Ocean fisheries are not a threat to salmon recovery

Published 1:30 am Friday, June 26, 2026

Salmon travel great distances after they migrate from their natal rivers. They are harvested by commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries along the way.

Treaty tribes have harvested these salmon since time immemorial in the open ocean as well as terminal areas. We coordinate these fisheries with two countries, several states and First Nations in Canada.

Salmon are more than just numbers to the treaty tribes. They are more than a commodity to be caught and sold and eaten. They are relatives and they need to be cared for.

As our salmon runs continue to decline due to habitat degradation and climate change, we know their recovery can’t be reduced to a single quick fix.

We understand how people might wrongly assume that restricting harvest could boost their numbers. Without understanding how ocean fisheries are managed, people might see that as a place to start.

We can’t look at natural resources in isolation. We need to look at how everything is connected.

Science has shown us repeatedly that no amount of harvest reduction can increase salmon production until we improve spawning habitat. The opposite is true—if too many salmon return to insufficient habitat, competition among the increased number of fish could reduce the overall production of eggs.

Another misunderstanding is that to be sustainable, salmon fisheries must occur in certain areas with particular types of gear. We manage fisheries based on total mortalities across all areas and with all types of gear. Quotas are determined by international treaties and federal law as well as state-to-state and state-to-tribe negotiations.

Reducing ocean fisheries is not a conservation move, it simply reallocates the harvest to fisheries closer to shore. At the end of the day, it doesn’t let more salmon come home.

But for some reason, ocean fisheries are being demonized and classified as “industrial-scale,” without defining what that means. Commercial ocean fisheries are efficient, and the harvest of salmon in marine waters includes all preterminal recreational fishers, trollers, purse seiners and ocean gillnetters.

On the federal level, ocean fisheries are governed by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This law requires managers to use the best available science to set catch limits to prevent overharvest, rebuild depleted stocks, and consider the needs of both nontribal and tribal fishing communities.

Treaties are “the supreme law of the land” according to the U.S. Constitution, so federal fisheries management must be consistent with treaty rights. Fisheries managers must ensure that treaty tribes can harvest their reserved share of salmon before setting nontribal fishing quotas.

Salmon fisheries are also managed by the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada through the Pacific Salmon Commission. Tribal treaty rights are recognized and embedded within that governance structure.

The state of Washington and the Pacific Fishery Management Council have processes where concerned citizens can offer comment on fishing seasons, but tribal treaty rights are not up for debate.

Unfortunately, we are seeing international special interest groups lobby both countries, attempting to influence a treaty between the United States and Canada. Whose interests do they represent? Battling for allocation to benefit only one sector distracts from meaningful work to recover and sustainably manage salmon.

We’ve heard one campaign wrongly claim that ocean fishing runs contrary to Indigenous practices of river-based fishing and stewardship. To be clear, Indigenous practices have always included ocean fishing. Ocean fishing is not the problem.

Managing salmon harvest gets harder every year as human populations increase, climate patterns change and marine mammal predation grows. It’s misleading and inappropriate to blame one fishing sector for the problem.

Fisheries managers face the challenge of limiting total mortality to sustainable levels based on current salmon productivity, so that enough fish reach spawning grounds. Getting fish to the rivers isn’t enough. Salmon also need greater protection from marine mammal predation and ample habitat for successful spawning.

Fisheries management isn’t improved with catchphrases about bringing salmon home. These are slogans masquerading as conservation. Tribal nations have been sustainably managing salmon harvest for generations and we will continue to do so.

Ed Johnston is a member of the Quinault Indian Nation and lives in Ocean Shores.