Fisheries management today is a complex environment involving cooperative processes which include U.S. federal, multi-state, multi-tribal and Canadian representatives.

• Inland fisheries are managed by the states of California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington.
• The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) manages the coastal waters to 200 miles off the coasts for Washington, Oregon and California.
• The annual North of Falcon process governs the inland marine water for salmon fishing in Puget Sound, Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor and Washington State rivers.
• Salmon and steelhead fisheries in the Columbia River and its tributaries are co-managed by the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, four treaty tribes and other tribes that traditionally have fished in those waters.
• The 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty, developed cooperatively by the U.S. and Canada, is implemented by the eight-member bilateral Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), which includes representatives of federal, state and tribal governments across both borders.

There is a growing need for information on a larger scope to support these management organizations, including habitat evaluations, recruitment and dispersal analysis, harvest rates and totals, and ecosystem monitoring.