Government of Canada takes action to address threats to struggling Fraser River Chinook

VANCOUVER, BC, June 19, 2020 /CNW/ - Chinook salmon populations have been in decline for years as a result of a number of factors including habitat destruction, harvest, and the effects of climate change. The challenges facing at-risk Fraser River Chinook salmon stocks are multi-faceted. The road to recovery requires a long-term view and the collaboration of all interested parties. 

Today, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is releasing 2020 Fisheries management measures that will support the recovery of at-risk Fraser River Chinook populations, as well as protect the jobs and communities that depend on Chinook.

The 2020 measures include additional restrictions to strengthen conservation as well as the flexibility needed where impacts to stocks of concern will be very low.

These measures were developed following consultation with Indigenous communities, recreational and commercial fishing organizations, and environmental organizations. These measures are one component of a larger strategy intended to place at-risk Pacific salmon populations on a path towards sustainability.

Working with First Nations and stakeholders, we are confident we are taking steps to ensure healthier Chinook stocks while maintaining a high degree of protection for endangered Fraser River Chinook. Of the thirteen wild Fraser River Chinook salmon populations assessed, only one is not at risk. The loss of Chinook salmon would be disastrous not just for wildlife that depend on them as a food source, but also for the many First Nations and communities whose ways of life and jobs depend on Fraser Chinook salmon.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada took unprecedented fisheries management measures in 2019 to protect Fraser River Chinook stocks, including efforts to clear the Big Bar Landslide, which further threatened the species. We will continue to assess fish passage at the Big Bar landslide and consider these circumstances in making fisheries management decisions as the season progresses.

The Government of Canada is taking significant action to ensure that our Chinook salmon survive for future generations. The measures announced today highlight the government's commitment to working collaboratively to ensure the sustainability of Chinook stocks as a means by which to ensure the health of our ecosystems and the long term prosperity of Indigenous and coastal communities.

Quotes

"Pacific wild salmon are an icon of our West Coast, and protecting them is a top priority. The measures announced today are one of many actions we are taking to protect and restore wild Pacific salmon. Indigenous and coastal communities depend on this stock for their food and livelihoods, and we are moving forward with a stringent, but flexible approach that reflects those needs. Together with habitat restoration and protection, increased research and enhancement partnerships we are taking the necessary steps to help safeguard this species, and put them on a path towards sustainability."

The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

Quick Facts

• To protect and restore Chinook populations, DFO is focusing on these key areas:
• Habitat protection - Bringing in a new Fisheries Act to restore protections for fish habitat, and working closely with the BC government on land and water use policies that can impact critical habitat.
• Habitat restoration - In partnership with the province, DFO has created a BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, contributing more than $142 million over five years, enabling salmon and habitat restoration projects in communities across the province.
• Climate adaptation - Climate affects the survival of Pacific salmon through changes in ocean and freshwater habitats. We are researching how warming waters affect salmon through all life stages, and the implications for ecosystems, and released our first State of Pacific Salmon report in 2019.
• Improved stock assessment – In the 2018 Economic Statement we committed an additional $107 million to support the implementation of the Fish Stocks provisions of the renewed Fisheries Act. These resources will help improve Pacific salmon stock assessments and contribute to a better managed fishery.
• Enhanced science and collaboration – To gain a better understanding of what is happening in the North Pacific and how salmon returns are being affected, DFO recently co-sponsored a second research expedition to the North Pacific with scientists drawn from five countries (Russia, US, Japan, South Korea and Canada).
• Over $15M expended to date for the Commercial Troll voluntary license buyback program to ease pressure on fish stocks and support the commercial fishing community.
• After conservation, First Nations food, social and ceremonial fisheries have constitutionally protected priority. We will continue to work together with affected First Nations to provide FSC harvest opportunities consistent with conservation objectives for at risk Fraser Chinook.

