The Act established a Washington State and Columbia River conservation area and directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish an advisory committee of representatives from Washington and Oregon, the Washington and Columbia River tribal bodies, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. It also directed that a report be submitted to the Secretary of Commerce and Congress, and the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to establish a grant program for each conservation area.
Title II, entitled the "American Fisheries Promotion Act," authorized emergency assistance loans, accelerated fisheries research and development, extended the Federal fishing vessel obligation guarantee program under Title XI of the Merchant Marine Act, and redefined regulations governing foreign fishing in U.S. waters for steelhead and salmon.