Salmon Fishing Survival Rally – Sunday April 19 at 10:00AM

WhatSalmon Fishing Survival Rally
WhenSunday April 19th between 10:00AM and Noon
WhereLangford Legion Hall, 761 Station Avenue, Langford, BC

A Salmon Fishing Survival Rally will take place this Sunday, April 19, 2026 at the Langford Legion Hall. Please, PLAN TO ATTEND AND FILL THE VENUE TO CAPACITY!

TOPICS: Chinook Fishery Threats

Three major issues are facing our salmon fishery around South Vancouver Island in 2026 and beyond:

Salmon Allocation Policy Update

  • What will DFO Minister Joanne Thompson‘s decide regarding the Salmon Allocation Policy review?
  • Will we lose priority access to Chinook and Coho?
  • Will DFO confirm Canadians’ common property rights to fish by keeping the principle included in the new allocation policy?Explanation of the SAP review and sharing of any updates.

SRKW Salmon Fishing Update

  • CLOSED TO CHINOOK FISHING – DFO’s Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery team presented a suite of new fishing restrictions for 2026 season. The proposed changes will be outlined, and any updates available will be shared.

Fraser River Summer 5-2 Chinook Re-Allocation Concerns

  • OUR AUGUST 2026 CHINOOK FISHING IN DANGER – The Fraser Salmon Management Board (a closed collaboration of Fraser River First Nations and DFO) have presented an allocation transfer proposal document that, if approved, will most likely negatively impact our 2026 August Chinook fishery. At the meeting, we’ll explain this threat in more detail and inform attendees of the risk posed to our Chinook fishery.

and we will let you know how you can help with our important advocacy efforts

Guest Speakers

Event Sponsors

Everyone attending will receive a door prize ticket at no charge with a chance to win one of a number of prizes – donations to help us advocate for the protection of your salmon fishery would be welcome.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH ALL YOUR FISHERY CONTACTS

Similar to a townhall meeting, there will be short presentations from our guest speakers followed by an open question period.

This meeting is free to attend, parking is free, and there wil be great door prizes. 

Federal, Provincial and Municipal Politicians are welcome and upon request may address the audience.

Media are welcome and encouraged to attend – media contact Chris Bos – (778) 967-2363 – chris@anglerscoalition.com

Fish eating killer whales do eat non-chinook species – at least in Alaska

This blog post on the Ecological Society of America website sums up a study published recently regarding the prey of southern Alaska resident killer whales, a group that, like the SRKW, enjoys a diet of fish.

The study does recognize the standard take on diet for the SRKW.

Southern residents, in particular, feed almost exclusively on Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in spring and summer—though their diet is significantly more diverse in fall and winter (Hanson et al., 2021).

But introducing DNA analysis in addition to the standard fecal analysis showed some interesting results.

In the case of resident killer whales, extensive data collected from the southern resident killer whale population during summer months have been relied upon to describe the diet of resident killer whales generally (Adams et al., 2016; Chasco et al., 2017; Ohlberger et al., 2019). However, recent studies, including this one, indicate a greater degree of spatiotemporal, population-level, and socially driven variability in diet than had previously been observed (Ford et al., 2016; Filatova et al., 2023; Van Cise et al., 2024).

The ESA blog post summarizes the cogent points nicely:

“Switching between these salmon species — with important contributions from groundfish — is a different narrative from the one we usually hear about the diet of fish-eating killer whales in the North Pacific, which emphasizes Chinook salmon as their primary prey,” said Myers, the lead author of the paper.

One might well wonder if the SRKW are pursuing other than chinook salmon when those non-chinook species are in abundance.

Release of Draft 2026/27 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

With FN0218, DFO has released their draft 2026-2027 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

Request your electronic copy by emailing to DFO.PacificSalmonRMT-EGRSaumonduPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, or view the documents below.

Deadline for submission of comments is April 10, 2026.


The draft IFMPs set out the policy framework that guides decision making, general objectives relating to management of stocks of concern, enhancement and enforcement, as well as decision guidelines for a range of fisheries.

Please refer to the New for 2026/27 for key changes for the IFMP that may be under consideration.

