Reality Check, by Bob Hooton

[OldBlackDog]

Reality Check

OK, we finally have something the great unwashed public can wrap its mind around with respect to our federal government’s intentions to stop the bleeding of our Pacific salmon resources and a…

steelheadvoices.com

Taken from part of the blog,

This first-of-its-kind, multi-pronged approach, is built on four key pillars:

• Conservation and stewardship;
• Enhanced hatchery production;
• Harvest transformation, and;
• Integrated management and collaboration.

Conservation and Stewardship: Targeted science and more integrated data to drive effective decision-making around ecosystem planning and habitat restoration

• Work with the Province of BC to double the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF) with an additional federal contribution of $100 million to the current $142.85M program. BCSRIF is co-funded by DFO and the Province of BC and was established in 2019 to help rebuild salmon habitats through community-level projects. Has anyone begun to look at the BCSRIF allocations and results two years later? My review indicates millions have been spent with nary a fish resulting. If there were credible projects that would make a measurable difference in the status of any stock of any species and those projects could be implemented today, how long before there was any evidence of a return on the investment? The common underlying assumption is there is an abundance of degraded habitat that can be brought into production with some simple physical manipulations. What fails to be recognized is there is an abundance of historically recognized excellent fish producing habitat that doesn’t have any fish to use it. I liken it to constructing luxury condominiums in a ghost town.
• Deepen our understanding of salmon ecosystems – the rivers, estuaries, their migrating paths, and interactions – through increased salmon and ecosystem status reporting in order to strengthen decision-making. Investments will support a cross-disciplinary team, that will produce integrated salmon ecosystem data, research, and analysis to support program decisions. Sure does sound like a lot of process with no measurable output in terms of fish production. What is it that we don’t already know that is going to make a difference if and when we do? How long will this take?
• Further integrate salmon, ecosystem and climate data to identify drivers of salmon survival, and assess their vulnerability to climate change and warming waters. Measurable product and timeline?
• Create a new Restoration Centre of Expertise, as well as an arm’s length advisory body, to collaborate on and support the work of our partners, which will help ensure that stewardship, rebuilding and habitat restoration projects are integrated and more effective. And how long will this take and what are the terms of reference and expected outputs from any such group?

Enhanced Hatchery Production: Increasing salmon populations to help stabilize stocks while creating economic harvesting opportunities

• DFO is beginning consultations and planning to build new hatchery facilities where most critical to support Pacific salmon stocks. Salmon hatcheries can support both conservation and harvesting objectives, and play an important role in rebuilding vulnerable populations of Pacific salmon stocks. We will also strategically work with existing hatcheries to enhance their efforts, where needed, and to support economic opportunities for recreational fishers. Dear DFO, please remind us of the successes of conservation fish culture in BC or elsewhere. While you’re at it, please give us an indication of how long it will be before recreational fishers see any reversal of the restrictions brought to bear on their opportunity in the recent past.
• For all enhancement projects, DFO applies a broad suite of guidelines and best practices including genetic management guidelines that are updated as new knowledge becomes available. A variety of strategies that consider hatchery objectives, stock biology and status, and habitat condition of the target salmon populations are applied.
• Consistent with the Wild Salmon Policy, the Salmon Enhancement Program undertakes decisions using a precautionary approach which includes the assessment of biological risks associated with the enhancement of each specific stock. You can’t be serious here DFO. The WSP has been around for 15 years. Are you trying to tell us it’s been some sort of success? If so, why are we here today?
• Hatcheries are also where fish are ‘marked’ to support mark selective fisheries. For example, where recreational anglers are permitted to fish marked hatchery fish only, ensuring that wild salmon are not targeted.

Harvest Transformation: Modernize and stabilize salmon fisheries

• DFO will announce new modernized commercial salmon management approaches as part of the upcoming IFMP process. More smoke and mirrors. While there may still be faint hope of a conservation benefit for all those Fraser chinook, sockeye , coho (and the other forgotten species that doesn’t warrant a single mention anywhere in your PSSI broadcasts – steelhead) how about if you just eliminate totally indiscriminate gill nets whose deployment you keep on sanctioning in so many times and places you contend stocks and even entire species are endangered?
• First Nations will be consulted regarding potential new fishery management approaches, including potential innovative Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) harvesting opportunities, where the conservation risks can be managed. That’s called maintenance of the status quo. Correct me if I’m wrong but, once again, if that was anywhere near as successful as advertised, why are we here? Why is it that the further one progresses upstream on the Fraser the worse the conservation status of off every stock and species becomes?
• DFO will work with recreational harvesters to modernize how recreational salmon fisheries are managed, and work to provide sustainable harvesting opportunities through marked selective fisheries. Wow, how do you pass the red face test on this pronouncement after all the “consultation” on this issue that has already occurred and been completely ignored?

Integrated Management and Collaboration: Strong partnerships for better outcomes

• DFO recognizes the value and importance of partnerships with Indigenous peoples, provincial/territorial governments, harvesters, stewardship partners, academia, environmentalists, and other stakeholders, to work together towards the common goal of effectively stemming Pacific salmon declines. New ongoing engagement and consultation mechanisms will be explored and implemented so that, working together, we can realize better outcomes for Pacific salmon – including salmon habitat and ecosystems.

Given the complex and lengthy (4-5 year average) reproductive cycle of Pacific salmon, addressing the declines will involve a series of flexible, integrated measures that will be monitored and adjusted over the next five years and beyond. Work under each pillar will be advanced in collaboration with the wide range of Indigenous partners, harvesting groups, stakeholders and communities who depend on Pacific salmon, and who have been calling for dramatic change.
In the coming weeks, the Government of Canada will be engaging with these partners, leaning on the vast knowledge that exists to help determine how best to bring about these changes and make the greatest positive impact on Pacific salmon.”

So, DFO, what are the measurables to be evaluated five years from now? Who will be responsible for those analyses? Where will Jordan, Wilkinson and Beech be at that point, or even a year or two hence? What accountability will any of them bear if their expectations (promises?) fail to be realized?