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Evaluation of DFO’s Activities in Support of Pacific Salmon
Evaluation Report
Project Number 96524
May 2022

Evaluation of DFO’s Activities in Support of Pacific Salmon
(PDF, 2,046 KB)

Table of Contents


1.0 Evaluation context

1.1 Purpose

The evaluation examined the relevance, design, delivery and effectiveness of activities related to the management of Pacific salmon. The primary objective of the evaluation is to provide senior management with evidence-based information to help support decision-making and to help with policy development and implementation.

1.2 Scope

The evaluation was conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO’s) Evaluation Division between May 2020 and June 2021. The evaluation covers the period from April 2015 to March 2020 as well as the Yukon Salmon Sub-committee and Pacific Salmon Foundation contribution programs. The scope of the evaluation was established through a planning phase which included consultations with regional staff and senior management (including National Headquarters).

1.3 Approach

The evaluation applied a principles-focused approachFootnote 1 to assess the management of Pacific salmon by assuming that DFO’s Pacific Region strives to achieve the principle of “healthy and abundant salmon stocks”, as identified through document review and interviews.

In particular, the evaluation assesses the degree to which the principle is guiding, useful, inspiring, developmental and evaluable (G.U.I.D.E) in relation to DFO’s habitat, harvest and hatcheries management levers as described in section 2.2.

1.4 Methodology

The evaluation was designed to respond to the questions listed below. To address the evaluation questions, information was triangulated from multiple lines of evidence including interviews, document and literature review, financial  and administrative data analysis, a survey of DFO staff and external stakeholders, and case studies. The evaluation methodologies, limitations and mitigation strategies are discussed in Annex A.

Evaluation Questions

Relevance

  1. 1. What needs do activities related to Pacific salmon address?

Effectiveness and Efficiency

  1. 2.1. To what extent is there a clear strategic direction and vision for all activities related to Pacific salmon?
  2. 2.2. To what extent are the three levers (hatcheries, habitat and harvest) collaborating effectively?
  3. 2.3. Are there best practices and lessons learned that could help improve the department’s delivery of activities related to Pacific salmon?
  4. 2.4. To what extent is the governance structure appropriate to support the management of all activities related to Pacific salmon?
  5. 2.5. What are the factors (internal or external to DFO) that have facilitated or hindered DFO’s ability to meet its objectives related to Pacific salmon?
  6. 2.6. To what extent can the department account for all resources (financial, human, materiel) allocated to activities related to the management of Pacific salmon?

Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+)

  1. 3. To what extent have GBA+ considerations been incorporated into the planning and the management of programs related to Pacific salmon?

2.0 DFO context

2.1 How DFO operates with regard to Pacific Salmon

As the department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific salmon are among the 633 aquatic species managed by DFO in accordance with the departments’ broader environmental mandate and legislative framework, as described below.

Departmental mandate

With regards to Pacific salmon, DFO has a departmental mandate to manage Canada’s fisheries and safeguard its abundant freshwater and marine and coastal areas by:

Enabling Instruments

Six enabling instruments define DFO’s legislative obligations with regards to Pacific salmon:

To achieve desired departmental outcomes, DFO is structured by programs that align to core departmental responsibilities through DFO’s Departmental Results Framework (DRF), as described below.

Departmental core responsibilities

DFO strives to achieve results for Pacific salmon under the following core responsibilities:

Program Inventory Profile

Under the Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems core responsibilities, DFO administers a number of programs in support of Pacific salmon. These are further described in the following section.

All DFO programs are defined within Performance Information Profiles (PIPs).

2.2 How DFO delivers activities in support of Pacific salmon

As a fisheries resource, stocks of Pacific salmon play an important role in Canada. DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon are carried out across a multi-tiered national and regional program structure.

Nationally:

Regionally:

Figure 1. DFO’s program structure as related to Pacific salmon harvest, hatcheries and habitat levers
Long description - Figure 1

The diagram depicts DFO’s Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem’s core responsibilities and program structure as related to DFO’s harvest, hatcheries and habitat management levers.

