Tag «salmon»

Victoria & Area Sport Fishing Advisory Committee Meeting: Wednesday, Mar 8, 2023

A Victoria & Area SFAB Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8 at 7:00 PM at the Esquimalt Anglers Association clubhouse, 1100 Munro Street (at the foot of Lampson Street in Esquimalt). This in-person meeting is open to the public. Parking is free and the EAA clubhouse is upstairs in the building by the launch ramp in Fleming Beach Park.

If you cannot attend in-person and are interested to attend the meeting virtually, please contact Chris Bos (governor@shaw.ca) to receive the log in information.

DRAFT AGENDA TOPICS:

2022 Preliminary Southern BC Chinook and Coho Escapement Report
2023 MM and MSF and proposed new pilot opportunities – status update
2023 SRKW Proposed Measures (Active Pass, 20-1 Juan de Fuca Strait and oversized area 20-5 closures)
Halibut update – what measures for April 1^st 2023
SFAB Modernization – Terms of Reference status – update
SFAC Business (realignment – membership – who can vote – code of conduct)
Discussion – Seeking anglers help getting salmon heads turned in on hatchery fish and SRKW avoidance compliance
DFO regional update

If you have a topic that you wish added to the agenda please contact Chris Bos (governor@shaw.ca) with topic details.

This SFAB meeting is open to the public and we encourage any local anglers interested to learn more about our local fisheries and how they are managed to come out and join us.

Release of Draft 2023/24 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

With FN0199, DFO has released their draft 2023-2024 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

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 2023/24 for key changes for the IFMP that may be under consideration.

Section 13 of the IFMPs outline the Species Specific Fishing Plans, …

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://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=255685&ID=all

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

Page 40 of the draft Southern Salmon IFMP speaks to DFO’s latest considerations of Mark Selective Fisheries. Worth noting is 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 Department approved a small number of mark selective fishery (MSF) opportunities in 2021 that are proposed to continue in 2023/2024, pending the post-season review of the available fisheries information. Details can be found here in Table 13.1-12.

New and modified MSF opportunities are currently being consulted on for possible implementation in Spring 2023. Those MSF that are approved will be included in the final 2023/24 IFMP and may be considered again in Spring 2024 subject to post-season review of the available data (13.1-13: Proposed MSF Openings – Southern ISBM). Also new for 2024 is a proposed modification to the MSF in portions of the Juan de Fuca Strait and Haro Strait that occurs in March to move to marked-only retention .

Further work on a framework to inform decision making on the expanded use of MM and MSF is underway as part of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI). DFO plans to seek input from First Nations and stakeholders on this work during a series of workshops that began in December 2022 and are anticipated to continue in 2023. Further information will be provided on engagement plans at a later date.
https://acsbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-24-Southern-Salmon-IFMP-Draft.pdf

Next Victoria & Area Sport Fishing Advisory Committee Meeting: Tuesday, Nov 8, 2022

The next Victoria & Area SFAB Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 8th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Esquimalt Anglers Association clubhouse, 1100 Munro Street (at the foot of Lampson Street in Esquimalt). This in-person meeting is open to the public. Parking is free and the EAA clubhouse is upstairs in the building by the launch ramp in Fleming Beach Park.

We anticipate there will be an opportunity to join this meeting virtually through DFO’s MS Teams, but this option has not yet been confirmed. Those interested to attend this meeting online please contact Chris Bos (governor@shaw.ca) or Tom Cole (ttbc@shaw.ca) to receive the log in information if and when available.

An agenda will be distributed in the near future. If you have a topic that you wish added to the agenda please let us know.

Feel free to share this meeting notice with your angling friends and encourage them to participate.

2022 Sooke Chinook Sea Pen: Volunteers Needed!

This year the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition (SVIAC) will release 660,000 smolts from our sea pen tied up to the Sooke Harbour Resort & Marina. On completion of this year’s project, SVIAC will have released over 3.16 million smolts with thousands of large adults returning to the Sooke River, in addition to feeding for the local orcas, while also providing salmon for all user groups. To make this happen we have raised over $375K in the last 6 years by generous support from the community.

The success of this project over the years would not be possible without strong support from the area residents who care about the southern resident killer whales and the local salmon populations. As a community-based volunteer driven project, your help is needed to succeed.

Please see below the times and dates that we need volunteers. To sign up to help out please phone

778-426-4141

and we will set you up on a work team. Joining us even once or twice will help us make this effort a success! Many thanks to all who volunteer and show up!

2022 Sooke Chinook Sea Pen volunteer opportunities

Release of Draft 2022/23 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

With FN0168, DFO has released their draft 2022-2023 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

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 2022/23 for key changes for the IFMP that may be under consideration.
Section 13 of the IFMPs outline the Species Specific Fishing Plans, …
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://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=255685&ID=all

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

With regard to chinook in southern BC and Fraser River waters, p. 33 says “… management measures similar to 2021 are outlined in this IFMP.” There are also words about mark selective fisheries (MSF) and mass marking (MM) of hatchery salmon, but they see any changes to MSFs occurring only in 2023 (p. 34).

Fraser Chinook Fishery Mortality Index Summary, 2014 – 2020

DFO has released a memorandum that reports on the titled subject.

This memo compiles information to support Southern BC Chinook harvest planning and specifically
fisheries that impact Fraser River Chinook Managment Units (MUs).

There are many measures and estimates of salmon mortality and salmon escapement. Some discussion of how to arrive at useful conclusions with insufficient data. Certainly an important DFO management objective was achieved.

