Question Period Note: Pacific Salmon

Why are we not doing more to recover Pacific salmon?

• Pacific salmon are in a decline, with many runs on the verge of collapse due to climate change impacts, pollutants, changes in land and water use, and other stressors.
• The Government is taking decisive steps under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative.
• We are collaborating with Indigenous peoples, provincial/territorial governments, harvesters, environmentalists, and other stakeholders to protect and rebuild Pacific salmon.

• Budget 2021 provided a transformational investment starting in 2021-22, to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to stabilize and conserve wild Pacific salmon populations as part of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI).
• The PSSI was launched by the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard in June 2021, with the goal of stemming the severe and ongoing decline of key Pacific salmon stocks on Canada’s West Coast and restoring them to a sustainable level for future generations of Canadians. The long-term initiative is unprecedented in both value and scope, and the work will require the efforts of not only the Department, but of those whose lives and interests are affected by the state of Pacific salmon.
• This investment is to implement initiatives over the next five years (2021/22 – 2025/26) organized under four pillars: Conservation and Stewardship (habitat and rebuilding-related work); Salmon Enhancement (hatcheries-related work); Harvest Transformation (harvest-related work); and, Integration and Coordination (internal and external integration of planning and collaboration with others).
• Under the Conservation and Stewardship pillar, recent work underway includes BC Flood Recovery and the renewal of the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, Pacific high seas inspection for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and Pacific salmon rebuilding planning.
• Through the Salmon Enhancement pillar, the Department has focused on development and engagement on a new policy framework for salmon enhancement, which will guide DFO’s work on hatchery investments to support conservation priorities.
• The Harvest Transformation pillar’s activities include recent longer-term conservation-based closures for commercial fisheries, preparations of the Pacific Salmon Commercial Licence Retirement Program, and engagement on the mass marking and mark selective fisheries.
• Lastly, work advancing under the Integration and Collaboration pillar is intended to advance integration and collaboration with Indigenous peoples, harvest groups, environmental groups and others to support Pacific salmon conservation. This included the creation of the PSSI Secretariat and ongoing engagement with First Nations, as well as BC, Yukon, and other stakeholders, on approaches for collaborative processes moving forward.
• The 2018 Fall Economic Statement reiterated the Government’s commitment to the sustainability of wild Pacific salmon, supporting stock assessment and rebuilding efforts through a renewed Fisheries Act for priority fish stocks, and announcing the launch of the first iteration of the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF).
• The federal-provincial joint BCSRIF was officially launched on March 15, 2019 originally allocating $142.85 million over five years: $100 million from Canada and $42.85 million from BC. The second phase of the BCSRIF was announced in August 2022, with an additional $100M funded via PSSI. This brings the total funding of BCSRIF to $285 million ($85 million from BC), with an extended program end date of March 31, 2026.
• As part of the Government’s commitment to protecting wild Pacific salmon, on February 17, 2023, the Minister announced that licences for Atlantic salmon farms in the Discovery Islands would not be reissued as an enhanced precautionary approach.

If Pressed on the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative
• Year 1 of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative was focused on engagement with Indigenous peoples, partners and stakeholders regarding program design and implementation.
• Year 2 initiatives are underway and focus on salmon rebuilding, including prioritizing stocks requiring urgent support. We are implementing specific activities, using tools and data solutions to create positive change in protecting salmon.
• Total expenditure in Year 1 was $15.4 million. The next phase of the BC Salmon Restoration Fund has been launched as part of Year 2.

If Pressed on Flooding
• In response to flooding in southwestern BC in 2021, an Emergency Recovery Unit was established under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative to lead Departmental responses to major events.
• In collaboration with First Nations and the Province of BC, we are working to address impacts to fish and fish habitat in the most heavily affected areas of the Fraser Valley.
• Flood recovery action plans are collaboratively being implemented by First Nations, the Province of BC, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada through flood response tables established in the Nicola and Lower Fraser River watersheds.

If Pressed on Discovery Islands
• Given the unprecedented threats that wild Pacific salmon are facing, we must take action to conserve and protect them.
• The Discovery Islands has unique environmental characteristics, including the migration of wild salmon in many of its channels. It was identified as an area to examine in the Cohen Commission report.
• Following extensive consultations, I have decided not to renew licenses for 15 open-net pen Atlantic salmon aquaculture sites in the Discovery Islands area.
• The decision was not an easy one, but many First Nations and British Columbians expect timely, decisive action in the Discovery Islands to protect wild salmon.