HB 472: "An Act relating to the policy for management of sustainable salmon fisheries."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 472 01 "An Act relating to the policy for management of sustainable salmon fisheries." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 16.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 04 Sec. 16.05.247. Policy for the management of sustainable salmon fisheries. 05 (a) The legislature recognizes that 06 (1) while, in the aggregate, Alaska's salmon fisheries are healthy and 07 sustainable largely because of abundant pristine habitat and the application of sound, 08 precautionary, conservation management practices, there is a need for a 09 comprehensive policy for the regulation and management of sustainable salmon 10 fisheries; 11 (2) in formulating fishery management plans designed to achieve 12 maximum or optimum salmon production, the Board of Fisheries and the department 13 must consider factors including environmental change, habitat loss or degradation, 14 data uncertainty, limited funding for research and management programs, existing 15 harvest patterns, and new fisheries or expanding fisheries;
01 (3) to effectively ensure sustained yield and habitat protection for wild 02 salmon stocks, fishery management plans and programs require specific guiding 03 principles and criteria, and the framework for their application contained in this 04 policy. 05 (b) The goal of the policy set out in this section is to ensure conservation of 06 salmon and salmon's required marine and aquatic habitats, protection of customary 07 and traditional subsistence uses and other uses, and the sustained economic health of 08 Alaska's fishing communities. 09 (c) The Board of Fisheries and the department shall base management of 10 salmon fisheries on the following principles and criteria: 11 (1) wild salmon stocks and the salmon habitats shall be managed to 12 maintain levels of resource productivity that ensure sustained yields as follows: 13 (A) salmon spawning, rearing, and migratory habitats should be 14 protected as follows: 15 (i) salmon habitats should not be perturbed beyond 16 natural boundaries of variation; 17 (ii) scientific assessments of possible adverse ecological 18 effects of proposed habitat alterations and the impacts of the alterations 19 on salmon populations should be conducted before approval of a 20 proposal; 21 (iii) adverse environmental impacts on wild salmon 22 stocks and the salmon habitats should be assessed; 23 (iv) all essential salmon habitat in marine, estuarine, 24 and freshwater ecosystems and access of salmon to these habitats 25 should be protected; essential habitats include spawning and incubation 26 areas, freshwater rearing areas, estuarine and nearshore rearing areas, 27 offshore rearing areas, and migratory pathways; and 28 (v) salmon habitat in fresh water should be protected on 29 a watershed basis, including appropriate management of riparian zones, 30 water quality, and water quantity; 31 (B) salmon stocks should be protected within spawning,
01 incubating, rearing, and migratory habitats; 02 (C) degraded salmon productivity resulting from habitat loss 03 should be assessed, considered, and controlled by affected user groups, 04 regulatory agencies, and boards when making conservation and allocation 05 decisions; 06 (D) effects and interactions of introduced salmon stocks, which 07 include a salmon stock undergoing continued enhancement or a salmon stock 08 that is left to sustain itself without additional manipulation, or enhanced 09 salmon stocks, which include an introduced stock where wild salmon stock has 10 not occurred before or a wild salmon stock undergoing manipulation, on wild 11 salmon stocks should be assessed; wild salmon stocks and fisheries on those 12 stocks should be protected from the adverse effects of artificial propagation 13 and enhancement efforts; 14 (E) degraded salmon spawning, incubating, rearing, and 15 migratory habitats should be restored to natural levels of productivity where 16 known and desirable; 17 (F) ongoing monitoring should be conducted to determine the 18 current status of habitat and the effectiveness of restoration activities; and 19 (G) depleted salmon stocks should be allowed to recover or, 20 where appropriate, should be actively restored; diversity should be maintained 21 to the maximum extent possible at the genetic, population, species, and 22 ecosystem levels; 23 (2) salmon fisheries shall be managed to allow escapement within 24 ranges necessary to conserve and sustain potential salmon production and maintain 25 normal ecosystem functioning as follows: 26 (A) salmon spawning escapement should be assessed both 27 temporally and geographically; escapement monitoring programs should be 28 appropriate to the scale, intensity, and importance of each salmon stock use; 29 (B) salmon escapement goals, whether sustainable escapement 30 goals, biological escapement goals, optimal escapement goals, or inriver run 31 goals, should be established in a manner consistent with sustained yield;