Associated Links

• Fisheries Management Measures: Fraser River Chinook
• Pacific Salmon
• Big Bar landslide updates
• State of Pacific Salmon – E-Book

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Backgrounder

June 19, 2020

2020 Fraser River Chinook salmon management measures

Fraser River Chinook salmon have been in decline for many years as a result of a number of factors including habitat destruction, harvest, and the effects of climate change. Of the thirteen wild Fraser River Chinook salmon populations assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), only one is not at risk.

In Canada, the rate of warming has been double the global average, because climate change is occurring at greater rates at northern latitudes. BC air temperatures are also warming, and snow packs by May have been anomalously low in recent years. Consequently, Fraser River temperatures are warming, and in summer months have been increasingly exceeding upper thermal tolerances for salmon. Other climate-related changes include more droughts, and extreme precipitation that are occurring more frequently in recent years.

Northeast Pacific Ocean temperatures are also warming. An unprecedented marine heatwave was present from late-2013 to 2019. This included water temperatures 3-5 degrees Celsius above average extending down to 100 m depths. This had profound influences on salmon food webs. One key example is the shift from usually predominant northern zooplankton species with high fat content, to a greater proportion of southern zooplankton species, with lower fat content, considered poorer quality food for salmon.

Changes in climate are synergizing with habitat changes in the Fraser watershed, particularly deforestation from human activities like logging, agriculture and development, and two back-to-back years of record forest fires in BC in 2017 and 2018. These effects are increasing sedimentation and landslides in BC, and resulting in less productive salmon habitat in freshwater for some areas and populations.

Today, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is releasing the 2020 fishing plans for Fraser River Chinook. The department will implement measures similar to 2019 with additional restrictions to strengthen conservation and some flexibility for additional fisheries for all harvesters in areas where impacts to stocks of concern will be very low. Working with harvesters, we are confident we have found creative and flexible ways to have small, targeted fisheries that will protect endangered Fraser River Chinook while providing opportunities to fish for healthier stocks.

The department is building on last year's measures to protect Fraser Chinook. These include:

• Chinook non-retention in the Area F Northern Troll fishery until August 15, 2020 and the Area G West Coast of Vancouver Island Troll fishery will be delayed until August 1st.
• Recreational fisheries in Southern BC will not be permitted to retain Chinook until July 15th in most areas and August 1st in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Southern Strait of Georgia given the higher prevalence of endangered Fraser Chinook. A maximum size limit of 80cm will also be in place in southern BC recreational fisheries through July/August depending on area. Portions of the southern Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet, covering an area off the mouth of the Fraser River, will also be closed to fishing for Chinook though August, to further reduce mortalities on stocks of concern.
• Recreational fisheries along the West Coast of Vancouver Island along a corridor shoreward of a boundary 1 nautical mile from the surfline and Areas 21 to 27 remain open to Chinook retention. In addition, several small subareas that are away from the main migratory corridors will be permitted to retain Chinook — these openings will be announced separately.
• Recreational fisheries in the Fraser River will be closed to fishing for salmon until November 1. Fishing opportunities for specific stocks may be considered at a later date.
• Recreational fishing for other species continues to be permitted (see our website for details).
• First Nations food, social and ceremonial fisheries (FSC) that have constitutionally protected priority, will be provided for First Nations Treaty and FSC harvests in South Coast marine waters and the Fraser River. South Coast FSC fisheries opportunities on mixed stocks will be permitted in marine areas with the exception of the approaches to the Fraser River (Subareas 29-6, 29-7, 29-9 and 29-10). Very limited Fraser River FSC fisheries will be permitted into July to reduce encounters of at-risk Fraser Chinook, with opportunities to target healthy Summer 4(1) Chinook in August. DFO will be working with Fraser River First Nations on specific fishing opportunities.

For more detailed information, please check our website for fishery notices at:
https://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?

DFO will also continue to assess fish passage at the Big Bar landslide and consider these circumstances in making fisheries management decisions as the season progresses.

Associated Links

Maps on DFO website: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/salmon-saumon/fraser-chin-mgmt-gest-quin-eng.html

SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region

Jane Deeks, Office of the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 343-550-9594, [email protected]; Media Relations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 613-990-7537, [email protected]

Related Links

www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca