Minister Wilkinson to make announcement on the protection of aquatic species at

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wildmanyeah

Crew Member
Media Advisory - Minister Wilkinson to make announcement on the protection of aquatic species at risk

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February 13, 2019 8:48pm Comments

VANCOUVER, Feb. 13, 2019 /CNW/ - The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, and Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, Dan Ruimy, will make a significant funding announcement to protect Canada's aquatic species at risk.
Media availability will follow.
Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019
Time: 11:30 a.m. (local time)
Location: Bell Irving Hatchery, Kanaka Creek Regional Park, 11450 256th Street, Maple Ridge, B.C.
Directions: Bell Irving Hatchery
Note: Media are invited to join a short tour of the Hatchery with Minister Wilkinson and MP Ruimy following the announcement.
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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/…/releases/archive/Feb…/13/c2058.html

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Too bad there is not enough time to organize a rally to protest the proposed changes to all the shell fish and salmon regs
 
Volunteers at the hatchery were not even told till the media announcement. Believe me if they knew, there would be a protest, as a few of them are very high up in some Anti-fish farm groups.
 
Gee, maybe he's starting to feel a little heat. Keep those cards and letters coming in, boys and girls.....
 
It’s listed as a funding announcement. Possibly just a liberal vote buyer amidst all the SNC Lavalin scandal news back east. We’ll take every dollar we can get for sure, but wake me up when they announce a $2 or $300 million dollar cleanup and restoration program for the Fraser River. Sending out another 10 million chinook smolts likely isn’t the answer when the river they return to in order to spawn is a cesspool and in desperate need of restoration
 
No announcements with respect to fishing. It’s an announcement about how a $55 Million dollar chunk of the $1.2 billion dollar plan announced last year. Much of it is STUDY money. It’s helpful but unless we find the money and ingenuity to clean up and restore critical salmon habitat in the Fraser, Skeena, and Nass River systems we’re farting against the wind. Just keep asking questions and pressuring your MP to get major projects funded. The Liberals are locked in scandal back East! BC is becoming extremely important in this year’s election there are opportunities here to get funding and money for our fishery.
 
$55 million for 7 different areas means $8 million on average for each area, and you can probably figure half of it will go to Quebec! $8million isn't going to go far on the Fraser and Columbia

  • Fraser and Columbia Watersheds (BC)
  • Rocky Mountains’ Eastern Slopes (AB)
  • Southern Prairies (AB, SK, MB)
  • Lower Great Lakes Watershed (ON)
  • St. Lawrence Lowlands / basses-terres du Saint-Laurent (QC)
  • Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Rivers (NB, NS, PEI)
  • Bay of Fundy and Southern Uplands Watersheds (NS, NB)
 
https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-...ction-to-protect-aquatic-species-at-risk.html

The Government of Canada takes action to protect aquatic species at risk
From: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

News release
Maple Ridge, British Columbia — Canada’s natural environment and wildlife are at the core of our national identity. Biodiversity is the cornerstone of our way of life - the health of the natural environment supports our culture, our well-being and our economy. Unfortunately, some of the species in our waters, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and marshes are at risk and need our collective help to ensure their survival for future generations. We must take urgent, collective action to protect them.

That’s why the Government of Canada established the historic $1.3 billion Nature Legacy Initiative in Budget 2018, which will advance work towards meeting our nature protection goals.

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that as part of the Nature Legacy, the Government of Canada is formally launching the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk: a $55 million investment over five years to support the recovery of aquatic species at risk.

In partnership with Indigenous communities, organizations, provinces and territories, industry and academia, this fund focuses on seven priority freshwater places and two priority marine threats. These federal targeted investments will directly support aquatic conservation and species at risk across the country and in our oceans.

The priority areas identified are located in:

  • Fraser and Columbia Watersheds (BC)
  • Rocky Mountains’ Eastern Slopes (AB)
  • Southern Prairies (AB, SK, MB)
  • Lower Great Lakes Watershed (ON)
  • St. Lawrence Lowlands / basses-terres du Saint-Laurent (QC)
  • Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Rivers (NB, NS, PEI)
  • Bay of Fundy and Southern Uplands Watersheds (NS, NB)
The two priority marine threats identified are:

  • Fishing interactions such as entanglements and bycatch of aquatic species at risk;
  • Physical and acoustic disturbance, including ship strikes and marine noise.
Protecting these species is a shared responsibility. Through this fund, the Government of Canada is helping to build a culture of conservation, and one that empowers Canadian organizations to join in the collaborative efforts to conserve nature.

The Government of Canada is now accepting Expressions of Interest from potential partners to support the conservation of biodiversity through collaboration and partnership to recover aquatic species at risk.

Project partners will be expected to match funding. Interested parties are encouraged to review the eligibility criteria and submit an expression of interest by March 22, 2019. Successful applicants at this stage will be invited to submit a project proposal for further consideration.

Quotes
“Through the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, the Government of Canada will help protect and promote the recovery of species at risk. We know this must be a shared responsibility, which is why we are partnering with others to fund the right projects that will help us protect aquatic habitat and species at risk for the future.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

“Our waterways in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge not only create a breathtaking natural environment, but they are also home to numerous aquatic species. Through the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, the Government of Canada will work with partners here in B.C., and across Canada, to protect and improve aquatic habitats. Our appreciation for nature must be coupled with action to protect it.”

Dan Ruimy, Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge
 
WRT fish traps on the Fraser, I'd be concerned that unless issues like compliance with regulations & opening times, catch reporting & catch monitoring are addressed, a fish trap would only result in further exploitation of at risk stocks..

eg. some of the PICFI initiatives have resulted in new demonstration fisheries in areas that have never seen commercial scale harvest. (Harrison R., Kamloops L, ect..)

Don't get me wrong, terminal fisheries and opportunities for selective harvest are great initiatives, but there is room for improvement.
 
So let me get this straight. $55 million spread over 7 areas is $8 million split between the Fraser and the Columbia equals $4 million per area and that is spread over 5 years so we are now down to $.85 million per year with priority areas identified as
fishing interactions,physical and acoustic disturbance, which we are going to study some more.... What a load of cr*p . Absolutely nothing to do with the Chinook issue. What a disappointment this guy is turning out to be!
 
wildmanyeah said:
PSF should do a fish trap on the Fraser!
Click to expand...
I agree. The indescriminate netting of everything coming up the river needs to end if we truly want to help recovering runs. The concerned parties need to work out a distribution scheme and agree on strict enforcement.
 
my letter in response to today's announcement.

Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson,

The media was informed with less than 24 hours notice that you planned to make an announcement at the Bell Irving Hatchery, Kanaka Creek Regional Park in Maple Ridge BC. It was with some trepidation that I awaited your surprise announcement for fear that you would be announcing yet another cut or closure to BC’s already beleaguered Saltwater Sports Fishing sector. So imagine my relief when you announced $55 million dollars from the $1.5 Billion Dollar Nature Legacy Initiative Budget for Species at Risk, at least until I read the announcement and did the math. BC’s share of this $55 million is actually only eight million dollars. To be split between the Columbia and Frazer River Watersheds over five years. This equals $850,000 per year, per watershed, to be spent on “The two priority marine threats”

