Study Assesses Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy: Failure to Execute

A recently published study on Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy reveals some very real concerns.

…monitoring effort has continued to erode, abundance of spawning adults has significantly declined for several species, the status of many salmon Conservation Units are in zones of concern, and 42% of the Conservation Units that we assessed as Red (threatened) would have improved in status had the Canadian fishery been reduced.

The study concludes with five recommendations – and much more detail than is shown in this summary list – to the federal government of Canada and the DFO:

1. Conduct a strategic planning review of Conservation Units to meet the requirements of the Wild Salmon Policy.
2. Use a two-step approach to speed up the process for assessing biological status.
3. Achieve a balance between mixed-stock ocean fisheries and in-river fisheries targeting specific stocks.
4. Implement the existing WSP immediately.
5. Create a Wild Salmon Policy fund to ensure implementation.