As part of the Pacific Salmon Treaty, the U.S. government will provide the British Columbia fishing industry with $30 million to compensate for a significant reduction to the Chinook harvest in southeast Alaska and off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The treaty, at the beginning of the year means a 30 percent reduction this year in the fishery off Vancouver Island and a 15 percent cut for Alaskan fishermen.
In addition, Canada and U.S. governments will each contribute $7.5 million for other programs aimed at helping salmon stocks along the Pacific recover.
Changes to five chapters of the treaty took effect Jan. 1 and include new sockeye harvest agreements on the rivers shared by Yukon and Alaska, and an agreement on a catch ceiling for U.S. fishermen for Fraser River chum.
The Pacific Salmon Treaty was first signed in 1985 to provide the framework allowing Canada and the United States to jointly conserve and manage migratory Pacific salmon.