Section 13 of the IFMPs outline the Species Specific Fishing Plans, which describe fisheries plans for each of the salmon species and the management units and major fishery areas for each species. This section includes the relevant information on management approach, decision guidelines and specific management measures, as well as, information related to First Nations, commercial and recreational fishing plans for each fishery.

During March and April, the Department will be meeting with First Nations and recreational, commercial and environmental groups to seek further feedback on the draft IFMPs as part of the IFMP consultation process.

An electronic copy can be requested from DFO.PacificSalmonRMT-EGRSaumonduPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Comments may be provided in writing via email to the DFO Pacific Salmon Management Team at DFO.PacificSalmonRMT-EGRSaumonduPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

https://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=347091

Please refer to the “New for 2026/27” section at the beginning for key changes for the IFMP that may be under consideration; these changes have been bolded throughout the document for ease of reference.

DRAFT_Southern IFMP 2026-27Download
DRAFT 2026-27 Northern BC Salmon IFMPDownload

Spring 2026 Greater Victoria SFAC meeting: Feb. 24

Mark Frisson, Fisheries Management, DFO has sent an invitation to the Spring 2026 Greater Victoria Sport Fishing Advisory Committee meeting, which will be held virtually on February 24, 2026.

  • The meeting will be held virtually: Join the meeting now
  • Start time: 7:00 pm
  • Below is the spring 2026 Recreational Fisheries Newsletter for your review.
  • Below are the fall 2025 meeting minutes for review before the meeting.
  • Below is the SFAB motion tracker (with DFO responses) for your review.
  • The agenda is immediately below.
Greater Victoria Spring SFAC Agenda_2026Download

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FINAL – Winter & Spring 2026 – Rec Fish NewsletterDownload
Greater Victoria Area Fall SFAC_ Draft Meeting Minutes_2025Download
Dropbox SFAB Motions Tracker – updated Feb 2026Download

Microsoft Teams Need help?

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 270 665 053 579 73

Passcode: mz6jD2X9

Dial in by phone

+1 647-484-5913,,691931859# Canada, Toronto

Find a local number

Phone conference ID: 691 931 859#

Are You About to Lose Your Right to Fish?

Common Property is the principle that salmon belong to ALL Canadians, and it is the foundation of fishery and resource management.

BC First Nations groups are proposing to have this term and principle dropped from the Salmon Allocation Policy, and DFO is asked to consider this extreme policy change.

Removing the principle of common property would shift public access to fishing from a federal, conservation-based management approach to an optional “privilege” granted by First Nations.

If salmon are no longer acknowledged as a shared public resource to be managed for the benefit of all Canadians, YOUR rights are extinguished.

Get informed. Take action. https://www.fishingrights.ca

Last Day for SFAB Survey re: Recreational Halibut Fishery!

Today is your last chance to provide your input to the Recreational Halibut Survey for the SFAB. Please get this done if you haven’t already. If you have taken the survey, thank you!

Halibut fisherpeople: please take the SFAB survey regarding the recreational halibut fishery in BC by Jan.9, 2026.

The Sports Fishery Advisory Board wants to hear what matters most to BC anglers when it comes to recreational halibut fishing in BC. Your priorities, concerns, and ideas will help the SFAB to provide advice to DFO that reflect the values of BC’s recreational fishing community.

Send DFO feedback on the Salmon Allocation Policy Review

Please take some time in the next few weeks to learn about the Salmon Allocation Policy Review Process from the Sports Fishing Institute of BC, and provide your feedback by email to DFO before January 23, 2026.

Your feedback to DFO on the discussion paper document—highlighting the importance of predictable and reliable access to sustainable salmon fisheries for both you and the recreational sector—is important and strongly encouraged. Please submit your comments by email through this link or to DFO.SAPReviewBC-PASRevueBC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca by no later than January 23, 2026.

Quote courtesy Sports Fishing Institute of BC at https://www.salmonforever.ca

PFA Fisheries Town Hall Meeting – Thurs Nov 13 at 7PM

A bit late posting this reminder from Chris Bos, but…

Please attend the upcoming Public Fishery Alliance (PFA) Fisheries Town Hall Meeting. The event is scheduled for Thursday November 13 at 7:00 p.m. in the Langford Legion Hall, 761 Station Avenue, Langford. 

