Question Period Note: Pacific Salmon

• The protection of wild Pacific salmon stocks is a priority for our Government, especially given complex challenges facing the species, including climate change and human induced impacts such as contaminants and changes in land and water use.
• The Department empathizes with the communities impacted by the limited salmon harvesting opportunities in 2019, and recognizes that some communities are facing similar challenges again in 2020.
• There are no silver bullets to the challenges facing Pacific salmon, and a comprehensive, long term approach is required.
• We are committed to working with First Nations, provinces and territories, and stakeholders to reverse the trend of declining Pacific salmon stocks.
• This is key for leveraging DFO’s science and program capacity in effective and innovative ways, as part of a longer term strategy for Pacific salmon.

PINNIPED PREDATION ON SALMON

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada takes an ecosystem-based approach to oceans management.
• Salmon populations, particular Chinook salmon, have been depressed over the last number of years and significant management actions have been implemented to reduce the impact of fishing on these stocks to support population growth as well as food for the endangered Southern Resident killer whales.
• Our priority is to ensure that the best science is reflected, in consideration of the role seals and other marine species play in sustaining a healthy and productive aquatic ecosystem.
• While seals and sea lions do eat salmon, salmon represent a small proportion on average of their diet.
• Seals and sea lions also eat other predators of salmon, and are an important food source for Transient killer whales whose numbers have been increasing in inshore waters along the BC Coast in recent years.
• Transient killer whales have been listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) since 2003.
• US and Canadian experts are continuing critical scientific work to ensure we have all the facts prior to making any decisions about how to sustain a healthy ecosystem in the Salish Sea.

