Question Period Note: Compensation for recreational fishers

What is the Department doing to address the impact of conservation measures on the recreational fishing industry?

• We are committed to the conservation of Pacific salmon for future generations.
• We acknowledge that necessary conservation measures can have social and economic impacts on fishers, including the recreational sector.
• We are continuing to work with our partners and stakeholders to consider actions that help minimize these impacts while also achieving our conservation objectives.
• Our 2022 measures will take into account the feedback we received from our partners and stakeholders.

• The British Columbia (BC) recreational fishery continues to face challenges linked to conservation of at-risk salmon populations, in particular Chinook salmon. The primary target species of the BC recreational fishery is Chinook salmon, and in recent years the fishery has been faced with reduced opportunities due to stocks of concern being present in mixed stock fisheries. These reduced opportunities has led to a significant social, economic, and cultural impact to the recreational sector.
• Of the 16 southern BC Chinook runs that were recently assessed by COSEWIC in Canada, all but one have been designated as Endangered, Threatened, or of special concern. However, there are certain stocks, beyond those that COSEWIC assessed, that are experiencing above average returns (i.e. East Coast Vancouver Island and Lower Fraser River hatchery stocks).
• Recreational management measures for 2022 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. These include measures to avoid impacts on Fraser Chinook stocks of concern. Ranging 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 while stocks of concern are present.
• Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI): In 2021, the Department announced the PSSI which is a strategic and coordinated long term response that aims to stem the steep decline of many Pacific salmon populations, and to protect and rebuild stocks where possible by implementing a series of immediate and long-term solutions that focus on four key areas: conservation and stewardship, salmon enhancement, harvest transformation, and integration and collaboration.
• PSSI Harvest Transformation - Recreational Fisheries: The Department will collaborate with recreational salmon harvesters to modernize how recreational salmon fisheries are managed, taking stock of the fact that the scope, effort and interests of the sector has grown significantly over time. This work will focus on regulatory and licensing reform, improved catch monitoring and reporting, enhanced compliance inspections, and the implementation of mark-selective fisheries (MSF).
• Mass Marking/Mark Selective Fisheries: 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. While most United States (US) and Canadian hatchery marked Chinook are indistinguishable, the US tends to mark greater numbers of hatchery Chinook given mass marking programs and infrastructure in US 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 MSF.
• The Department did not authorized widespread MSF in 2022 due to several concerns including interception of at risk stocks, but some opportunities were implemented where Fraser River Chinook could be avoided.
• The Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) is eager to learn more about the Department’s plan for mass marking and the implementation of mark-selective fisheries. Engagements with the SFAB are planned for the fall of 2022.

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