Tag «DFO»

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

DFO Research Validates Anglers’ Position on Chinook Non-Retention

Island Fisherman Magazine has a great article written by Tom Davis that details how DFO’s own research supports what many recreational fisherman have long known: that the Chinook Non-Retention (CNR) regulation introduced in 2019 and still in place from April 1st to at least July 14th across most of southern BC’s important recreational fisheries was applied far too broadly. Significant fishing locations should have remained open for at least the April and May fishing period, or longer in some cases.

The most jaw-dropping data reveals how few encounters with Upper Fraser Chinook stocks of concern were recorded. In 2023 it was 1.3% of the samples. In 2024 it was 0.5%.

…

Chris Bos, past chair of the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, and member of numerous fishery committees stated, “With special interest groups that dislike recreational fishing and pressuring government to shut down our fishery, the reference fishery has emerged as a valuable tool to verify what is true and what is guess-work”. Bos adds, “Data shows the fishery is clean, with less than 1% impact; shutting down any fishery with such a small impact is completely unjustifiable.”


Quotes courtesy of https://islandfishermanmagazine.com/dfo-research-validates-anglers-position-on-chinook-non-retention/?mc_cid=190e51d26c&mc_eid=c45f74a0e9.

The article concludes with a sobering reminder regarding the upcoming general election in Canada. The tenure of the incumbent party exactly coincides with the emergence of the most serious threats to angling opportunities ever. It is not a coincidence.

Release of Draft 2025/26 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

With FN0152, DFO has released their draft 2025-2026 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

Deadline for submission of comments is April 4, 2025.

To obtain an electronic copy for review, please click the link below: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/51r5krj3o5o1e86db7qop/AH1FZORsMWUmAPv5wR3YRZ8?rlkey=qn1tacmnj178rocvvte5lhvga&st=anh8gp79&dl=0

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 2025/26 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.

https://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=316953

You may read the northern and southern IFMPs via the fishery notice, or the files below:

DRAFT Northern IFMP 2025-2026Download
DRAFT Southern IFMP 2025-2026Download

Page 37 of the draft Southern Salmon IFMP has a section that speaks to Mark Selective Fisheries. As per last year, please note that for a significant time period, COVID precautionary measures reduced fin clipping at Canadian salmon hatcheries to near zero; there will be a few years where recreational fishers seeking marked salmon will be dependent upon Washington state origin fish for success.

Mass Marking / Mark-Selective Fisheries

The Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) provides new investments to support potential
implementation of Chinook mass marking and mark-selective fisheries as part of an integrated
management approach. To advance this work, DFO sought input from First Nations and
stakeholders during a series of workshops that began in December 2022, leading to DFOs development of An Implementation Framework for Mark-Selective Fisheries for Southern British
Columbia Chinook Salmon (draft MSF Framework). The Department is currently reviewing
feedback on the draft MSF Framework and considering next steps for MSF. Any specific MSF
plans will be consulted on. The Department is also considering changes to gear (i.e., what
fishing hooks are permitted) during Chinook MSFs.

DRAFT Southern IFMP 2025-2026
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