Derek Miller says:
January 17, 2024 at 6:17 am
Well Bob I completed my final paper for my Cert in Fisheries Management at Oregon State, and here is part of the summary of it:
“The systems lens permits a detailed understanding of why existing management interventions at DFO have not been successful in stopping salmon decline. Together, three system characteristics: a lack of agreed problem definition and shared mental model, conceptual foundations, and the impact of time and space, combine together in a harmonious dance that perpetuates salmon decline. Underpinned by top-down economic objectives that simplify the DFO role to managing the gap between target and actual salmon escapement, a narrow mandate that serves the interests of just three stakeholders and employs only four management interventions – harvest, hatchery production, habitat restoration, and scientific inquiry (4H). Cutting through wicked complexity by simplifying the system results in an addiction to hatchery production that satisfies harvest stakeholders but impairs salmon resilience. That addiction, when coupled with an unwavering belief in the availability and quality of data that generates inefficiencies, false optimism, and systemic waste in harvest decision-making, undermines trust in DFO management. Combined, these factors lead to systemic conflict that threatens to escalate as management authority is bypassed and competing stakeholders face off on the fishing grounds. Flaws in existing mental models at the strategic level ignore key interdependencies, generate self-reinforcing feedback loops that demand energy for an ever-expanding salmon saving industry (SSI), and further complicate an already intractable, wicked problem.”
So that to say, I agree that management is failing both steelhead and salmon. But to get to a solution the path leads directly through First Nations/Indigenous peoples in my opinion. We cannot get there without combining our efforts and unifying them around a common cause. First Nations are fighting for resource and territorial control of their traditional unceded lands, which is a much different goal than conservation. So it is not the same problem definition for them as it is for other stakeholders. The question is, what IS the common problem? To my view it is the continuous and relentless decline of salmon and steelhead populations all up and down the coast from California all the way around to Japan. Agreement on that is the first step in a very long intergenerational undertaking to change the way we think about salmon (including steelhead) and their role in our society. Putting them at the center, instead of humans, is the next step. The conversation about what THAT means is too big for this forum, but its one that needs to be had. And soon. Thanks for your passion and drive and investigation and energy. We need more people like you to run with the torch
