Something fishy going on: Fish Expo 1994.

• Author: Brelsford, Harry

The ocean border between Canada and Washington state has received an extraordinary amount of attention this past summer, mainly due to a "fish war" also involving Alaska. Briefly: In June, Canada walked out on talks between Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon to set new Pacific salmon catch allocations under the 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty. The source of Canadian anger centers on fish that are unaware of international borders.

Alaska-based fishing operations harvest salmon that occupy Canadian waters at various times. Historically, Canadians have mitigated this unfavorable harvesting scenario by catching more fish in southern British Columbia, destined for Washington and Oregon, to offset their Alaska losses. That worked fine while there were enough fish. But with declining salmon stocks in Washington and Oregon, and a fisheries shutdown on the West Coast, the delicate balance between the players has been upset.

The result was a $1,100 fee assessed by Canada on U.S. commercial vessels traveling along the inside Passage between southeast Alaska and the Lower 48 after mid-June.

But there are avenues that keep the industry speaking and working together. One such avenue is Fish Expo 1994 in Seattle (December 1-3) at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The trade show will afford the opportunity for participants to "meet colleagues from North America, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the world," according to Diversified Expositions, the organizer.

Fish Expo 1994 is billed as the world's largest fishing trade show, due to its merger with another trade show, Pacific Marine Expo. The result? Nearly 25,000 commercial fishing industry professionals in one place at one time. That fact is not lost on the 768 exhibiting companies occupying 1,100 exhibit spaces in the convention center.

Looking at Fish Expo attendees (based on past Fish Expos), it's easy to see why participants have the attention of industry suppliers and service providers. The crowd at Fish Expo breaks down to vessel owners (41 percent), boat captains (23 percent) and boat crews (20 percent), with the remainder representing general management, purchasing agents and related...