Harvesters, business associations, scientists and conservation groups unite to defend the backbone of our fisheries management system
A coalition of 26 organizations released an open letter to the federal Minister of Fisheries calling for urgent action to restore and maintain essential monitoring efforts for wild Pacific salmon streams across B.C. Monitoring our salmon runs is the foundation of our fisheries management system. Watershed Watch helped organize this effort and we will not let up as long as these essential services remain under threat.
This summer, we sounded the alarm when essential salmon monitoring ground to a halt across the province, at the height of the spawning season, right when it was most needed. DFO had failed to renew contracts for the charter patrol guardians who go out on our streams and rivers to count fish, monitor habitat conditions and keep an eye out for poachers and polluters.
Chum making their spawning run. Image by Tavish Campbell
Thankfully, our efforts paid off and DFO got these essential frontline folks back on the water. But the situation is still precarious. Like most federal departments, DFO has been ordered to make massive budget cuts over the next two years.
But a recent study showed that our wild salmon monitoring programs have already been cut to the bone. The growing gap in spawner-return monitoring is undermining our ability to assess population health, guide sustainable fisheries, support Indigenous food security, and keep our ecosystems healthy.
At the same time, our government is fast-tracking mines and other industrial projects that will put more salmon runs at risk. We need these monitoring programs more than ever.Read the letter below, share it with your friends, and let your Member of Parliament know that salmon monitoring can’t be cut any further.
Read the full the letter