sockeye, chinook, and coho salmon. Overall, Canada exports more than $2.5 billion worth of fish and fish products each year; of this, the Pacific fishery accounts for about a third, or $800 million.

The Pacific Salmon Treaty, signed in 1985, requires that Canada and the United States share the fish in binational waters. Under the treaty, each country agreed to limit its catch by negotiating the early quotas, based on estimates of salmon numbers and population health. Since 1993, however, the two countries have been unable to agree on harvest ceilings, and each has instead set unilateral fishing targets.

Every April, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conduct surveys to estimate the catch quotas for coho salmon. These quotas are used to prevent over-fishing by Canadians, but are also important in negotiating fishing rights in binational waters such as the Strait of Georgia. In those waters, fishing rights are shared by Canada and the U.S., and in the past Canada has been able to use coho quotas as a bargaining chip in negotiating Canada/U.S. quotas for other fish.

In the spring of 1997, however, fishery officers found only 13 coho in their preliminary sampling in the Strait of Georgia - far fewer than the 13,000 that would normally be expected. To quote a recent newspaper article, the coho "just aren't there." Scientists believe that the decline in numbers is attributable to: past overfishing, physical factors such as water temperature, and fish behaviour patterns relating to migration, reproduction, and survival success. Environmental groups say that the fishery is on the brink of collapse, like the Atlantic cod fishery in the early 1990's.

In 1996, the initial quota for coho salmon was set at 700,000 fish - seemingly a safe number, given that millions of coho are normally expected along the Pacific coast. Following some initial concerns about apparent population declines, however, the Canadian government offered to reduce the 1996 quota to 500,000. Some U.S. fishery experts believe that a more appropriate quota would have been 200,000, but some independent fishery biologists and native fishery organizations are calling for a complete moratorium on coho fishing. At the time of writing for the 1996 year, no date was available on who caught the fish and the actually amount caught.

Based on data available from 1989 to 1992, about 94% of the total salmon catch is commercial, with the remaining 6% equally divided between recreational fishers and First Nations. During this period, salmon catches were generally higher than the long term average, suggesting that fish populations were on the increase. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, annual catches averaged about 82,000 tonnes and ranged over 100,000 tonnes in some particularly good years. Since 1992, however, fish stocks have declined steadily, while fishing quotas have remained, perhaps optimistically, high.

Analysis of climatic data for the late 1980s and early 1990s now reveals that climatic conditions during that period may have been particularly favourable for salmon production. The 1997 coho data suggest that the current coho population may now be much smaller - and more vulnerable - than was originally thought. Some estimates indicate that as many as 80% of the fish will have to be left untouched by Canadian fishers, if the population is to be able to recover.

Scientific evidence supports the idea that the salmon are in danger. Almost 10,000 separate salmon stocks have been identified among British Columbia salmon. The October 1996 issue of the American Fisheries Society journal Fisheries reported that 142 of those stocks have now become extinct, and a further 624 stocks are at high risk. A total of 4,417 stocks were identified as not threatened and 4,172 stocks were of unknown status.

On September 22, 1997, the Canadian government closed the lower Fraser River to sport fishing until October 30, to preserve the coho runs. Anglers and commercial fishery representatives are angry about the quota restrictions and fisheries closures, believing them to be the result of poor government policies, and overfishing on the part of Americans and other nations. Some news reports term the situation a "fish war." The main question remaining is whether the coho fishery should be closed.

Many would like to argue that the data does not support a limited or decreasing supply of fish. However, the other side will try to prove, that with a few minor steps taken, the population can be assured a safe recovery and increase numbers within the population.

1. An Important Economic Activity

Pacific commercial fishers are experiencing the worst season in many years, many catching fewer than half the number of fish they would catch in a "normal" year. This level of catch does not allow many even to cover their operating expenses, let alone make a profit. Many of these people are now on the brink of bankruptcy. They believe that there are plenty of fish to be caught, but that the central issue is the division of salmon quota between the U.S. and Canada, and the management and enforcement of those quotas. In their view, the fishery should be allowed to continue with only modestly reduced quotas, but enforcement of U.S. and Canadian quotas should be a focus of future activities.

2. Current Catch Data May be Misleading

Some scientists believe that merely counting numbers of fish gives misleading estimates of population size and health. Changing migration patterns may account for observed low densities, while in fact populations remain as high or higher than in the past.

3. Lack of Scientific Data on Recovery Potential

Fish species appear to differ significantly in their ability to recover from low population size. The differences may be related to reproductive behaviour and other factors affecting the ability of fish to find each other, the availability of suitable spawning and nursery habitat, and other factors. Although the recovery potential of the herring is well understood in this region (see below, under Con Arguments), there is no proof that the coho, which belongs to a different group of species, will recover in the same way or at the same rate that the herring population has. More research is needed in this area. In the meantime, there are probably enough fish to allow some continued, if reduced, level of commercial and sport fishing, particularly if valuable "runs" are protected from fishing during critical times of the year, such as the spawning period.

4. Fish Stocking

Where populations of coho are found to be depleted, natural stocks can be supplemented with hatchlings grown in fish hatcheries and by improving fish habitat. These interventions will allow some level of fishing to continue while stocks are rebuilding.