With regards to the harvest management lever, to manage the abundance of Pacific salmon stocks, DFO has historically managed the harvest levels of Indigenous, commercial and recreational fisheries it manages through the Fisheries Management Program (FM). Annual fisheries objectives are outlined in regional Integrated fisheries management plans (IFMPs) developed by FM in conjunction with Science programs. DFO programs that support the harvest management lever fall under the Fisheries core responsibility. They include Fisheries Management, Salmonid Enhancement, Aboriginal Programs and Treaties, Conservation and Protection, and Fisheries Science.

With regards to the hatcheries management lever, to provide sustainable harvest opportunities, support stock assessment requirements, rebuild vulnerable and at-risk salmon stocks, and support community stewardship and engagement, DFO manages hatchery operations under the Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP). DFO programs that support the hatcheries management lever under the Fisheries core responsibility include: Salmonid Enhancement, Aboriginal Programs and Treaties and Conservation and Protection. Under the Aquatic Ecosystems core responsibility, DFO also supports hatcheries through the Aquatic Ecosystem Science program.

With regards to the habitat management lever, to protect and restore Pacific salmon habitat, DFO activities span a complex jurisdictional framework due to separate legislative authorities for habitat management. Some examples of DFO programs involved in salmon habitat work also include SEP, as well as the Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) and the Species at Risk Program (SARP). Under the Aquatic Ecosystems core responsibility, DFO supports the habitat management lever through Aquatic Ecosystem Science, Fish and Fish Habitat Protection and Species at Risk programs. Under the Fisheries core responsibility, DFO also support habitat through the Aboriginal Programs and Treaties and Conservation and Protection.

2.3 How DFO governs with regards to Pacific salmon

DFO activities in support of Pacific salmon are also carried out across multiple national sectors. Some sectors are directly involved with activities related to the three management levers while others provide additional support as illustrated belowFootnote 2. Within the Pacific Region, sector-level activities are carried out by multiple regional branches, some of which also provide additional support as illustrated belowFootnote 3. Within this broader governance structure, issues related to Pacific salmon can be discussed at many levels, such as committees geared to serve national sectors and regional branches.

Figure 2: DFO’s governance structure supporting the harvest, hatcheries and habitat levers as well as providing additional support
Long description - Figure 2

The figure details DFO’s governance structure supporting the harvest, hatcheries and habitat levers as well as providing additional support within national sectors and regional branches. At the national sector level, Fisheries & Harbor Management supports the harvest management lever, while the Ecosystems and Oceans Science and Aquatic Ecosystems sectors support both the hatcheries and habitat levers. Additional support is provided by the Strategic Policy and Chief Financial Officer sectors.

At the regional branch level, the Fisheries Management branch supports the harvest management lever; the Conservation and Protection branch supports both harvest and habitat levers; Ecosystem Management supports the hatcheries and habitat levers; while both Policy and Economic Analysis and Science support all three management levers. Additional support is provided by the Reconciliation & Partnerships and Finance and Administration branches.

Nationally, issues related to Pacific salmon can be discussed at the Departmental Management Committee (DMC) should the need arise. The DMC is a DFO senior decision-making body responsible for strategic direction on all matters related to the overall stewardship of DFO’s management issues. Additional committees at which issues related to Pacific salmon may be brought forward include:

Regionally, the Regional Operations and Planning Committee (ROPC) and Regional Management Committee (RMC) may discuss issues related to Pacific salmon. However, it is three senior management committees and a working group that directly support the management of Pacific salmon:

2.4 DFO’s financial profile with regards to Pacific salmon

DFO does not track departmental expenditures by species. In light of this, the only way to quantify spending related to Pacific salmon is through a manual compilation of costs with the use of estimates.