The management objective to shift the harvest distribution of Summer 41 from marine, particularly Area F troll, fisheries to Fraser River FN FSC fisheries appears to have been achieved, as there was a large shift in the proportion of Summer 41 Chinook caught by each fishing group and a greater proportion of the overall Fraser Chinook catch was comprised of Summer 41 Chinook; approximately 60% of the harvest of this MU occurred in First Nations FSC fisheries in the Fraser River in 2020 (compared to 18% in the base period). In addition, the Lower Shuswap escapement objective was met in both 2019 and 2020.

A recreational fisherperson will recognize the commercial Area F troll fishery referenced, and remember that DFO shut down some commercial salmon fisheries this past summer. Presumably in aid of the stated management objective.

Salmon 2022/2023 IFMPs: It has begun

DFO has notified stakeholders of the kick off of the process to create the Salmon 2022/2023 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans (IFMPs) for Northern and Southern British Columbia (BC).

This table shows the important dates for the activities expected to develop the salmon IFMPs.

2022-23 Salmon IFMPs Process Timelines

Activity	Proposed Timelines
Release of DFO IFMP Planning Letter and timelines for 2022/23 season	December 3, 2021
Salmon Post Season Review Meetings All First Nations and stakeholders invited to attend.	Northern – December 2-3, 2021 Southern – December 15, 2021
2022 Salmon Outlook All First Nations and stakeholders invited to attend.	December 16, 2021
Deadline for new CSAF proposals	January 27, 2022
Meetings to review and discuss potential changes to IFMPs and opportunity for focussed discussion on key IFMP issues	Fraser Forum – January 18-20 2022 Northern IHPC – February 2, 2022 Southern IHPC – February 8, 2022
Draft IFMPs released for public review & comment	February 24, 2022
Meetings to review draft IFMP	Fraser Forum – March 1-3, 2022 Northern IHPC – March 9, 2022 Southern IHPC – March 10, 2022
2022 Revised Salmon Outlook	April 5, 2022
Deadline to submit comments on draft IFMP	April 15, 2022
Final Meetings for discussion on IFMP feedback	Fraser Forum – Apr 12-14, 2022 Full IHPC – May 4-5, 2022
Target for public release of salmon IFMP	June 30, 2022

Correspondence from DFO Pacific Salmon Management Team, DFO.PacificSalmonRMT-EGRSaumonduPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

The notice includes a lengthy description of the planning considerations for these IFMPs. The table of contents gives you an idea of what’s to come:

It’s almost a year old, but this review and comment on DFO’s last exercise in consulting FNs and stakeholders – their terms to segregate Canadians – toward developing salmon IFMPs is worth a quick read. If nothing else, you may appreciate that the south coast of Vancouver Island isn’t the only fishery trying to understand the logic of DFO fishery management decisions constrained by court decisions and politics, and sometimes the hard data that suggests they’re managing some salmon and steelhead to extinction.

Salmon and Politics, Again

Jeffrey Young of the David Suzuki Foundation, an environmental non-government organization, was interviewed for an article published in the July 8th edition of the National Observer.

Mr. Young presumably has a goal of finding, “…solutions to conserve and recover wildlife like Pacific salmon and orca.” Which isn’t obvious from the views he expresses on the subject, which seem to belie his statement that, “I’m motivated to work with everyone to put these solutions into place.” And if everyone doesn’t agree with Mr. Young’s analysis?

Young’s comments are misleading, suggestive and inaccurate.
Chris Bos, PFA

The Public Fishery Alliance (PFA) has responded with a rebuttal to Mr. Young’s claims, and it’s worth a read to understand how Mr. Young has framed his views on this topic, and how that contrasts to the salmon fishery reality in which the PFA has worked cooperatively with DFO for many years.

Feds Provide Guiding Principles for PSSI

News release here has our federal government stating they have established guiding principles for the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) announced in their 2021 budget.

The PSSI is a comprehensive initiative that will build on and support the years of work and wisdom that grassroots organizations, Indigenous communities, scientists and others have already put into efforts to protect and recover Pacific salmon. In the coming months, DFO will invite key partners to the table to identify and prioritize actions to support healthy salmon – a necessary, holistic approach that has not been undertaken before.
The plan will guide investments and action in four key areas: conservation and stewardship, enhanced hatchery production, harvest transformation, and integrated management and collaboration.
news release 2020 06 08

Many words about how they plan to save the salmon. Now to reconcile this with the prior post regarding steelhead conservation. The poor steeelhead today finds itself labelled a trout, but has flip flopped between the trout and salmon families over the years. Perhaps if it joined the salmon species again, it’d get more consideration.

DFO seeks to evaluate their efforts on salmon

Although most industries try to conduct a “lessons learned” exercise at the conclusion of each project, DFO is seeking to do similar for the work they’ve done regarding salmon from 2015 to 2020. The ongoing nature of most of DFO’s programs, policies and initiatives makes a specific end point difficult to identify; thus a “point in time” evaluation.

The Evaluation Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is currently conducting an evaluation aimed at exploring all aspects of DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon over the period from April 2015 to March 2020.
email from Evaluation Division of DFO

Their stated goal is to improve decision making, innovation and accountability within DFO, toward improving the effectiveness and efficiency of programs, policies and initiatives. The survey should take you about 30 minutes to complete, and the ACS encourages you to do so. It’s supposed to close at March 31, 2021, but appears to still be open.

https://questionnaire.simplesurvey.com/f/l/Pacificsalmonexternal