01 (C) salmon escapement goal ranges should allow for 02 uncertainty associated with measurement techniques, observed variability in 03 the salmon stock measured, changes in climatic and oceanographic conditions, 04 and varying abundance within related populations of the salmon stock 05 measured; 06 (D) salmon escapement should be managed in a manner to 07 maintain genetic and phenotypic characteristics of the stock by ensuring 08 appropriate geographic and temporal distribution of spawners as well as 09 consideration of size range, sex ratio, and other population attributes; 10 (E) impacts of fishing, including incidental mortality and other 11 human-induced mortality, should be assessed and considered in harvest 12 management decisions; 13 (F) salmon escapement and harvest management decisions 14 should be made in a manner that protects nontarget salmon stocks or species; 15 (G) the role of salmon in ecosystem functioning should be 16 evaluated and considered in harvest management decisions and setting of 17 salmon escapement goals; 18 (H) salmon abundance trends should be monitored and 19 considered in harvest management decisions; and 20 (I) quality of escapement may be determined not only by 21 numbers of spawners but also by factors such as sex ratio, age composition, 22 temporal entry into the system, and spatial distribution within the salmon 23 spawning habitat; 24 (3) effective management systems should be established and applied to 25 regulate human activities that affect salmon as follows: 26 (A) salmon management objectives should be appropriate to 27 the scale and intensity of various uses and the biological capacities of target 28 salmon stocks; 29 (B) management objectives should be established in harvest 30 management plans, strategies, guiding principles, and policies, such as for 31 mixed stock fishery harvests, fish disease, genetics, and hatchery production,
01 that are subject to periodic review; 02 (C) when wild salmon stocks are fully allocated, new fisheries 03 or expanding fisheries should be restricted, unless otherwise provided for by 04 management plans or by application of the board's allocation criteria; 05 (D) management agencies should have clear authority in 06 regulation to 07 (i) control all sources of fishing mortality on salmon; 08 (ii) protect salmon habitats and control nonfishing 09 sources of mortality; 10 (E) management programs should be effective in 11 (i) controlling human-induced sources of fishing 12 mortality and should incorporate procedures to ensure effective 13 monitoring, compliance, control, and enforcement; 14 (ii) protecting salmon habitats and controlling collateral 15 mortality and should incorporate procedures to ensure effective 16 monitoring, compliance, control, and enforcement; 17 (F) fisheries management implementation and outcomes should 18 be consistent with regulations, regulations should be consistent with statutes, 19 and regulations should effectively carry out the policy set out in this section; 20 (G) the Board of Fisheries shall recommend to the 21 commissioner the development of effective joint research, assessment, and 22 management arrangements with appropriate management agencies and bodies 23 for salmon stocks that cross state, federal, or international jurisdictional 24 boundaries; the board shall recommend the coordination of appropriate 25 procedures for effective monitoring, compliance, control, and enforcement 26 with those of other agencies, states, or nations; 27 (H) the Board of Fisheries shall work, within the limits of its 28 authority, to ensure that 29 (i) management activities are accomplished in a timely 30 and responsive manner to implement objectives, based on the best 31 available scientific information;
01 (ii) effective mechanisms for the collection and 02 dissemination of information and data necessary to carry out 03 management activities are developed, maintained, and utilized; 04 (iii) management programs and decision-making 05 procedures are able to clearly distinguish, and effectively deal with, 06 biological and allocation issues; 07 (I) the Board of Fisheries shall recommend to the 08 commissioner and legislature that adequate staff and budget for research, 09 management, and enforcement activities be available to fully implement 10 sustainable salmon fisheries principles; 11 (J) proposals for salmon fisheries development or expansion 12 and artificial propagation and enhancement should include assessments 13 required for sustainable management of existing salmon fisheries and wild 14 salmon stocks; 15 (K) plans and proposals for development or expansion of 16 salmon fisheries and enhancement programs should effectively document 17 resource assessments, potential impacts, and other information needed to 18 ensure sustainable management of wild salmon stocks; 19 (L) the Board of Fisheries shall work with the commissioner 20 and other agencies to develop effective processes for controlling excess fishing 21 capacity; 22 (M) procedures should be implemented to regularly evaluate 23 the effectiveness of fishery management and habitat protection actions in 24 sustaining salmon populations, fisheries, and habitat, and to resolve associated 25 problems or deficiencies; 26 (N) conservation and management decisions for salmon 27 fisheries should take into account the best available information on biological, 28 environmental, economic, social, and resource use factors; 29 (O) research and data collection should be undertaken to 30 improve scientific and technical knowledge of salmon fisheries, including 31 ecosystem interactions, status of salmon populations, and the condition of