During the scope of the evaluation, this occurred twice. In 2018, DFO commissioned a study to estimate costs allocated to Pacific salmon using actual spending in 2016-17Footnote 4. Likewise, in 2020-21, DFO compiled high-level estimates of Pacific Salmon costs. Costing study elements were defined based on data extracted from DFO’s Management Reporting system in consultation with various managers to determine regional spending attributable to Pacific salmon. Across both studies, financial resources in support of Pacific salmon were composed of the following elements:

Overall, total spending in support of Pacific salmon increased between the two costing studies as illustrated below.  

Figure 3. Financial resources in support of Pacific salmon between 2016-17 and 2020-21
*Total spending in 2020-21 includes $154.6M that was allocated to the Big Bar Landslide.
Long description – Figure 3

The figure depicts financial resources in support of Pacific salmon between 2016-17 and 2020-21. Total spending increased from $107M in 2016-17 to $304M in 2020-21.

During this period, salary budgets for full-time equivalents increased from $52M to $62M, representing a change from 49% of 2016-17 total spending to 20% of 2020-21 total spending; operations and maintenance budgets increased from $28M to $115M, representing a change from 25% of 2016-17 total spending to 38% of 2020-21 total spending; grants and contributions transfer payments increased from $16M to $42M, representing a change from 15% of 2016-17 total spending to 14% of 2020-21 total spending; and capital budgets increased from $11M to $86M, representing a change from 11% of 2016-17 total spending to 28% of 2020-21 total spending.

Based on the 2016-17 study, annual spending in the Pacific Region dedicated to Pacific salmon was estimated to be 41% of the region’s total spending. Based on the 2020-21 exercise, spending dedicated to Pacific salmon had increased to represent 58% of total regional spending as illustrated below. 

Figure 4. Spending related to Pacific salmon as a proportion of total regional spending
Long description – Figure 4

The figure illustrates a map of Canada depicting DFO’s Pacific region and the Pacific Region’s four management areas i.e., Yukon Transboundary (Whitehorse), B.C. North Coast (Prince Rupert), B.C. South Coast (Nanaimo), and Fraser River/Interior (Delta).

The map also depicts spending related to Pacific salmon as a proportion of total regional spending. In 2016-17, 41% of regional spending was related to Pacific salmon. In 2020-21, 58% of regional spending was dedicated to Pacific salmon.

The financial profile of activities in support of Pacific salmon, in the 2016-17 costing study for which financial data was available, was distributed among as four regional management areas as well as multiple branches in the Pacific Region as illustrated below. Resources distributed among the branches support Pacific salmon harvest, hatcheries, and habitat management levers.

Spending related to Pacific salmon continued to support activities across the regional management areas and branches in the Pacific region throughout the scope of the evaluation. However, since resources are not tracked within the department by species, financial data for Pacific salmon spending by management areas and branches was only available based on the manual compilation of costs carried out in 2016-17.

Figure 5. 2016-17 spending related to Pacific salmon spans regional management areas (figures from the 2016-17 costing study)
Long description – Figure 5

The bubble graph depicts how 2016-17 spending related to Pacific salmon was distributed among 4 management areas in the Pacific region: the BC South Coast and Fraser River and Interior regions each spent $11M; the BC North Coast spent $6M; and the Yukon Transboundary region spent $3M.

Figure 6. 2016-17 spending related to Pacific salmon spans multiple regional branches (figures from the 2016-17 costing study)Footnote 5
Long description – Figure 6

The bubble graph depicts how 2016-17 spending related to Pacific salmon was distributed among the management levers and regional branches in the Pacific region: Conservation and Protection spent $4M to support the harvest and habitat levers; Fisheries Management spent $9M to support the harvest lever; Ecosystem Management spent $23M to support the hatcheries and habitat levers; and Policy and Economic Analysis and Science spent $14M and $9M, respectively, to support the harvest, hatcheries and habitat levers. $18M was also spent by regional branches that provide additional support, such as Finance and Administration, Real Property Safety and Security, Communication, Human Resources, and Information Management/Information Technology branches.

