ABSTRACT
The Pacific salmon fishery is actually a relatively minor industry in the Province of British Columbia, and in the States of Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. Salmon is more important to the culture of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and British Columbia than it is to the economy. The position of Canada at these negotiations, supported by the government of British Columbia, was that the terms of the Pacific Salmon Treaty should be the terms of the negotiations. The idea that the Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations should have been a relatively easy case of international cooperation, according to bargaining theory, was premised on the notion that it was a bilateral negotiation. The application of veto player theory to this case is straightforward – state governments have veto power over United States decisions with respect to cooperation over Pacific salmon, but provinces do not have a symmetrical veto over Canadian decisions.
