West Coast fisheries.

While the ecological disaster in the east coast fishery has captured most of the headlines in Canada, the west coast salmon fishery has also experienced its share of trouble. The lucrative salmon fishery, which in 1994 was worth $450 million, has also been threatened by overfishing. The Canadian salmon fleet has become all too efficient as vessels grow in size and adopt better technologies. In 1972, for instance, it took the seine boats 51 days to harvest their quota; in 1994 it took less that four days, even with an increased catch allowance. The Americans, particularly the 2,500-vessel Alaskan fleet, have been blamed for much of the overfishing of the west coast salmon; this claim has touched off a fishing dispute with the United States. The west coast salmon fishery has also positioned Natives and non-natives against each other, after the Supreme Court ruled that Aboriginals had the right to catch fish for food and ceremonial purposes. Native people want to play a larger role in the fishery that once sustained their cultures.