2.5 External management of Pacific salmon

Management and jurisdictional responsibility for Pacific salmon is shared across multiple stakeholders

The management of Pacific salmon is complex. Pacific salmon are a transboundary and highly migratory species that inhabit both freshwater and marine ecosystems and grow to adulthood in the international waters of the North Pacific thereby crossing multiple jurisdictions. As a result, DFO shares jurisdictional responsibility for factors that impact Pacific salmon with multiple partners, such as First Nations (FNs) and provincial or territorial governments.

The province of British Columbia (B.C.) and Yukon Territory, in particular, have jurisdiction over terrestrial habitat and freshwater fisheries authorities. DFO has authority over marine and freshwater habitat and marine fisheries.  Meanwhile, various stakeholders, such as industry and environmental/non-governmental organizations (E/NGOs) share a commitment to conserve and protect wild Pacific salmon stocks, habitats, and ecosystems.

At the international level, management is shared with United States (U.S.) federal and state departments as established in the Pacific Salmon Treaty. DFO also engages with international partners through Regional Management Fisheries Organizations (RMFOs) which govern the management, conservation and protection of high seas and highly migratory fish stocks as described in Box 1.

Box 1. Management in the North Pacific

Canada, along with other nations, manages fisheries within an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) defined as beyond and adjacent to the 200 nautical mile distance from the nearest point of the baseline of the nation’s territorial seasFootnote6.

Beyond Canada’s EEZ in the North Pacific, salmon are managed by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), a multilateral organization that promotes the conservation of anadromous stocks in the north pacific, including Pacific salmon, within its convention area as illustrated belowFootnote 7. Signatories include Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America.

Figure 7. North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Convention Area
see long description
Long description - Figure 7

The map illustrates the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Convention Area.

DFO shares jurisdiction over issues affecting Pacific salmon with:

DFO shares management of Pacific salmon with:

3.0 Evaluation findings

3.1 Activities in support of Pacific salmon address ongoing needs

Finding: Salmon is integrally important to communities in Canada’s Pacific Region. Due to the decline of various salmon stocks, there is an ongoing need to manage Pacific salmon under DFO’s legal authority and mandate to ensure their protection, sustainable use, and management in accordance with existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. 

Pacific salmon is socially, culturally, and economically important to Canadians

DFO manages Pacific salmon species including Sockeye, Chinook, Pink, Chum and Coho, illustrated below, that are particularly important to Indigenous communities and also have an impact on commercial and recreational fisheries.

Figure 8. Species of Pacific salmon
The figure depicts five species of Pacific salmon managed by DFO: Coho salmon, Sockeye salmon, Chinook salmon, Pink salmon and Chum salmon.
Long description - Figure 8

Coho salmon have a white mouth (may have black edge) and white gums with sharp medium sized teeth. Their tail is square and silver with some spots usually on upper lobe and have a wide tail base. The freshwater markings of Coho salmon are a greenish black head and red body.

Sockeye salmon have a white mouth with white gum line and small teeth. Their tail is moderately forked with no spots. The freshwater markings of Sockeye salmon are a greenish head and red body.

Chinook salmon have a dark mouth with black gums and large sharp teeth. Their tail is V-shaped, silvery and with spots on both lobes. The freshwater markings of Chinook salmon are their body turns olive brown to black.

Pink salmon have a white mouth with black gums and in marine areas almost no teeth. Their tail is V-shaped with no silver and large oval spots on both lobes. The freshwater markings are a pronounced hump on males.

Chum salmon have a white mouth with a tongue that may be black and large teeth. Their tail has no spots but has silver streaks covering about half of their tail which has a narrow base. The freshwater markings are vertical bands on sides that may be reddish purple on males.

