Question Period Note: Recreational fisheries

What are your plans for addressing recreational fishing under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative?

• The Department recognizes that recreational fisheries represent a significant social, economic, and cultural value to British Columbia, especially the Chinook salmon fishery.
• As part of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative, the Department plans to modernize and stabilize salmon fisheries. Focus will be on regulatory and licensing reform, improved catch monitoring and reporting, consideration of mark selective fisheries, and enhanced compliance inspections.
• Further consultation with the recreational sector is planned on the sector’s views and interests on the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative.

• 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 in tidal waters 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 have led to 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 including 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 non-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. The scope, effort and interests of the sector have grown significantly over time. This work will focus on regulatory and licensing reform, improved catch monitoring and reporting, enhanced compliance inspections, and the exploration of mark-selective fisheries.
• 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 mark selective fisheries (MSF).
• The Department authorized a limited number of MSFs in 2022 where the potential to intercept at risk stocks could be minimized.
• 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. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) released a discussion paper on Mass Marking and MSF in June, and is inviting feedback from First Nations and stakeholders until September.

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