Tag «salmon»

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

Areas 19 and 20 – Chinook salmon rules for month of March 2021

Sport fishing Area 19 or 20 for chinook in March? Read the fisheries notice on the latest regulations.

Effective 00:01 hours March 1, 2021, until March 31, 2021, the daily limit for Chinook is two (2) per day. These Chinook may be marked or unmarked 45 cm to 67 cm, and hatchery-marked only greater than 67 cm.

These measures apply in the following waters:

Subareas 19-1, 19-3, 19-4 and 20-4 to 20-7 (those waters near Victoria between Cadboro Point and Sombrio Point).

FN0172-Chinook Salmon – Area 19 and 20 – Chinook Management Measures – Effective March 1, 2021

A Knowledge Gap in DFO Science

While DFO cultivates the image of making science based decisions for management and protection of salmon stocks with regard to their Wild Salmon Policy, the reality is their lack of funding has eroded the knowledge base to support these decisions.

The Narwhal has published an insightful article that looks at the decline in the numbers and use of creekwalkers by the DFO.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been hiring creekwalkers to count salmon returning to natal streams along the Pacific coast since 1940. These creekwalkers provide essential information about populations, which is used to inform fisheries management decisions, including how many salmon can be caught for commercial or recreational purposes.

…

In 1949, there were 150 creekwalkers monitoring the north coast; by the late 1970s there were 40 and now there are just two, according to research by the organization. Pacific Wild has also found that only 215 of 2,500 spawning streams on the central and north coast are being counted. That’s about a 70 per cent decrease since the 1980s, when around 1,500 of those streams were monitored. 

excerpt from The Narwhal article

Is there a solution? Of course there is. But it would require funding – turns out even creekwalkers need to eat – and a course change to base fisheries decisions on empirical data and not political expedients.

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

2020-2021 IFMP Process and Deadline for Input

The 2020-2021 IFMP Timeline document from DFO sets out the dates and opportunities for comment regarding the IFMP.  Of particular interest, the deadline for input on the IFMP Planning Priorities is January 13, 2020.

An IFMP is an integrated fisheries management plan that DFO develops for each fishery to describe the fishery and its management issues, and then sets out how that fishery will be managed.  The IFMP priorities and the final plan set the stage for which fisheries regulations or harvest controls will be put in place. It is a critical document that directly impacts every recreational fisherperson.

The current 2019/2020 Salmon IFMPs are quite lengthy documents, and are available at:  

Please contact DFO by email with any feedback as soon as possible. 

You may join a group discussion on January 6th via a webinar hosted by the West Coast Fishing Guide Association (WCFGA). It may provide you a more accessible platform to discuss our fishery issues, learn from others, and develop a consistent message to provide DFO as feedback.

Webinar details: 

ItemDescription
DateMonday, January 6, 2020
Time7 pm - 8:30 pm PST
TitleWCFGA Salmon IFMP Priorities Meeting
Link to join meeting from computer, smartphone or tablet.https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/848334325
Access Code
Access Code: 848-334-325
Audio only phone number+1 (647) 497-9391
Link to download GoToMeeting apphttps://global.gotomeeting.com/install/848334325

Port Renfrew’s salmon hatchery enters a new era

The Peninsula News Review website has an article describing changes regarding the salmon hatchery at Port Renfrew. In contrast to the constant bad news regarding the salmon fishery around Vancouver Island, this is an exceptional good news story!

The changes have seen the dissolution of the founding San Juan Salmon Enhancement Society and the establishment of the 4Mile Creek Enhancement Society, which has now taken over the operation.

“Over the past four months, the (old) society was phased out and a new society has taken over,” Shane Bruinsma, the manager of the hatchery, said.

“Morris Tremblay has been running it since 1976, but at 87 years old, he’s decided it’s time to pass the operation on,” Bruinsma said.

“I’m now managing the site along with Lisa Margetish, and we’ve got some exciting things planned. We know that the community’s support is at the heart of our ability to move forward.”

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