Indigenous communities:

There are approximately 200 First Nations in BC and Yukon, many of which traditionally fish salmon for food, social and ceremonial (FSC) purposesFootnote 8Footnote 9. Pacific salmon are inextricably linked to Indigenous communities, not only as a traditional food source, but also as a vital component of well-being with nutritional, spiritual, cultural, social, and economic elements. These elements  arise from the multitude of ways that salmon relates to the lives of Indigenous Peoples and are further described in section 3.8.

Commercial fisheries:

Harvest, processing, and export activities related to commercial fisheries are an important part of B.C.’s economy as well as throughout the Pacific Northwest. Between 2012 and 2015,  the commercial salmon industry created an average of $273M USD in annual gross domestic product (GDP) and generated 4,410 jobsFootnote 10.

Recreational fisheries:

Pacific salmon support a robust recreational fishing and tourism sector in B.C., where over 300,000 licences are issued annuallyFootnote 11. Between 2012 and 2015, the recreational salmon industry generated on average 7,960 jobs an created an average of $577M USD in GDPFootnote 12.

DFO has the legal authority and mandate for Pacific salmon

Within the Government of Canada (GoC), DFO has the legislative authority and accountability for the protection and sustainable use of fisheries resources and their habitat.

As per the department’s broader mandate, there is also an ongoing need to address Pacific Salmon in accordance with DFO’s overarching core responsibilities. Pacific salmon programming throughout the department is geared towards the following results related to the Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystems core responsibilitiesFootnote *:

Fisheries:

Aquatic Ecosystems:

Pacific salmon are managed in accordance with existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights

Through section 35 of the Constitution Act (1982), DFO is likewise accountable for upholding a number of existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights that have shaped the legal context for the management of Pacific salmon:

There is an ongoing need to manage Pacific salmon stocks in decline

To survive and prosper, Pacific salmon require appropriate freshwater and marine habitat along their entire species’ range. Increasingly, concerns have been raised due to declining trends in many populations of Pacific salmon. The declines are unprecedented, with many populations declining to historic low levels at various rates across geography and sub-populationsFootnote 13. For instance:

Figure 9. Most DFO staff indicate that the management of Pacific salmon is addressing an ongoing need
Long description - Figure 9

The figure illustrates DFO staff responses to the following survey question: In your perspective, is the management of Pacific salmon addressing an ongoing need? 67%, or most, DFO staff said that yes, the management of Pacific salmon is addressing an ongoing need.

Pacific salmon fisheries are diverse due to the unique ecology of the species as an anadromous fish that migrate up rivers from the sea to spawn. Marine fisheries, such as the Strait of Georgia and Strait of Juan de Fuca are composed of mixed stocks while terminal fisheries, such as rivers that lead up to specific hatcheries, are composed of specific known-stocks as demonstrated below.

Figure 10. Pacific salmon fisheries are diverse
Long description - Figure 10

The figure illustrates the diversity of salmon fisheries managed by DFO. Ocean fisheries, terminal fisheries and river fisheries are depicted, as well as the type of stocks associated with each on a continuum from mixed to single stock fisheries. For instance, ocean fisheries are composed of mixed stocks whereas river fisheries are composed of single stocks.

Moreover, these trends are expected to continue. In response, certain stocks of Pacific salmon throughout B.C. have been designated as endangered or threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), making them eligible for consideration under the Species at Risk Act.

Pacific salmon stocks have historically returned in a predictable pattern. However, more salmon populations have been exhibiting negative trends in recent yearsFootnote 13 which continues to place pressures on the First Nations, commercial, and recreational harvesters that depend on the resource.

Recent conservation measures taken by DFO related to harvesting, such as announcing the closure of significant fisheriesFootnote 14, further exacerbate the socio-economic pressures stemming from the declining economic viability of Pacific salmon. Further management of Pacific salmon stocks is needed to address:

3.2 Activities in support of Pacific salmon are aligned with GoC priorities

Pacific salmon management is aligned with DFO and Government of Canada priorities

DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon are aligned with GoC priorities, as outlined in the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Mandate Letters from 2015 to present. Mandate letter commitments include working in close collaboration with relevant ministers, as well as with FNs, provincial and territorial authorities, to act on recommendation of the Cohen Commission on restoring sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River and using good scientific evidence and traditional Indigenous knowledge when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management.