• There were limited salmon returns in many fisheries in 2019. Commercial fishing opportunities were particularly poor, causing many in the province’s fishing industry to ask for emergency relief. In 2020, Fraser River sockeye returns were the lowest ever recorded (less than 300 thousand) and no directed fisheries were provided for First Nations, recreational or commercial fisheries. The Fraser River forecast for 2020 is also poor at less than a million fish (less than the full FSC allocation amount of ~1.1 million).
• In 2019, poor chum returns and new fishery management measures to protect interior Fraser river steelhead, designated as endangered by Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), also resulted in virtually no commercial chum fisheries in Southern British Columbia (B.C.). In 2020, Southern BC Chum fisheries have not yet started and will begin in October.
• The Department does have programs that provide some opportunity for harvesters to exit the industry, should they choose to do so; these are the licence and quota relinquishment processes through the Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative and the Allocation Transfer Program.
• DFO was notified of a landslide near Big Bar, B.C. on June 23, 2019 and investigated this remote area of the Fraser River on June 25. The Big Bar incident command post was set up on June 29 in Lillooet, B.C. with experts and response specialists from the Government of Canada, the Province of B.C. and First Nations.
• Continued sustained efforts will be required in the short and long-term, possibly even into years ahead, to reduce the impact of the landslide on future salmon stocks. Work is also ongoing to finalize the scientific evaluation of the success of the measures taken during the emergency response and identify lessons learned for future implementation. This is phase 2 of the response.
• Considerable progress was made while water levels were at their lowest. The freshet began later than usual and water levels have remained high due to high snowpack and greater than normal rainfall.
• A number of measures are in place to facilitate fish transport including pneumatic pumps, a road for trucking, and a “nature-like fishway”.
• All but one of 16 southern B.C. Chinook runs have been designated as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the COSEWIC in Canada.
• Management measures for 2020 Chinook were developed following consultation with Indigenous groups, recreational and commercial fishing organizations and environmental organizations. These measures are one component of a larger strategy for sustainability of at risk Pacific salmon populations. The measures include the following:
- Commercial fishing: commercial troll fisheries for Chinook was closed until August 20 in Northern B.C., and August 1 on the west coast of Vancouver Island to avoid impacting Fraser Chinook stocks and to support conservation priorities;
- Recreational fishing: the 2020 management measures for recreational fisheries where at risk Chinook stocks may be encountered were designed to avoid impacts on Fraser Chinook stocks of concern. The measures for recreational fishing ranged from no retention during certain periods, no fishing for salmon near the Fraser River, reduced daily limits, and maximum size limits (i.e. to protect large female spawners). For the Fraser River, recreational fisheries are closed to salmon fishing.
• First Nations Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries: in-river fisheries, which have a constitutionally protected priority, were managed with very limited opportunities when at risk Chinook were present . To ensure the maximum possible number of Chinook salmon that manage to pass through the Big Bar landslide barrier successfully reach their spawning grounds, DFO is working with First Nations in these areas to minimize Chinook harvests above the slide site.
• Many hatchery fish have been marked by the removal of the adipose fin that has been clipped off before fish are released from the hatchery. U.S. and Canadian hatchery marked Chinook are indistinguishable and in most areas there are much larger numbers of U.S. hatchery marked Chinook given mass marking programs in U.S. hatchery facilities. Some hatchery marked Chinook also contain coded-wire tags (CWT) that are extracted from Chinook heads turned in from the fishery or collected on spawning grounds to provide stock assessment information used to manage the fishery. Fishery opportunities where hatchery origin Chinook are retained and wild Chinook are released are known as mark selective fisheries (MSF).
• The Department has not authorized widespread MSF in 2020 due to several concerns, but some local opportunities were considered where Fraser River Chinook could be avoided.
• MSF are expected to increase fishing effort and increase release mortalities (approximately 20%) for unmarked, wild Chinook, including endangered Fraser River Chinook for which there are significant conservation concerns.
• During the spring months Canadian hatchery marked fish returning to the Fraser (including Nicola and Chilcotin) may be required to help sustain some endangered Fraser Chinook populations where few wild fish return. For example, hatchery origin, marked Chinook made a high contribution to Nicola spawners in 2018 and helped to sustain the population given very weak wild Chinook returns. Hatchery origin Chinook also return to the Chilcotin.
• In times and areas where the encounter rates of marked Chinook in the fishery are not well above 20%, this can mean additional mortality of wild fish can be expected due to release mortality if anglers must handle more fish to keep a hatchery fish. The department has recreational catch data, including encounters of marked and unmarked Chinook rates by month and statistical area, that is used to assess this.
• Gill nets are the most widely used and implemented salmon harvesting tool on the Fraser River by First Nations and commercial harvesters.
• Salmon stocks of concern and sturgeon are frequently and negatively impacted by the non-selective nature of gill nets, succumbing to significant physical damage and regular mortality.
• Fully attended nets can provide effective and expeditious release, and in general, species are unharmed.
• The 2018 Fall Economic Statement also reiterated the Government’s commitment to the sustainability of wild Pacific salmon, and made two key announcements: 1) to support stock assessment and rebuilding efforts for priority Pacific salmon stocks, including $107.4 million over five years, starting in 2019–20, and $17.6 million per year ongoing, to support the implementation of stock assessment and rebuilding provisions in a renewed Fisheries Act for priority fish stocks across Canada, including priority Pacific salmon stocks; and, 2) $105 million over six years, starting in 2018–19, to create a British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF), which includes a contribution to the Pacific Salmon Endowment fund of $5 million in 2018–19.
• The federal-provincial joint BCSRIF was officially launched on March 15, 2019. The total fund amounts to $142.85 million over five years: $100 million from Canada and $42.85 million from B.C. The fund is now open to proposals from Indigenous groups, conservation groups, commercial organizations in the wild fisheries and industry sectors, recreational fisheries, as well as non­commercial organizations such as universities and academia, industry associations and research institutions.
• Petition e-2367 was recently posted on January 9, 2020 and closed for signature on March 9, 2020. The Member of Parliament sponsoring e-2367 is Gord Johns, Courtenay-Alberni, New Democratic Party. The petition focuses primarily on aquaculture operations but states that wild pacific salmon are under serious threat from pathogens, pollutants, and sea lice originating from open net-cage fish farms. The Government response was tabled on May 25, 2020.
• There has been increasing interest on the Pacific Coast about the impacts of seals and sea lions on salmon populations, including a call for a cull and a commercial fishery.
• Along with academics, Indigenous groups, and US partners, DFO participated two expert workshops in May and November 2019 to summarize what is known about potential impacts of pinniped predation on salmon. There was a high degree of uncertainty about the role pinnipeds have on salmon abundance trends. DFO is continuing research into this topic.
• While there is currently no commercial access or plans for a cull, DFO does work with First Nations to secure access to seals and sea lions for Food, Social and Ceremonial purposes.

