Salmon Steward

A KEY ALLY The Tla'amin Nation is located on the Sunshine Coast, just north of Powell River. For many years, the Powell River Salmon Society has shared resources with the Nation on joint efforts to enhance local salmon populations. The Nation was honoured at the Pacific Salmon Foundation's 2017 Powell River Dinner & Auction. This year, the Nation celebrated a big win, petitioning DFO to ban the commercial herring roe fishery on the eastern side of the Salish Sea in 2018. "I couldn't be more pleased with the efforts of the Tla'amin Nation," says Illes. "Herring are an important prey fish for salmon. If these herring aren't being taken away to be used as bait in other coastal fisheries, our salmon will have a much better chance of thriving in our waters." the fish start returning. The facility is used for assessing and counting returning fish to Lang Creek. Adds Anderson: "If the fish decide to start coming in at 2 a.m., the volunteers have to be there to sort them and empty the bin to make room for new ones." Fortunately, finding support for both the Society and the dinner has never been an issue. Like many small towns, economic growth is a priority, however it's tempered by a desire to protect the environment. "Powell River used to be a mill town, but over the years it's become increasingly diversified by a growing cottage industry," Illes explains. "We have people from all walks of life, but the common thread is that they live here to be close to nature and want to contribute to the community in some way." "Supporting the dinner is a point of pride for our local businesses. Part of the reason our dinner does so well is that we have generous cash sponsors and donors who provide items for our auctions. The community continues to be supportive because they want to protect the surrounding environment that depends on salmon and makes Powell River so special," says Anderson. Through the years, the dinner has grown in size, forcing organizers to move this annual event to ever-larger venues. Now held in the biggest suitable venue available, Dwight Hall, it continues to sell out every year. "It's inspiring to look around town when we're in Powell River because almost every business is contributing in some way," says Christina McIntyre, events manager for the Foundation. "Our local volunteer committee has done an outstanding job building community support for the Pacific Salmon Foundation and our annual dinner. Their leadership and the community's generosity enables us to invest in important salmon projects." Indeed, thanks to the Powell River Salmon Society, almost every school in Powell River now participates in the Salmonids in the Classroom program. And the Society has grown by leaps and bounds since inception. "In 1982, our contract with DFO was to supply 200,000 Chum and 20,000 Coho."Last year, we produced 865,000 Chinook, 786,000 Chum and 290,000 Coho, even though our DFO financial contribution has not changed over the past 36 years." So where do the additional funds to achieve these higher numbers come from? Donations by local businesses have allowed the Society to significantly increase their fish production, while seed funding from the Foundation's Community Salmon Program has helped improve operations and increase production capacity; the Community Salmon Program itself is supplemented by community fundraising dinners across B.C., though the majority of funds are provided by fees from the Salmon Conservation Stamp, which is administered by DFO. Lastly, additional matching funds for these projects come from the community. "PSF vets all of their project applications through a rigorous review process. So Bruce Anderson (right) sells raffle tickets at the annual fundraising dinner. when a project gets approval, funders know that it will work from a technical and scientific perspective," says Anderson. "That's really important when we're looking for matching funders for projects." DINNERS IN YOUR COMMUNITY Comox Valley Dinner/Dance & Auction Saturday, September 29, 2018 Florence Filberg Centre Powell River Dinner & Auction Saturday, October 20, 2018 Dwight Hall Nanaimo Dinner/Dance & Auction Saturday, November 24, 2018 Beban Park Port Alberni Dinner & Auction Saturday, December 1, 2018 Echo Centre Oceanside Dinner/Dance & Auction Saturday, January 26, 2019 Qualicum Beach Civic Centre Southern Vancouver Island Gala Dinner & Auction February 2019 Victoria Conference Centre Chief (Hegus) Clint Williams speaks at the 2017 Powell River Dinner & Auction. salmon Steward magazine 13 To learn how you can support Pacific Salmon Foundation fundraising events, please contact event manager Christina McIntyre at cmcintyre@psf.ca or 604.664.7664 ext. 116.

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