Management activities for Pacific salmon are also linked to a number of broader GoC and Pacific Region priorities:

3.3 The principle of “healthy and abundant salmon stocks” does not provide consistent guidance in the management of Pacific salmon stocks across the three management levers

Guiding: Under the “Guiding” category of the principle focused evaluation approach the evaluation explored the extent to which there is a clear strategic direction and vision for all activities in support of Pacific salmon. This means the evaluation assessed whether the principle is prescriptive, directional and effectiveness-oriented.

Finding: The principle of “healthy and abundant salmon stocks” does not provide consistent guidance to drive Pacific salmon management across the three management levers. As a result, clarity in guidance may differ by species of Pacific salmon and different Pacific salmon activities.

The evaluation found that the principle of “healthy and abundant stocks” is subject to interpretation and does not provide consistent guidance for the management of Pacific salmon

Figure 11. Most DFO staff and some external survey respondents indicated the principle provides sufficient guidance from a small to some extent
Long description - Figure 11

The figure illustrates DFO staff and external stakeholder responses to the following survey question: In your perspective, to what extent is the principle of healthy and abundant salmon stocks providing sufficient guidance for the management of Pacific salmon? 59%, or most, DFO staff said the principle of healthy and abundant salmon stocks provides sufficient guidance for the management of Pacific salmon from a small to some extent, while 41%, or some, of external respondents said the principle of healthy and abundant salmon stocks provides sufficient guidance for the management of Pacific salmon from a small to some extent.

Guidance for the management of Pacific salmon may differ by species and by activity. The department could benefit from a clearer direction and vision.

Figure 12. A majority of DFO staff and external survey respondents agreed that DFO could improve its strategic direction and vision regarding the management of Pacific salmon
Long description - Figure 12

The figure illustrates DFO staff and external stakeholders’ responses to the following survey question: In your perspective, can the strategic direction and vision regarding Pacific salmon be improved? 92%, or the majority, of DFO staff said yes, the strategic direction and vision can be improved. 93%, or the majority, of external respondents also said yes, the strategic direction and vision can be improved.

Box 2. Various units of assessment group stocks of Pacific salmon for various management purposes

  • Conservation Units (CUs) are groups of wild Pacific salmon sufficiently isolated from other groups that, if extirpated, are very unlikely to re-establish naturally within an acceptable time frame. CUs define WSP habitat objectives.
  • Stock Management Units (SMUs) are groups of CUs combined for the purposes of stock assessment and fisheries management. SMUs define Bill C-68 objectives related to Fish Stock Provisions.
  • Designatable Units (DUs) are discrete and evolutionary significant units of a species used for COSEWIC assessments and which can align with the definitions of a CU.
  • Management Units (MUs) define fisheries management objectives related to the harvest lever.
  • Outlook Units (OUs) define Salmon Outlook objectives for generating science advice related to harvest opportunities.

Communication of DFO’s direction and vision for Pacific salmon could be improved within and outside the department.

Figure 13. Some DFO staff and most external survey respondents indicated that DFO does not keep them informed of a strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon
Long description - Figure 13

The figure illustrates DFO staff and external stakeholders’ responses to the following survey question: Does DFO keep your group informed of DFO’s strategic direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon? 35%, or some, DFO staff said that DFO does not keep their group informed of DFO’s strategic direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon, while 60%, or most, of external respondents said that DFO does not keep their group informed of DFO’s strategic direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon.

Figure 14. DFO staff are most informed, followed by partners and external stakeholders
Long description - Figure 14

The bar graph depicts the degree to which DFO staff, partners and external stakeholders are informed about DFO’s direction and vision. DFO staff is the most informed group, with 46% considering themselves informed. Partners are the second most informed group, with 41% of them considering themselves informed. External Stakeholders were last, with 34% of them considering themselves informed.