Big Bar Landslide
• In December 2019, a contract was awarded to an engineering company to access the site and clear debris, blast boulders and widen the river channel. The contractor met these objectives but an enormous amount of debris still remains in the river, limiting natural fish passage under high flow conditions.
• Alternative fish transport systems, including a pneumatic fish pump, have been installed to ensure fish passage past the slide over a range of flow conditions this past summer. With water levels now low, majority of the salmon are migrating past the slide site without assistance.
• An emergency enhancement program is also in place to bolster especially vulnerable stocks through hatchery work. Adult fish collection at the slide site has concluded, and DFO is working with the Indigenous Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance next to collect a small number of at-risk salmon from their natal streams.Plans and designs are well underway for an engineering solution that will restore natural fish passage at the site. DFO and the Province have invested significant funds to address the Big Bar landslide. It is important that efforts continue, as required, on this critical initiative – until the point that sustainable passage for Pacific salmon and steelhead is re-established.

Chinook Salmon
• The challenges facing at risk Fraser River Chinook salmon stocks are multi­faceted. The road to recovery requires a long­term view and the collaboration of all interested parties.
• The 2019 Chinook salmon management measures were difficult, but necessary, and a decision has been made for even stronger conservation measures for 2020-2021.
• A continued decline would irrevocably harm species that depend on the survival of Chinook salmon, such as the Southern Resident killer whale, and future fisheries access.
• The measures for Fraser River Chinook were developed following consultation with Indigenous communities, recreational and commercial fishing organizations, and environmental organizations, and are also just one component of a larger strategy intended to place declining Pacific salmon populations on a path towards sustainability.

Recreational Fisheries and Hatchery Chinook
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada recognizes that recreational fisheries represent a significant economic value to British Columbia, especially the Chinook salmon fishery.
• We understand the economic hardship that the fishing and ecotourism industries have experienced in regards to the conservation measures placed on recreational fishing and the potential impacts due to Covid-19.
• Those economically impacted by Covid-19 should explore the numerous support programs recently announced for small to medium businesses.
• Some hatchery fish are marked before they are released. DFO has received requests for fisheries designed to target marked hatchery fish - careful evaluation is required as marked-selective fisheries involve a number of risks, included the possibility of increased impacts on the stocks we are trying to protect, additional costs to mark fish, and the importance of maintaining the integrity of scientific stock assessments.
• In Canada, marked hatchery Chinook carry coded­wire tags that contain information used to assess the impacts of fisheries on wild and hatchery released Chinook. Retaining marked fish could compromise this information for wild stocks.
• Further consultation is planned to support an informed assessment of concerns and whether these concerns can be mitigated before further expansion of mark selective fisheries and/or extensive (mass) marking of hatchery production are considered.

If Pressed about Compensation for Recreational Stakeholder
• We acknowledge that conservation measures have had negative economic impacts on harvesters, including the recreational sector.
• We have worked with our partners and stakeholders to consider actions that help minimize these impacts while also achieving our conservation objectives.
• In 2020, as always, our measures will take into account the feedback we receive from our partners and stakeholders.

Petition to the Government of Canada to Ban Gill Nets
• Our Government is committed to the implementation of sustainable fisheries management practices that protect our aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, including the conservation of salmon populations.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada takes into consideration any impacts on conservation objectives when prescribing the type of gear that can be used by harvesters participating in a fishery.
• In 2019, the Department implemented a 42 day closure for all commercial nets, including gill nets, and a 27 day closure for First Nations Food, Social and Ceremonial fisheries, including gill nets, within the Fraser River to protect migrating Steelhead and prevent their by­catch during other salmon fisheries. Measures that will be implemented in 2020 to protect Interior Fraser River Steelhead are the same as those introduced in 2019, with additional restrictions for set gillnet fisheries in the Fraser River.
• Gillnet use is also restricted to protect interior Fraser River coho during their migration up the Fraser River whereas other more selective gears (e.g. beach seines) face fewer restrictions.
• These fisheries management decisions are based on the best available science, and are taken in consultation with all stakeholders and Indigenous peoples.