105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 124
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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
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based on a primary principle of conservation and a sec-
ondary principle of equity;
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 Pacific salmon fishery regulatory regimes have not
been in place since 1994 because of a lack of agreement;
Whereas an illegal fee in violation of international agreements
was assessed on United States fishermen traveling to
Alaska, and neither the United States Government nor
United States fishermen have been reimbursed 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 the good faith efforts of the United States in at-
tempting to resolve differences under the Pacific Salmon
Treaty have not been matched, as demonstrated in par-
ticular by the rejection of continued attempts by the
United States to reach agreement and the withdrawal
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from negotiations in June 1997 when an agreement
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 attention;
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 there was a failure
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 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;
(3) the President should use all necessary and
appropriate means to prevent any further illegal or
harassing actions against the United States or its
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fishermen with respect to the Pacific salmon fishery;
and
(4) negotiations with the stakeholders’ with re-
spect to the Pacific salmon fishery should resume in
good faith in the fall following the 1997 fishing sea-
son.
Passed the House of Representatives July 28, 1997.
Attest:
Clerk.