HR 8 Summary

• Recognizes 2019 as the International Year of the Salmon and supports associated global research efforts extending through 2022

• Establishes that the International Year of the Salmon aims to promote wild salmon resilience, understanding of salmon populations and environments, and development of new restoration and management approaches across the northern hemisphere

• Documents the economic significance of wild salmon, including Alaska's $2 billion annual labor income contribution, 38,000 jobs in the sustainable fishery, and over $3.4 billion in revenue from Southeast Alaska, Washington, and Oregon fishing industries

• Highlights conservation challenges including 28 threatened or endangered salmon and steelhead populations on the west coast, nine of 22 chinook stocks failing to meet escapement goals in 2017, and Atlantic salmon populations declining from 900,000 to 496,000 spawning annually between the 1970s-1980s and 2017

• Encourages collaboration among individuals, local and state governments, tribes, corporations, and international organizations to uphold best management practices, invest in scientific research, and celebrate the sustainable wild salmon industry