  • Fishing interactions such as entanglements and bycatch of aquatic species at risk;
  • Physical and acoustic disturbance, including ship strikes and marine noise
So, no money for habitat restoration, no increased hatchery production, no new hatcheries, nothing to get disease laden fish farms from the ocean. Where is your commitment to restoration? For comparison let us look south of the border. Down in Washington state on December 13 2018 Governor Jay Inslee dedicated $ 1.1 billion dollars to his 2019-2021 State budget to be spent on; “Protecting and restoring habitat for salmon, especially chinook, the orcas’ favored prey; boosting production from salmon hatcheries; storm-water cleanup; and quieting vessel traffic.” This is almost the same amount as the Canadian Government has dedicated to all of Canada for the next five years. Not only that, on February 4 2019 Washington State announced $6.4 million in hatchery funding with plans to release 24.2 million additional Chinook Salmon by 2021. This is just for Washington State! What is Canada doing? Closing large areas to all fishing, and planning even more cuts to our Saltwater Sportfishing industry, which when destroyed by these actions will remove $330 million dollars and 4600 jobs from the BC economy. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you that researchers from both UBC and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, generally agree that; “While NMFS has calculated the daily caloric needs for the current population of SRKWs, the numbers and density of fish that need to be available in the ocean in the areas and times that SRKWs will be foraging is unknown (NMFS 2018). Based on estimates of nutritional needs of SRKWs, the number of Chinook the current SRKW population need to consume can range from 274,845 to 329,230 Chinook per year (Mongillo pers comm. 2018). This assumes SRKWs have a diet that is comprised of Chinook only and therefore is a conservative number of fish required to meet their current nutritional needs. However, this estimate is lower than the number of fish needed to increase the SRKW population and achieve recovery. Estimating available prey for SRKWs In analyzing the daily dietary needs of SRKWs relative to prey abundance, NMFS (2018) indicated that there are significantly more Chinook available in Puget Sound than what is needed to sustain the SRKW population now. ·The estimated ratios of Chinook abundance relative to SRKW prey needs indicates that there were 11-22 times the amount of Chinook food energy available in Puget Sound in 2014 (Table 15, NMFS 2018).·In some years (e.g., 2012) the range drops as low as about nine times the amount needed during the July-September timeframe, but has also been as high as 16 times the amount needed in other years (e.g., 2010) for the same period.4Other BiOps for ocean salmon fisheries (NMFS 2008) and Columbia River fisheries (NMFS 2017) have similar conclusions relative to impacts on SRKW prey abundance with the latter noting that the reductions in Chinook availability were offset by the proposed increases in hatchery production that were included as part of the actions evaluated in the BiOp. Evaluating prey reduction resulting from fisheries in evaluating the effect of Puget Sound fisheries on SRKW prey abundance, NMFS (2018) indicated that only a small portion of the returning fish in any given year are harvested through Puget Sound fisheries. ·In 2018, the presence of age 3-5 Chinook to inland waters was estimated to be around 1.78 million fish. ·Fish caught in Puget Sound fisheries on the other hand, numbered 44,500, or 2.5% of the entire return; however, it is highly unlikely that the full amount that would be harvested in fisheries would be available to SRKWs. Those fish are not congregated in a SRKW foraging area, but are distributed throughout Puget Sound, and may be consumed by other predators or subject to other causes of mortality. Therefore, NMFS also indicated that eliminating Puget Sound fisheries would likely result in a less than one percent increase in Chinook abundance that would benefit SRKWs, rather than 2.5% (NMFS 2018). 3.Would a moratorium on fishing in Washington be a meaningful action to increase prey for orcas? Based on the information available and the analyses in the NMFS BiOps for Puget Sound (2018), Pacific Ocean(NMFS 2008and 2009), and Columbia River salmon fisheries(NMFS 2017), it has been determined that a moratorium on fishing in these areas would likely not result in meaningful increases in prey available to SRKWs.”

There are statements from Dr Andrew Trites from UBC that mirror similar data for the Straight of Georgia. So I have to ask how real is Canada’s commitment to saving the SRKW, Restoring our Salmon rearing and fishing grounds, and ensuring BC has a healthy economy that includes revenue from its once robust Sportfishing sector?

As a voter and a tax payer I strongly urge you to at minimum:


· Match Washington States contributions to Pacific Salmon and the endangered SRKS’s.

· Restore funding to DFO for meaningful research.

· Work with the Province of BC, and adopt their Wild Salmon Policy when it is released

· Stop the hurtful cuts to BC’s Salmon Sport fishers. I acknowledge that timed and area specific closures should be part of our conservation / restoration plan. They must be just that; Timed and Area Specific.

· An end to the fishing closures in the Whale Refuge Areas.
 
Great letter. Cant believe some people are still disillusioned into thinking this Gov really gives a **** about salmon, whales or the enviroment. Everything they have done so far is for a few and votes. Maybe I see them different or REAL.

HM
 
It is rather frustrating that they continue to funnel money to ENGO's and zero to their own programs like SEP.

I believe one of there last announcements they also said funding was avail early for ENGO programs.

Hope the PSF can grab a bunch of it.
 
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