There is a need for increased engagement to improve the communication of DFO’s strategic vision for Pacific salmon

Moving forward, DFO will implement a new Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI)Footnote 16.

3.4 Roles and Responsibilities related to Pacific salmon activities could be improved at the departmental level

Useful: The evaluation focused on issues surrounding governance, roles and responsibilities. This falls under the “Useful” category of the principle focused evaluation approach, meaning the evaluation assessed whether the principle points towards results, describes how to be effective and supports decision-making.

Finding: Roles and responsibilities with regard to Pacific salmon are clear within branches and programs but not across other areas of the department due, in part, to unclear accountabilities associated with a need for a clearer direction and vision.

Overall, roles and responsibilities related to Pacific salmon are clear at the branch and program level, but could be improved at the departmental level

Overall, the evaluation found that roles and responsibilities with regard to Pacific salmon are clear within the various program siloes along which Pacific salmon activities take place. Most DFO interviewees (67%) are clear on their roles and responsibilities regarding Pacific salmon.

However, limitations remain due to the fact that roles and responsibilities are generally well-defined within individual branches and programs but do not form part of a single unified plan for the department, such as the Wild Salmon Policy Implementation Plan.

Roles and responsibilities are not clear across other areas of the department due, in part, to unclear accountabilities associated with a lack of clear direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon. As a result, regional program components that carry out activities in support of Pacific salmon do not communicate with their national program counterparts or across programs at the national level.

Figure 15. When asked to what extent are roles and responsibilities regarding the management of Pacific salmon clearly defined, DFO staff rated the extent to which roles and responsibilities are clearly defined higher than external survey respondents.
Long description - Figure 15

The bar graph illustrates the extent to which roles and responsibilities regarding the management of Pacific salmon were rated as clearly defined by DFO staff and external survey respondents. DFO staff rated the extent to which roles and responsibilities are clearly defined higher than external survey respondents; 16.3% said to a great extent; 23.3% said to a moderate extent; 39.5% said to some extent; 11.6% said to a small extent and 9.3% said not at all. Meanwhile, 9.5% of external survey respondents said to a great extent; 12.4% said to a moderate extent; 27.6% said to some extent; 31.4% said to a small extent and 19% said not at all.

Governance frameworks lack clarity within the region and across the department

At the regional and departmental level, unclear accountabilities for Pacific salmon programming have resulted in activities being driven by crisis or interest rather than being reflected in branch, program and area plans (such as strategic plans, work plans, and other internal documents). As a result, habitat, hatcheries and harvest activities in support of Pacific salmon often stem from different areas of the department and from multiple decision making processes.

The evaluation found that accountabilities for the management of Pacific salmon are not necessarily aligned with existing accountabilities within the department. This is due, in part, to the broader operational context within which DFO operates wherein governance frameworks are not geared to be species-specific. Rather, it is the broader departmental context that drives governance around Pacific salmon issues. Therefore while responsibilities for Pacific salmon lie with the RDG, Pacific Region, other areas of the department also play a vital role in the management of Pacific salmon as depicted in the WSP Implementation Plan and described in Box 3 below.

Box 3. Canada’s Policy for the Conservation of Wild Pacific salmon

  • The Wild Salmon Policy – 2018-2022 Implementation Plan (WSP-IP) was adopted to consolidate actions in support of Pacific salmon that are outlined in the WSP; for this reason the WSP-IP captures and consolidates many activities within the department, such as implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST), Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS), Aquaculture, and Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) and potential considerations under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) as needed.
  • While the WSP-IP has been in place since 2017, interviewees noted a lack of accountability in the implementation plan. New legislation, such as the 2019 amendments to the Fisheries Act, have also changed the context for Pacific salmon management and created confusion with regards to Pacific salmon accountabilities within the department.

