Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
2002 Annual Conference
Ocean Shores, Washington
RESOLUTION #02 - 78
"MORATORIUM ON COMMERCIAL MARINE SALMON NET PENS &
SUPPORT FOR TRIBAL SALMON FISHERIES"
PREAMBLE
We, the members of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians of the United States,
invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to
preserve for ourselves and our descendants rights secured under Indian Treaties and benefits
to which we are entitled under the laws and constitution of the United States and several
states, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to
preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the welfare of the Indian people, do
hereby establish and submit the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) are representatives of
and advocates for national, regional, and specific Tribal concerns; and
WHEREAS, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians is a regional organization
comprised of American Indians in the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana,
Nevada, Northern California, and Alaska; and
WHEREAS, the health, safety, welfare, education, economic and employment
opportunity, and preservation of cultural and natural resources are primary goals and
objectives of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians; and
WHEREAS, residents of Whatcom County and Northwest Tribes have made
significant sacrifices and foregone harvest opportunity and restrictions on land and water
use; and
WHEREAS, residents and Tribes have volunteered and invested considerable time,
money and resources to the restoration of Tribal salmon runs; and
WHEREAS, various economic sectors in Whatcom County such as recreational and
tourism enterprises, fishing industry, and tribal natural resources depend upon healthy
naturally-spawning/hatchery Pacific salmon and fish populations; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Pollution Control Board has determined that
escapement of introduced farm-raised Atlantic salmon are a serious threat and biological
pollutant under the Federal Clean Water Act and the State's Water Pollution Control act
Chapter 90.48. RCW; and
WHEREAS, farmed salmon pose a threat to naturally-spawning Pacific salmon stocks
because of the use of antibiotics to treat disease in net pen rearing, further increasing
antibiotic resistant bacteria into the marine environment: and
WHEREAS, scientific evidence indicates marine net pens degrade the marine
environment through impacts to water quality and accumulated toxic sediment, as well as on
the health of benthic and pelagic organisms: and
WHEREAS, scientific studies have shown that Atlantic salmon are capable of
competing with naturally- spawning/hatchery Pacific salmon species for increasingly scarce
quality habitat; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that over
500,000 Atlantic salmon have escaped from net pens into Washington waters in the last
decade and even larger numbers of Atlantic salmon have escaped into British Columbia,
Canada, waters; and
WHEREAS, recent scientific evidence documents the presence of Atlantic salmon in
78 rivers and streams in British Columbia, spawning populations have been documented in
three Vancouver Island rivers; and Atlantic salmon have been observed in the Nooksack
River; and
WHEREAS, the goals of tribal, federal, state and local salmon recovery efforts are
jeopardized by the negative impacts of commercial marine salmon net pens; and
WHEREAS, currently there are no commercial marine salmon net pens operating in
Whatcom County and other Pacific Northwest locations and precautionary approaches to
marine habitat protection are in the region's best interest; and
WHEREAS, quality comparisons between farmed Atlantic salmon and naturallyspawning/hatchery Pacific salmon undertaken by prominent chefs in the national restaurant
trade have determined in taste tests and cuisine evaluation that the farmed Atlantic is inferior
in taste, texture and appearance to our Pacific Northwest salmon species thereby threatening
customer appeal for salmon as a dining selection; now
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, now that the Whatcom County Council and
Pacific Northwest Tribes oppose the establishment of commercial marine farmed Atlantic
salmon pens in our region; and
THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that federal, state and local agencies
deny renewal of permits for any Atlantic salmon rearing facilities.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 2002 49th Annual Conference of the
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, held at the Quinault Beach Resort & Casino in
Ocean Shores, Washington on September 19, 2002 with a quorum present.
Ernest L. Stensgar, President
Patricia L. Martin, Secretary