In our previous letter for the proposed 2023/2024 Food & Bait and Special Use fisheries, we provided the rationale for a closure of commercial herring fisheries in Area 17, a cap on the proportion of the Strait of Georgia (SoG) Total Allowable Catch (TAC) that is allocated to the Food & Bait fishery, and a maximum 7%…
On November 13, 2023, the Pacific Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC) submitted the following letter in response to the draft 2022/2023 Pacific herring Food & Bait and Special Use (FB/SU) commercial fishery plans. In this submission, we reiterate our concern regarding the ongoing loss of herring spawning in the southern Strait of Georgia, with a specific…
The salmon subcommittee of the Marine Conservation Caucus submitted its comments on the draft Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for Pacific salmon. Our comments fall into the following Areas: 0 Defining Recovery and Rebuilding 0.1 Recovery 0.2 Rebuilding 1. Chinook 1.1 Northern BC Chinook 1.1.1 North Coast and Skeena 1.1.2 Central Coast 1.2 Southern BC Chinook…
The MCC, along with First Nations from Vancouver Island, issued a press release on March 2, 2023 calling on DFO to halt its proposed Mark Selective Fisheries on Chinook salmon. The fishery will harm both endangered Chinook and endangered killer whales
COSEWIC has released its new assessments for South Coast BC Chinook populations most impacted by hatcheries: four were designated Endangered, three Threatened, and one Special Concern, while one was deemed Not at Risk. Three remote populations were determined to be Data Deficient, and will require additional research before being re-assessed. The two Thompson River steelhead…
Full story in the Times Colonist via The Canadian Press April 16, 2019 VANCOUVER — The federal government has announced commercial and recreational fishing restrictions in British Columbia as a way to conserve chinook salmon returning to the Fraser River this season. The Fisheries Department’s regional director general Rebecca Reid says urgent protection measures include…
Full Story in The Star Vancouver by Wanyee Li April 16, 2019 VANCOUVER—The critically endangered southern resident killer whales may have more chinook salmon to eat this summer, as Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced stricter fishing quotas for British Columbia’s coast on Tuesday. Fisheries and Oceans Canada — often called the Department of Fisheries and…
Globe and Mail, April 16 2019 Story by Brenda Owen Ottawa has announced stronger measures to preserve endangered populations of Fraser River chinook salmon, placing new restrictions on commercial and recreational fishing. Last year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans aimed to restrict wild chinook harvesting across B.C. by 25 per cent to 35 per…
Today, Fisheries and Oceans Minister the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson announced management actions for 2019 to help address the decline in Fraser River chinook salmon. Fisheries and Oceans has released a news release and backgrounder on the issue. Fisheries management measures for the 2019 fishing season will include: Commercial fishing: Commercial troll fisheries for Chinook will…
COSEWIC released it most recent wildlife Species Assessment today. The assessment covers south coast Chinook including Fraser River, Thompson River, Vancouver Island and Southern Mainland populations. Eight populations of Chinook were listed as endangered, four populations were listed as threatened, one population was listed as special concern, two as data deficient and one as not…
Statement of PSF President and CEO Dr. Brian Riddell Regarding Fall Economic Update, New Wild Salmon Investments Wild salmon and those of us who care deeply about them got some great news in federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Fall Economic Update. We were delighted to hear Minister Morneau announce major new investments to sustain Canada’s…
Desperate efforts to save the whales – and the Chinook salmon on which they depend – risk fishing communities losing a way of life. The Guardian, 12 November 2018 Days before the start of the summer fishing season, when guides and outfitters on Canada’s west coast gamble their financial prospects for the year, fishing lodge…
The Canadian Press November 2, 2018 Story from the Times Colonist VANCOUVER — The federal government has declined to issue an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act that would further protect the endangered killer whales off British Columbia’s coast. An order-in-council issued Thursday said the government has already taken several measures to ensure…
The National Post, October 31, 2018 VANCOUVER — The federal government wants to create new ocean sanctuaries in British Columbia as part of an additional $61.5 million it is spending to protect endangered killer whales. Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Wednesday the government also wants to create new areas of critical habitat off the…
Original story in the Globe and Mail, October 14 Available online here. Rick Collins/The Globe and Mail Senior public servants in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are worried the department has lost the ability to keep track of salmon species other than sockeye – including the Chinook critical to the survival of the endangered…