Salmon Steward

salmon Steward magazine 27 VOICES FOR SALMON manage and steward this resource on our coast. The SFAB has been an advisory body to DFO on recreational issues since 1964. As chair, he's committed to modernizing the process of information management and making it more easily accessible to anglers using modern technology and a more efficient operating model. Martin has also been a director of the Sport Fishing Institute (SFI) since 2000 and currently works within the organization as the director of business development. Martin recently joined the PSF Community Salmon Program's (CSP) Project Selection Committee as an observer, furthering his work to increase collaboration and information-sharing between all three organizations. A great example of this collaboration is through the Fishing BC app. PSF funded roughly $246,000 toward the development of this important application that aims to optimize catch monitoring for management purposes. In his words: "The PSF, SFAB and SFI compliment each other perfectly to create what we need to have a thriving, successful public fishery." PSF is happy to welcome Martin Paish to our CSP Project Selection Committee, and look forward to continuing our relationships with SFAB, SFI and the recreational fishing community. Martin also wishes to acknowledge his wife, Crystal, who is a great angler and a generous supporter to PSF events through her art donations. Tom Behm PSF DONOR GIVE WHERE YOU LIVE P acific salmon have always been an important part of Tom Behm's life, and he feels it's vital to give back to this iconic fish that has meant so much to him and his family, which he plans to do with a gift to the Pacific Salmon Foundation in his estate. Growing up in Prince George, he and his grandfather would watch Sockeye salmon spawning from the "old" Nechako River Bridge. They would also travel north to the Salmon River to see the large Chinook spawning, but they never fished for them. As his grandfather said, "Anything that has travelled so far deserves to be left alone." His appreciation for Pacific salmon and their ecosystems grew exponentially when he bought Skeena Diving in Terrace, B.C., in the 1980s. In addition to teaching sport diving and snorkelling (in Kitimat), he loved to fish recreationally in nearby waters. He'll always remember diving with friends and following the parade of spawning salmon in the Copper and Lakelse River. His career with the B.C. Ambulance Service led to assignments in Prince Rupert and New Westminster, where he was able to share his love for salmon and the West Coast with his sons. In addition to fishing at the mouth of the Capilano River, he and his boys would walk alongside the river, his sons often getting even closer to the salmon by snorkelling in various local waters. Now retired, Tom resides on Cortes Island, near Campbell River and each summer, his family joins him. "Living on Cortes Island has strengthened my family's connection to salmon and nature," he says. "I can see directly how other wildlife rely on salmon too – orcas, eagles and more. It's evident that the work that volunteers are doing in local rivers and creeks is working – we see the increased number of orcas, grey whales and other species each year, and this past summer, an abundance of Coho and Chinook. [An estate gift] is my way of giving back – a small token for the memories." If you are interested in learning more about PSF and leaving a gift in your will, please contact Margaret Buttner at 604.664.7664 ext.128 or mbuttner@psf.ca. We welcome all opportunities to discuss how a gift in your will can create a lasting legacy for Pacific salmon.

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