01 salmon habitats; 02 (P) the best available scientific information on the status of 03 salmon populations and the condition of salmon habitats should be routinely 04 updated and subject to peer review; 05 (4) public support and involvement for sustained use and protection of 06 salmon resources should be sought and encouraged as follows: 07 (A) effective mechanisms for dispute resolution should be 08 developed and used; 09 (B) pertinent information and decisions should be effectively 10 disseminated to all interested parties in a timely manner; 11 (C) the regulatory management and allocation decisions of the 12 Board of Fisheries shall be made in an open process with public involvement; 13 (D) an understanding of the proportion of mortality inflicted on 14 each salmon stock by each user group, should be promoted, and the burden of 15 conservation should be allocated across user groups in a manner consistent 16 with applicable state and federal statutes, including AS 16.05.251(e) and 17 16.05.258; without a regulatory management plan that otherwise allocates or 18 restricts harvests or when it is necessary to restrict fisheries on salmon stocks 19 where there are known conservation problems, the burden of conservation shall 20 be shared among all fisheries in close proportion to each fisheries' respective 21 use, consistent with state and federal law; without a salmon fishery 22 management plan, the burden of conservation shall be generally applied to 23 users in close proportion to the users' respective harvest of the salmon stock; 24 (E) the board shall work with the commissioner and other 25 agencies as necessary to ensure that adequately funded public information and 26 education programs provide timely materials on salmon conservation, 27 including habitat requirements, threats to salmon habitat, the value of salmon 28 and habitat to the public and ecosystem, natural variability and population 29 dynamics, the status of salmon stocks and fisheries, and the regulatory process; 30 (5) in the face of uncertainty, salmon stocks, fisheries, artificial 31 propagation, and essential habitats shall be managed conservatively as follows:
01 (A) a precautionary approach, involving the application of 02 prudent foresight that takes into account the uncertainties in salmon fisheries 03 and habitat management, the biological, social, cultural, and economic risks, 04 and the need to take action with incomplete knowledge, should be applied to 05 the regulation and control of harvest and other human-induced sources of 06 salmon mortality; a precautionary approach requires 07 (i) consideration of the needs of future generations and 08 avoidance of potentially irreversible changes; 09 (ii) prior identification of undesirable outcomes and of 10 measures that will avoid undesirable outcomes or correct them 11 promptly; 12 (iii) initiation of any necessary corrective measure 13 without delay and prompt achievement of the measure's purpose, on a 14 time scale not exceeding five years, which is approximately the 15 generation time of most salmon species; 16 (iv) that where the effect of resource use is uncertain, 17 but likely presents a measurable risk to sustained yield, priority should 18 be given to conserving the productive capacity of the resource; 19 (v) appropriate placement of the burden of proof, of 20 adherence to the requirements of this subparagraph, on those plans or 21 ongoing activities that pose a risk or hazard to salmon habitat or 22 production; 23 (B) a precautionary approach should be applied to the 24 regulation of activities that affect essential salmon habitat. 25 (d) The principles and criteria for sustainable salmon fisheries shall be applied 26 by the department and the Board of Fisheries using the best available information, as 27 follows: 28 (1) at regular meetings of the board, the department shall, to the extent 29 practicable, provide the board with reports on the status of salmon stocks and salmon 30 fisheries under consideration for regulatory changes, which should include 31 (A) a stock-by-stock assessment of the extent to which the
01 management of salmon stocks and fisheries is consistent with the principles 02 and criteria contained in the policy under this section; 03 (B) descriptions of habitat status and any habitat concerns; 04 (C) identification of healthy salmon stocks and sustainable 05 salmon fisheries; 06 (D) identification of any existing salmon escapement goals, or 07 management actions needed to achieve these goals, that may have allocative 08 consequences such as the 09 (i) identification of a new fishery or expanding fishery; 10 (ii) identification of any salmon stocks, or populations 11 within stocks, that present a concern related to yield, management, or 12 conservation; and 13 (iii) description of management and research options to 14 address salmon stock or habitat concerns; 15 (2) in response to the department's salmon stock status reports, reports 16 from other resource agencies, and public input, the board shall review the management 17 plan, or consider developing a management plan, for each affected salmon fishery or 18 stock; management plans shall be based on the principles and criteria contained in this 19 policy and shall 20 (A) contain goals and measurable and implementable 21 objectives that are reviewed on a regular basis and utilize the best available 22 scientific information; 23 (B) minimize the adverse effects on salmon habitat caused by 24 fishing; 25 (C) protect, restore, and promote the long-term health and 26 sustainability of the salmon fishery and habitat; 27 (D) prevent overfishing; and 28 (E) provide conservation and management measures that are 29 necessary and appropriate to promote maximum or optimum sustained yield of 30 the fishery resource; 31 (3) in the course of review of the salmon stock status reports and
