Monthly archives: March, 2020

Chinook Fishery at April 1: Deja Vu

DFO recently issued fishery notice FN0315, “FN0315-Commercial, Recreational and Aboriginal – Salmon – Chinook – 2020 Fraser River Chinook Conservation Measures Update“, which puts in place the same measures as were instituted in 2019 at this point in the calendar year.

…beginning April 1, 2020 until further notice.

To address conservation concerns for at-risk Fraser River Chinook stocks, DFO is continuing precautionary reductions in commercial, recreational and First Nation’s fisheries to support conservation of Fraser Chinook. Given the early run timing of some Fraser Chinook populations, the Department is implementing management measures that were implemented for the 2019 season on an interim basis beginning April 1st, 2020. These measures will be in place on an interim basis to provide time for a technical review of the 2019 fishery management measures and completion of consultations on possible adjustments to these management measures for the remainder of the fishery.

DFO FN0315

Washington and Oregon Close Recreational Fishing

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) today announced its decision to temporarily close recreational fishing and shellfishing statewide in the wake of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s order directing Washingtonians to stay home and stay healthy to limit the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19.

The closures will begin at midnight Wednesday, March 25 and last until at least 5 p.m. on April 8, 2020. WDFW will re-evaluate on April 6 whether the closure may need to be extended.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Read the whole story here.

Following the announcement today by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) that it will close all recreational fisheries in the state of Washington, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it will close recreational salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River, effective Thursday, March 26 at 11:59 p.m.

My Eastern Oregon

This covered in full here.

Area 19/20 Spring SFAC Meeting March 16: Venue Change to Conference Call!

Due to the COVID-19 related health concerns, this meeting will now take place as a conference call. With no simultaneous online presentation, please ensure you have access to any documents relevant to the agenda, which is:

  • Fraser River Chinook 
  • Big Bar Slide
  • SRKW
  • Halibut hybrid model
  • Prawns
  • Best Practices 

Local chairs Ryan Chamberland and Chris Bos will update the public fishing community on the difficult issues at hand on March 16 at the Area 19 & 20 SFAC spring meeting.

DateMarch 16, 2020
Time7:00 pm
Dial-in InformationPhone: 1-877-413-4782

Select "1" for English.

Meeting ID: 1830175, followed by "#" (the "pound" or number-sign key)

Once connected, please mute your line until such time as the host invites callers to speak.


The DFO Fraser River management letter sent recently solicits feedback.

The Department is seeking feedback from First Nations and established advisory groups on potential adjustments to 2019 management measures or alternative approaches that should be considered for the period June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

Your SFAC chairs will want your feedback and to document motions to carry forward to the South Coast Main board meeting, March 28-29 in Nanaimo. 

Ryan has been engaged in SRKW-related talks over the last month and a half, resulting in recommendations for DFO regarding

  • a science based approach to providing more access to fishing areas
  • a perspective regarding mobile avoidance zones/mobile sanctuaries
  • a 1 nautical mile corridor from Sheringham Point to East Point in Port Renfrew

which today gained much support within the technical working group. For reference, see the measures put in place by DFO for 2019.

Subsequent communications are expected to both inform and collect feedback on proposed and/or draft plans.

Survey on 2020 SRKW Management Measure Options

You have until March 23 to tell DFO how you feel about the Southern Resident Killer Whale management measures they are proposing for the 2020 season.

Southern Resident Killer Whales face three primary threats to recovery: reduced prey availability (primarily Chinook salmon), contaminants, and physical and acoustic disturbance.

In 2019, the Government of Canada implemented a suite of measures to help address these threats and further support the recovery of Southern Resident Killer Whales. The Government of Canada is expecting to take a similar approach to measures in 2020, with some modifications based on feedback received and lessons learned in 2019.

Email from Fisheries and Oceans Canada/ Pêches et Océans Canada Pacific Region/Région du Pacifique.

The survey and more information on this topic may be found here.

Image, with some mods, courtesy of https://www.pugetsoundexpress.com.

Save Craigflower Creek: Updates

Update: On March 4, Angela Hanes was interviewed regarding this issue by host Adam Stirling on CFAX radio. You may listen to the recorded interview here.

The intrepid Angela Hanes provided us with news regarding the Save Craigflower Creek petition campaign, a grassroots response to BC Transit’s plan to develop a vehicle maintenance facility on land that spans the salmon-bearing Craigflower Creek.

The Black Press published an article on this topic. Angela was misquoted a few times, in one case attributing Angela with starting the petition that in fact was started by her neighbour.

West Coast Environmental Law has suggested the group apply to them for funding and referred them to a lawyer. The application is under way! To defray funding for legal and other costs associated with the campaign, a GoFundMe page has been created. Please consider a donation to this cause.

For those who’ve not yet signed and shared the petition, here it is.

Release of Draft 2020/21 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

DFO has released the 2020-21 draft Northern and Southern BC Salmon Integrated Fishery Management Plans (IFMPs) for comment.

The deadline for submission of comments is April 15, 2020.

From Fisheries Notice FN0164:

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.

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.

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

SFI Promotes salmonforever.ca Website

In their Feb 20 newsletter, the Sport Fishing Institute of BC provides updates on their many initiatives. Worth knowing:

To help ensure and communicate a fact based understanding of coastal values, hatchery retention and mark selective fisheries, we have developed a website that provides some basic information about each of the above subjects.  Please visit salmonforever.ca and share the site address with others interested, or even better, with those less familiar with the values of the public fishery in BC and its importance to the health of small communities along BC’s coast. 

BCFDF Raises Concerns re: Steelhead

The BC Federation of Drift Fishers has sent an impassioned plea to our provincial Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Lana Popham, to take drastic and substantive steps to stop this iconic BC species from becoming fully extinct.

We are asking you to declare a state of emergency for B.C. steelhead and convene an “Emergency Summit” to review ALL options to save these B.C. icons. Our organization working with provincial staff co-hosted a summit several years ago. This was held at BCIT with fisheries staff participating along with stakeholders province wide. Unfortunately, recommendations reached were never acted on.

You may read the entire missive here.

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