1. Past Experience Shows Fishery Closure is Effective

Commercial herring fishing has historically been an important component of the Pacific fishery. By the mid 1960s, most commercially-valuable herring stocks had been identified and exploited. In addition, overfishing of older (breeding age) fish had seriously diminished the population's reproductive potential. In response to this crisis, the federal government closed the herring fishery in 1967, and kept it closed for four years. When the fishery was reopened in 1972, the fishing emphasis was on harvesting the herring for their roe, not their flesh. This fishery requires a much smaller catch than the previous herring fishery (35,000 tonnes per year compared to 250,000 tonnes per year). Herring stocks have been sustained since that time and the value of the catch has increased. Roe processing has also created a number of secondary benefits in terms of job creation and increased earning potential in British Columbia. On the basis of this evidence, it seems that closing the coho fishery for several years could be an important management tool in restoring declining fish stocks.

2. Alternative Economic Opportunities Are Available

In Atlantic Canada and elsewhere in the world, aquaculture has begun to take the place of native fisheries. The impacts of aquaculture on the natural environment can be closely controlled, as can the quality and size of fish taken. The technology for aquaculture is well developed and relatively inexpensive, compared to the capital investment required for commercial fishing equipment and vessels. With appropriate subsidies for commercial fishers, the government of British Columbia could encourage a move to aquaculture, reduce pressure on fragile coho populations, and meet domestic and global demand for fish products.

3. The Precautionary Principle

Where there is uncertainty or lack of knowledge about the impacts of a particular action, environmental managers should proceed with caution. This principle was adopted by many nations during the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. The widespread decline of salmon stocks suggests that the problem has its roots in systemic, regional-scale forces rather than small-scale or isolated factors. Possible regional-scale factors could include overfishing, changes in ocean conditions, habitat degradation, and changes in land and water use. Both anthropogenic and natural variability factors could lead to significant shifts in ecosystem structure and function. At present, we do not have sufficient understanding of the forces governing ecosystem function, so we cannot currently decide on a best approach for restoring salmon stocks. The precautionary principle would suggest that we rely not on the most optimistic estimates of population size and health, but on more pessimistic, "worst case" scenarios, and build management strategies around those estimates. Current "worst case" estimates show that the coho population may be severely depleted, so it makes sense to close the fishery as a precautionary measure.

Canadian fish and fish habitat are protected under the Canadian Federal Fisheries Act, a very old and powerful piece of legislation. This act lays out a wide range of requirements for the management of Canadian fisheries, including licenses and leases, provisions for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to set limits on fishing under specified circumstances, fisheries management agreements, and domestic and international conservation and protection of fish. Fish and fish habitat may also be protected directly or (more frequently) indirectly through federal and provincial environmental protection legislation, which can be used to control the levels of pollutants in fresh water and marine systems.

Canada - Fisheries and Oceans

This is the home page for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. It contains a wide variety of links to information about the department and its activities, literature of interest to fisheries management, legislation, and similar topics.

Canada Business Service Centres - Fishery Sector

This is the Fishery Sector homepage maintained by the Canadian government's Canada Business Service Centres. It contains links to sites of economic or business interest to fisheries, including aquaculture links and aboriginal fisheries strategies.

Marine Fisheries Management

This is a site maintained by Gadus Associates, an Atlantic Canada firm interested in marine fisheries management. It contains a wide variety of material and links to regulatory, management, scientific, political and economic issues in the fisheries sector. A quick check of some of the links on this page revealed that not all links are currently functional, but there is so much useful information at this site that it is still worth a visit.

Gadus Source for Fishery Sites

This page extends the Gadus Associates "source" page by providing links to a range of fisheries-related sites.

Fishery News Article

This site has a news article entitled "What's Love Got To Do With It?: An Introduction to Our Global Fishery Problems", with links to classic works such as Garret Harding's Tragedy of the Commons.

Center for World Indigenous Studies' Fourth World Documentation Project

This is a home page for the Center For World Indigenous Studies' Fourth World Documentation Project (FWDP) World Wide Web site. This site provides links to many hard-to-find documents relating to indigenous peoples. Use the link to "North, Central, and South American Documents" to access Canadian links, including a range of documents relating to aboriginal fisheries in the Pacific Northwest.

Commercial Fisheries in the Pacific Northwest

This page is maintained by the Seattle Marine and Fishing Supply Company. It contains links primarily of interest to commercial fishers in the Pacific Northwest, including links to literature (including journals and newsletters of interest to the commercial fishing industry), economic trends, history and education sites, aquaculture, legislation, maritime employment, and so on.

Economics of Fisheries

This is a web site on fisheries economics maintained by the International Association of Marine and Aquatic Science Libraries and Information Centres (IAMSLIC) and the Centre for the Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources (CEMARE), University of Portsmouth.

Fish Information Service

A Fish Information Service page originating in Japan (to my knowledge, not associated with the Sea World of Florida). This site contains current market information on various fish species (e.g. prices) and information pages on different fish species including salmon.

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