DFO’s SRKW Recovery Team are proposing even more Chinook salmon fishing restrictions for the 2026, of which some would close Chinook fishing altogether.  

Salmon anglers were never the cause of the SRKW collapse, and we all know severely restricting our fishery is not the solution!  That will just result in the demise of the fishery. 

The PFA believe this Fisheries Town Hall Meeting is a crucial event.  Our knowledgeable presenters will cover the reasons why the PFA believe DFO is wrong in their approach to SRKW fisheries management. They will also present fact-based reasonable recommendations that the PFA believe is the correct approach. 

Please make every effort to join us at this important meeting and learn what you can do to help.  We look forward to seeing you there. 

Meeting re: Proposed New SRKW Salmon Fishing Regulations – Oct. 29 at 11:45 am 

There is a proposal from DFO relating to Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery that contains potential changes to chinook fishing in the entire SRKW critical habitat area, which includes Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait where we fish.  Below is the DFO presentation that contains those changes.  

The DFO SRKW Team will host an online meeting about their proposed regulation changes and give you a chance to comment.  A one-hour online MS Teams meeting on Wednesday October 29th at 11:45 am   has been scheduled specifically for you.  This meeting is specifically for sportsfishing participants to review the proposed changes in our area – it is not the local SFAB meeting which is scheduled for Nov 4 of this year. 

You may also want to respond directly to DFO about these proposed changes during the consultation period via email at DFO.SRKW-ERS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca . You will need to respond by the October 31st deadline. 

Southern-Resident-Killer-Whale-Management-Measures-IMAG-TWGs-September-17-2025-PPNT-DeckDownload

Within the proposed changes, there appear to be a few things worth noting for clarification:

  • Chinook non-retention areas are proposed to become chinook closure areas. This will mean no more chinook catch and release in those areas.
  • There is no mention of a slot limit in those areas in which, for the past few years, chinook fishing was allowed and retention was permitted for chinook over the minimum length and under a maximum length.
  • Chinook closures would not apply to an area in which a mark selective fishery (MSF) is allowed; but a MSF typically has a narrow time window and, as ever, is at the discretion of the DFO.

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Microsoft Teams Need help?

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 265 327 058 767 7

Passcode: Yo2rY7Df

Dial in by phone

+1 647-484-5913,,344358975# Canada, Toronto

Find a local number

Phone conference ID: 344 358 975#

Join on a video conferencing device

Tenant key: teams@dfo-mpo.video.canada.ca

Video ID: 113 359 511 1

More info

Fall 2025 Greater Victoria SFAC meeting: Nov. 4

Mark Frisson, Fisheries Management, DFO has sent an invitation to the Fall 2025 Greater Victoria Sport Fishing Advisory Committee meeting, which will be held virtually on November 4, 2025.

  • The meeting will be held virtually on MS Teams. Click here to join: Join the meeting now
  • Start time: 7:00 pm
  • Please review the draft Spring 2025 meeting minutes, below, before the meeting.
  • Please review the Fall 2025 Recreational Fisheries Newsletter, formally known as the Regional Recreational Updates, below.
  • This fall is an election cycle. An election for Committee Chair will be held during the meeting. Please follow this link to read about the SFAC election process and the SFAC roles and responsibilities.
  • An agenda and other meeting materials will be shown here when they’re available.
Greater Victoria Area Spring SFAC_ Draft Meeting Minutes_2025Download
FINAL – Fall 2025 – Rec Fish NewsletterDownload

________________________________________________________________________________

Nov. 4, 2025, 7 pm Virtual Meeting Details

Microsoft Teams Need help?

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 222 931 803 521 0

Passcode: Ht76fQ7i

Dial in by phone

+1 647-484-5913,,967142833# Canada, Toronto

Find a local number

Phone conference ID: 967 142 833#

Join on a video conferencing device

Tenant key: teams@dfo-mpo.video.canada.ca

Video ID: 113 816 269 7

More info

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