Salmon Steward is the official publication of the Pacific Salmon Foundation in British Columbia, Canada
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1379981
10 Spring 2021 psf.ca WILL ATLAS CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE A fresh vision for salmon monitoring and stewardship on B.C.'s Central Coast SALMON WATERSHEDS A new report co-authored by PSF's Salmon Watersheds Program, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA), the Kitasoo/ Xai'xais, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and regional charter patrolmen outlines a strategy for monitoring and stewarding Pacific salmon on the Central Coast of British Columbia. Recently, First Nations in the region have witnessed alarming declines in local salmon populations. "The Central Coast communities depend on abundant salmon for food security, but in the past few years they've been struggling to meet these needs," says Rich Chapple, president of CCIRA. At the same time, investments in salmon monitoring have declined significantly, making it a challenge to devise evidence-based strategies for conservation and management. The report identifies practical investments to make in monitoring and stewardship based on First Nations values and priorities. Four high-level goals have been articulated: n Strengthening First Nations participation in stewardship and collaborative salmon management. n Expanding programs that monitor the abundance of adult and juvenile salmon. n Improving catch monitoring. n Evaluating current and future climate pressures on salmon. More than 200 on-the-ground actions were identified to help meet these goals. These actions include making strategic investments in local First Nations capacity for monitoring, engaging youth in salmon monitoring through internship programs, utilizing new technologies like artificial intelligence to support monitoring in remote areas and implementing mass-marking programs for hatchery-reared salmon. This work has been instrumental in highlighting where additional monitoring efforts are required to improve our understanding of salmon populations that are socially, culturally and economically important to communities on the Central Coast. "Central Coast First Nations are working to develop capacity to manage their marine resources informed by work such as the Monitoring Framework," Chapple explains. "This framework will serve as a structured guide for strengthening the scientific foundations for fisheries governance approaches that support conservation and recovery efforts for wild Pacific salmon and the communities who depend upon them." Adds Michael Meneer, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation: "The PSF facilitated the process that led to this report, which has the potential to strengthen the scientific foundations for collaborative fisheries management and support conservation and recovery efforts for wild Pacific salmon. We are committed to being an independent leader and catalyst for Pacific salmon restoration by working with our First Nations collaborators as well as stakeholders in the years ahead to support local capacity building and renewed investment in salmon monitoring and stewardship on the Central Coast of B.C. and beyond." Support for this project was provided by a grant to the PSF from The Pew Charitable Trusts with the intent of developing a First Nations-led Monitoring Framework that could help to support emerging collaborative management and governance efforts between Central Coast First Nations and the Government of Canada. The next phase of this work will focus on supporting First Nations' capacity and designing a coordinated plan to monitor the status of spawning salmon across the region. n Use the QR code above, or visit salmonwatersheds.ca/library/ lib_461/ online. READ THE FULL CENTRAL COAST REPORT Heiltsuk weir technician Richard Wilson-Hall releases a tagged Sockeye. 1 2 3 4