01 management plans described in (1) and (2) of this subsection, the board, in 02 consultation with the department, shall determine if any new fisheries or expanding 03 fisheries, stock yield concerns, stock management concerns, or stock conservation 04 concerns exist; if so, the board shall, as appropriate, amend or develop salmon fishery 05 management plans to address these concerns; the extent of regulatory action, if any, 06 should be commensurate with the level of concerns and range from milder to stronger 07 as concerns range from new and expanding salmon fisheries through yield concerns, 08 management concerns, and conservation concerns; 09 (4) in association with the appropriate management plan, the 10 department and the board shall, as appropriate, collaborate in the development and 11 periodic review of an action plan for any new or expanding salmon fisheries, or stocks 12 of concern; action plans should contain goals, measurable and implementable 13 objectives, and provisions, including 14 (A) measures required to restore and protect salmon habitat, 15 including necessary coordination with other agencies and organizations; 16 (B) identification of salmon stock or population rebuilding 17 goals and objectives; 18 (C) fishery management actions needed to achieve rebuilding 19 goals and objectives, in proportion to each fishery's use of, and hazards posed 20 to, a salmon stock; 21 (D) descriptions of new or expanding salmon fisheries, 22 management concern, yield concern, or conservation concern; and 23 (E) performance measures appropriate for monitoring and 24 gauging the effectiveness of the action plan that are derived from the principles 25 and criteria contained in this policy; 26 (5) each action plan must include a research plan as necessary to 27 provide information to address concerns; the needs and priorities of the research plan 28 must be evaluated periodically, based on the effectiveness of the monitoring described 29 in (4) of this subsection; 30 (6) where actions needed to regulate human activities that affect 31 salmon and salmon habitat that are outside the authority of the department or the
01 board, the department or board shall correspond with the relevant authority, including 02 the governor, relevant boards and commissions, commissioners, and chairs of 03 appropriate legislative committees, to describe the issue and recommend appropriate 04 action. 05 (e) Nothing in the policy set out in this section is intended to expand, reduce, 06 or be inconsistent with the statutory regulatory authority of the Board of Fisheries, the 07 department, or other state agencies with regulatory authority that effects the fishery 08 resources of the state. 09 (f) In the implementation of the policy described in this section, 10 (1) "biological escapement goal" means 11 (A) the primary management objective for the escapement, 12 unless an optimal escapement or inriver run goal has been adopted; 13 (B) a goal that is developed from the best available biological 14 information and is scientifically defensible based on available biological 15 information; 16 (C) a goal that is determined by the department and expressed 17 as a range based on factors such as salmon stock productivity and data 18 uncertainty; the department shall seek to maintain evenly distributed salmon 19 escapements within the bounds of a biological escapement goal; 20 (2) "inriver run goal" means a goal composed of the sustainable 21 escapement goal, biological escapement goal, or optimal escapement goal, plus 22 specific allocations to inriver fisheries, that is set in regulation by the Board of 23 Fisheries; 24 (3) achieving "maximum sustained yield" occurs when a level of 25 escapement is maintained annually within a specific range, regardless of annual run 26 strength; the achievement of maximum sustained yield requires a high degree of 27 management precision and scientific information regarding the relationship between 28 salmon escapement and subsequent return; the concept of maximum sustained yield 29 should be interpreted in a broad ecosystem context to take into account species 30 interactions, environmental changes, an array of ecosystem goods and services, and 31 scientific uncertainty;
