IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 124
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding acts of illegal aggression
by Canadian fishermen with respect to the Pacific salmon fishery, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 25, 1997
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska (for himself and Mr. SAXTON) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Resources,
and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding acts of illegal
aggression by Canadian fishermen with respect to the
Pacific salmon fishery, and for other purposes.
Whereas Pacific salmon migrate across international bound-
aries, allowing United States salmon stocks and Cana-
dian salmon stocks to intermingle as they travel through
the waters of the North Pacific Ocean;
Whereas after many years of negotiations, in 1985 the Unit-
ed States and Canada signed the Pacific Salmon Treaty
based on a primary principle of conservation and a sec-
ondary principle of equity;
•HCON 124 IH
Whereas the United States and Canada formed the Pacific
Salmon Commission to implement the Pacific Salmon
Treaty;
Whereas the Pacific Salmon Commission does not regulate
the Pacific salmon fishery, but provides regulatory advice
and recommendations to the United States and Canada;
Whereas since the signing of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the
United States and Canada have not agreed on the defini-
tion of ‘‘equity’’ for purposes of the principle of equity
underlying the Treaty, and this disagreement has created
a rift between the 2 governments and the regional stake-
holders in the Pacific salmon fishery;
Whereas the Government of Canada has refused to partici-
pate in the Pacific Salmon Commission process, and Pa-
cific salmon fishery regimes have not been in place since
1994;
Whereas the Government of Canada, in protest over the lack
of agreement regarding various issues under the Pacific
Salmon Treaty, in 1994 assessed on United States fisher-
men traveling to Alaska an illegal fee in violation of
international agreements, and has not reimbursed the
United States Government or United States fishermen
for that fee;
Whereas since 1994, the United States and Canada have
used special negotiators, a mediation process, and the
current stakeholders process to attempt to resolve past
disputes and negotiate annual and long-term Pacific
salmon fishery regimes;
Whereas Canada has failed to match the good faith efforts
of the United States in attempting to resolve differences
under the Pacific Salmon Treaty, in particular by reject-
•HCON 124 IH
ing continued attempts to reach agreement and with-
drawing from negotiations in June 1997 when an agree-
ment seemed imminent;
Whereas Canadian fishermen have been frustrated with their
own government’s effort to resolve the Pacific Salmon
Treaty disputes and have used the harassment of United
States citizens as a way to get the attention of the Gov-
ernment of Canada;
Whereas Canadian fishermen, in protest over the lack of an
agreement regarding various issues under the Pacific
Salmon Treaty, recently undertook acts of illegal aggres-
sion against United States citizens by blocking the pas-
sage of a United States vessel, and the Government of
Canada failed to act quickly to end those acts; and
Whereas those acts and that failure should be condemned:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the recent acts of illegal aggression by Ca-
nadian fishermen with respect to the Pacific salmon
fishery and the slow response of the Government of
Canada to those acts should be condemned;
(2) the President should immediately take steps
to protect the interests of the United States with re-
spect to the Pacific salmon fishery and should not
tolerate threats to those interests from the action or
inaction of a foreign government or its citizens;
•HCON 124 IH
(3) the President should use all necessary and
appropriate means to compel the Government of
Canada to prevent any further illegal or harassing
actions against the United States or its fishermen
with respect to the Pacific salmon fishery; and
(4) the Government of Canada should resume
the stakeholders’ negotiations with respect to the
Pacific salmon fishery in the fall following the 1997
fishing season in an honest and forthright manner.
Æ