DFO’s Wild Salmon Policy Implementation Plan – MCC submits comments

The MCC Salmon Subcommittee provided feedback on DFO’s draft Wild Salmon Policy Implementation Plan. The following summary and recommendations are excerpts from the attached letter.

In summary, there are three core deficiencies in the draft plan that need to be addressed:
Conservation Priority – there is a lack of direct actions and focus on the identification and rebuilding of red zone Conservation Units (CUs).
Accountability – the draft plan lacks detail and fails to make anyone directly accountable for implementation or ensuring adequate overall leadership at the Regional and Area levels.
Funding –there needs to be dedicated WSP implementation funding to ensure this plan work.

Recommendations:
1. Clearly identify the individuals or teams responsible for specific deliverables.
2. Appoint leaders for coordinating and overseeing work between DFO sections, First Nations, and other partners at the Regional and Area levels. (i.e. implement Cohen recommendation #4).
3. Create an independent science panel (similar to COSEWIC) responsible for prioritizing red zone conservation units, developing rebuilding plans and providing an annual report card on WSP implementation.
4. Add detail that will allow for better evaluation of progress against deliverables, including clearer language on prioritizing red zone CUs for rebuilding plans.
5. When summarizing language from the original policy, ensure that its meaning and intent is not lost or watered down.
6. Provide more direct referencing to sections of the WSP, including Strategies and Action Steps.
7. Incorporate a direct link between the requirement to rebuild CU’s in the Red Zone to Canada’s ‘Guidance for the Development of Rebuilding Plans under the Precautionary Approach Framework: Growing Stocks out of the Critical Zone ‘

For the full letter: MCC letter on draft WSP implementation plan to DFO