01 (4) "optimal escapement goal" means a goal that is sustainable, may be 02 expressed as a range, the lower bound of which is above the level of sustained 03 escapement threshold, and is adopted as a regulation by the Board of Fisheries; the 04 department shall seek to maintain evenly distributed escapements within the bounds of 05 the optimal escapement goal; 06 (5) "sustainable escapement goal" means 07 (A) the primary management objective for the escapement, 08 unless an optimal escapement or inriver run goal has been adopted by the 09 board, and is developed from the best available biological information; 10 (B) a goal that is determined by the department that seeks to 11 maintain escapements within the bounds of the sustainable escapement goal, 12 and that is stated as a range that takes into account data uncertainty; 13 (6) "sustained escapement threshold" means a threshold that 14 (A) can be estimated based on lower ranges of historical 15 escapement levels, for which the salmon stock has consistently demonstrated 16 the ability to sustain itself; 17 (B) is lower than the lower bound of the biological escapement 18 goal and lower than the lower bound of the sustainable escapement goal; and 19 (C) is established by the department in consultation with the 20 Board of Fisheries, as needed, for salmon stocks of management or 21 conservation concern. 22 (g) In this section, 23 (1) "allocation" means the granting of specific harvest privileges, 24 usually by regulation, among or between various user groups; "allocation" includes 25 quotas, time periods, area restrictions, percentage sharing of stocks, and other 26 management measures providing or limiting harvest opportunity; 27 (2) "allocation criteria" means the factors set out in AS 16.05.251(e) 28 considered by the board as appropriate to a particular allocation decision; 29 (3) "biological escapement goal" means the escapement that provides 30 the greatest potential for maximum sustained yield; 31 (4) "burden of conservation" means the restrictions imposed by the
01 Board of Fisheries or the department on various users to achieve escapement, rebuild, 02 or in some other way conserve a specific salmon stock or group of stocks; 03 (5) "chronic inability" means the continuing or anticipated inability to 04 meet escapement thresholds over a four- to five-year period, which is approximately 05 the generation time of most salmon species; 06 (6) "conservation concern" means a concern that is more severe than a 07 management concern arising from a chronic inability, despite the use of specific 08 management measures, to maintain escapements for a stock above a sustained 09 escapement threshold; 10 (7) "depleted salmon stock" means a salmon stock for which there is a 11 conservation concern; 12 (8) "diversity," in a biological context, means the range of variation 13 exhibited within any level of organization, such as among genotypes within a salmon 14 population, among populations within a salmon stock, among salmon stocks within a 15 species, among salmon species within a community, or among communities within an 16 ecosystem; 17 (9) "enhanced salmon stock" means a stock of salmon that is 18 undergoing specific manipulation, such as hatchery augmentation or lake fertilization, 19 to enhance its productivity above the level that would naturally occur; "enhanced 20 salmon stock" does not include a salmon stock undergoing rehabilitation that is 21 intended to restore a salmon stock's productivity to a higher natural level; 22 (10) "escapement" means the annual estimated size of the spawning 23 salmon stock; 24 (11) "expanding fishery" means a salmon fishery in which effective 25 harvesting effort has recently increased significantly beyond historical levels, and in 26 which the increase has not resulted from natural fluctuations in salmon abundance; 27 (12) "expected yields" means levels at or near the lower range of 28 recent historic harvests if those levels are considered sustainable; 29 (13) "genetic" means those characteristics of an individual or group of 30 salmon that are expressed genetically, such as allele frequencies or other genetic 31 markers;
01 (14) "habitat concern" means the degradation of salmon habitat that 02 results in, or can be anticipated to result in, impacts leading to yield, management, or 03 conservation concerns; 04 (15) "harvestable surplus" means the number of salmon from a stock's 05 annual run that, except for pink salmon, is composed of several age classes of mature 06 fish from the stock, is derived from the spawning of a number of previous brood years, 07 is surplus to escapement needs, and can reasonably be made available for harvest; 08 (16) "healthy salmon stock" means a stock of salmon that has annual 09 runs typically of a size to meet escapement goals and a potential harvestable surplus to 10 support optimum or maximum sustained yield; 11 (17) "incidental harvest" means the harvest of fish, or other species, 12 that is captured in addition to the target species of a fishery; 13 (18) "incidental mortality" means the mortality imposed on a salmon 14 stock outside of directed fishing, and mortality caused by incidental harvests, 15 interaction with fishing gear, habitat degradation, and other human-related activities; 16 (19) "inriver run goal" means a specific management objective for 17 salmon stocks that are subject to harvest upstream of the point where escapement is 18 estimated; 19 (20) "introduced salmon stock" means a stock of salmon that has been 20 introduced to an area, or portion of an area, where that stock had not previously 21 occurred; 22 (21) "management concern" means a concern arising from a chronic 23 inability, despite use of specific management measures, to maintain escapements for a 24 salmon stock within the bounds of the sustainable escapement goal, biological 25 escapement goal, optimal escapement goal, or other specified management objectives 26 for the fishery; a management concern is not as severe as a conservation concern; 27 (22) "maximum sustained yield" means the greatest average annual 28 yield from a salmon stock; 29 (23) "mixed stock fishery" means a fishery that harvests fish from a 30 mixture of stocks; 31 (24) "new fishery" means a fishery that new units of effort or
