Salmon Steward

supporter spotlight salmon Steward magazine 5 The Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society was created in 2001 by the Government of Canada to manage a $30-million endowment fund for Pacific salmon conservation. Since then, the fund has partnered with the Pacific Salmon Foundation to help restore and conserve salmon populations in British Columbia and the Yukon. Support from the Society's endowment fund covers more than half of the Foundation's capacity and core costs. The Society is also a partner in the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society TERRY (CENTRE) WITH DAUGHTER JESSIE LANIGAN (LEFT) AND BRENDA MCINTYRE, THE FOUNDATION EVENTS ADVISOR, AT THE 2017 VANCOUVER GALA. PSEFS Board of Directors Terry Lanigan Chair Roger Flowerdew Secretary/Treasurer Members David Elliott, Robert Gayton, John Hodgins, George Hungerford, Anne Kinvig, Doug Knight, John Woodward TERRY LANIGAN Chairman, Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society chair's message Foundation's research and restoration eƒorts in the Strait of Georgia through the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project with a total pledge of $1.9 million. The Society provided support for the Project's last year of field research in 2017. Last year, the Society also continued its support for new priorities outlined in the Foundation's Strategic Plan: 2016-2018. These priorities focused on: 1) facilitating development of a Yukon River Chinook restoration plan; 2) expanding First Nations engagement; and 3) contributing to implementation of B.C.'s new Water Sustainability Act, including monitoring of ecological flow agreements and watershed governance. Finally, the Society provided funds to continue the Foundation's eco-certification program Salmon-Safe BC, which helps farmers transition to "salmon-friendly" agricultural practices. The Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society is managed by an independent board of directors. The Society began 2017 with a fund balance of $35.2 million and ended with a fund balance of $36.2 million. recommendations include active management of harbour seals – a major predator of juvenile salmon. One suggested measure is to remove log booms in estuaries to prevent seals from congregating during hatchery releases.›There are already strategies being undertaken to improve the eƒectiveness of hatcheries, such as delaying smolt releases to reduce competition with wild fish; continuing specialized tagging to trace family genetics for survival patterns (see p. 8); and using PIT tag technology for stock assessment in place of counting fences. With climate change comes more frequent and more severe flooding in rivers, which can destroy fences (like those erected by the Seymour Salmonid Society, pictured above). PIT tags oƒer immediate, real-time data on survival patterns. Another big win is the continuation of the Citizen Science Program for at least another year to ensure ongoing monitoring and contribution to a long-term data set. We now have evidence that estuaries are a critical part of salmon's life history and this has already inspired additional funding to keep some projects going; RainCoast Conservation's restoration in the Fraser estuary, and Seachange Marine Conservation Society's marine-debris clean-up and eelgrass restoration will now continue with help from the Coastal Restoration Fund (see p. 9). Finally, the results of the SSMSP's Strategic Salmon Health Initiative have been enlightening. The Foundation's board of directors unanimously agrees that the status quo on salmon aquaculture is inadequate to protect wild Pacific salmon. We›are›reviewing›the Foundation's›position based on these results and our values as an organization solely focused on wild Pacific salmon conservation and enhancement.

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