01 expansion of existing effort toward new species, areas, or time periods results in 02 harvest patterns substantially different from those in previous years, and the difference 03 is not exclusively the result of natural fluctuations in fish abundance; 04 (25) "optimal escapement goal" means a specific management 05 objective for salmon escapement that considers biological and allocative factors and 06 may differ from the sustainable escapement goal or biological escapement goal; 07 (26) "optimum sustained yield" means an average annual yield from a 08 salmon stock considered to be optimal in achieving a specific management objective 09 other than maximum yield, such as achievement of a consistent level of sustained 10 yield, protection of a less abundant or less productive salmon stock or species, 11 enhancement of catch for each unit of effort in a sport fishery, facilitation of a 12 nonconsumptive use, facilitation of a subsistence use, or achievement of a specific 13 allocation; 14 (27) "overfishing" means a level of fishing on a salmon stock that 15 results in a conservation or management concern; 16 (28) "phenotypic characteristics" means those characteristics of an 17 individual or group of salmon that are expressed physically, such as body size and 18 length at age; 19 (29) "rehabilitation" means efforts applied to a salmon stock to restore 20 it to an otherwise natural level of productivity; "rehabilitation" does not include an 21 enhancement, which is intended to augment production above otherwise natural levels; 22 (30) "return" means the total number of salmon in a stock from a 23 single brood spawning year surviving to adulthood; 24 (31) "run" means the total number of salmon in a stock surviving to 25 adulthood and returning to the vicinity of the natal stream in any calendar year, 26 composed of both the harvest of adult salmon plus the escapement; 27 (32) "salmon" means the five wild anadromous semelparous Pacific 28 salmon species, except steelhead and cutthroat trout, native to Alaska, composed of 29 chinook or king salmon, sockeye or red salmon, coho or silver salmon, pink or 30 humpback salmon, and chum or dog salmon; 31 (33) "salmon population" means a locally interbreeding group of
01 salmon that is distinguished by a distinct combination of genetic, phenotypic, life 02 history, and habitat characteristics, that is composed of an entire stock or a component 03 portion of a stock, and that is the smallest uniquely identifiable spawning aggregation 04 of genetically similar salmon used for monitoring purposes; 05 (34) "salmon stock" means a locally interbreeding group of salmon 06 that is distinguished by a distinct combination of genetic, phenotypic, life history, and 07 habitat characteristics, or an aggregation of two or more interbreeding groups that 08 occur within the same geographic area and are managed as a unit; 09 (35) "stock of concern" means a stock of salmon for which there is a 10 yield, management, or conservation concern; 11 (36) "sustainable escapement goal" means a level of escapement, 12 indicated by an index or an escapement estimate, that is known to provide for 13 sustained yield over a five- to 10-year period, used in situations where a biological 14 escapement goal cannot be estimated because of the absence of a stock specific catch 15 estimate; 16 (37) "sustainable salmon fishery" means a salmon fishery that persists 17 and obtains yields on a continuing basis and that is characterized by fishing activities 18 and habitat alteration, if any, that do not cause or lead to undesirable changes in 19 biological productivity, biological diversity, or ecosystem structure and function from 20 one human generation to the next; 21 (38) "sustained escapement threshold" means a threshold level of 22 escapement, below which the ability of the salmon stock to sustain itself is 23 jeopardized; 24 (39) "sustained yield" means an average annual yield that results from 25 a level of salmon escapement that can be maintained on a continuing basis; a wide 26 range of average annual yield levels is sustainable; a wide range of annual escapement 27 levels can produce sustained yields; 28 (40) "target species" or "target salmon stocks" means the main, or 29 several major, salmon species of interest toward which a fishery directs its harvest; 30 (41) "wild salmon stock" 31 (A) means a stock of salmon that originates in a specific
01 location under natural conditions, including an enhanced or rehabilitated stock 02 if its productivity is augmented by supplemental means, such as lake 03 fertilization or rehabilitiative stocking; 04 (B) does not include an introduced salmon stock unless an 05 introduced salmon stock is self-sustaining for a long period of time; 06 (42) "yield" means the number or weight of salmon harvested in a 07 particular year or season from a stock; 08 (43) "yield concern" means a concern arising from a chronic inability, 09 despite the use of specific management measures, to maintain expected yields, or 10 harvestable surpluses, above a stock's escapement needs; a yield concern is less severe 11 than a management concern, which is less severe than a conservation concern.