DFO staff rated the governance structure supporting Pacific salmon activities as being appropriate from a small to some extent as illustrated below. A number of improvements were noted that may help clearly define roles and responsibilities for the management of Pacific salmon:

Figure 16. When asked to what extent is the governance structure in place appropriate to support the management of all activities related to Pacific salmon, some DFO staff rated it to a small extent.
Long description - Figure 16

The bar graph illustrates the extent to which DFO staff consider that the governance structure in place to support the management of all activities related to Pacific salmon is appropriate: 2.3% of DFO staff said that the governance structure in place was appropriate to a great extent; 25.6% said to a moderate extent; 23.3% said to some extent; 30.2% said to a small extent; and 18.6% said not at all.

3.5 Pacific salmon management levers would benefit from improved collaboration

Finding: The alignment, integration, collaboration and communication between DFO’s harvest, hatcheries and habitat management levers can be improved to support healthy and abundant salmon stocks.

There is a need to improve the alignment, integration, collaboration and communication between those implementing Pacific salmon management levers.

The harvest, hatcheries and habitat management levers act as the instruments through which DFO achieves results for Pacific salmon based on their influence over factors affecting the species.

The three levers are not mutually exclusive. In order to advance the Department’s overall priorities and outcomes for Pacific salmon, the harvest, habitat and hatcheries levers must work collaboratively based on aligned priorities. However, the management of Pacific salmon within DFO is highly complex, cutting across multiple branches and numerous regional programs.

Overall, the evaluation found that Pacific Region activities across the three management levers are siloed, not aligned to strategic priorities, and lack coordination and integration, for instance, across Pacific Region’s management areas.

The evaluation also found evidence of greater consideration towards harvest management activities than towards the other management levers. In contrast, management activities related to Pacific salmon habitat tend to be the most disconnected from the remaining levers.

Collaboration: DFO staff and external partners indicated an overall lack of collaboration between the three levers.

When survey respondents were asked to what extent is there collaboration between the management levers, collaboration between hatcheries and harvest was rated the highest (55% said from a small to a moderate extent), potentially because hatcheries’ production objectives support harvest activities, while habitat and harvest was rated the weakest (62% said from not at all to a small extent).

Some staff (40%) suggested that an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach to management would help increase collaboration between the three levers. An EBM approach ensures that linkages among key ecosystem components are considered when identifying, establishing, planning and managing DFO’s various responsibilities.Footnote 17

Alignment: DFO’s management levers are not clearly aligned

Again, clear alignment is perceived as strongest between harvest and hatcheries levers and weakest between harvest and habitat.

Interviewees agree the alignment of objectives and priorities is affected by variables that can differ across the three levers, such as independent decision-making frameworks, jurisdictional limitations, and management timelines.

3.6 Pacific salmon management levers would benefit from improved communication

Communication between the three management levers can be improved

Avenues for the communication of work happening across harvest, habitat and hatcheries levers include: regional committees geared towards Pacific salmon, internal briefing notes and parliamentary standing committees as outlined in Box 4 below.

Box 4. Feedback from parliamentary standing committees

DFO’s need for improved communication and integration in the management of Pacific salmon has been raised by First Nations as well as stakeholders and partners including provincial/territorial governments and E/NGOs. Recent statements by witnesses on the State of Pacific Salmon at the July 2020 Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) highlighted the need for integration to support the ability to work across branches and departments to align priorities with Pacific salmon.

Witnesses noted that no one party has the knowledge or the resources to address Pacific salmon management issues on their own, therefore integration is needed at the federal level.

For instance, communication occurs across Pacific salmon committees whose membership includes various regional branches and areas. However, discussions tend to focus on decisions related to harvest. Further engagement with programs related to habitat and hatcheries activities is needed.

As well, internal briefing notes support decision-making by communicating information across the three levers. However, information is mostly shared in relation to GoC priorities. For example, Pacific salmon issues related to the SRKW Initiative may include considerations of salmon enhancement and habitat protection and restoration.

A few DFO staff indicated that evidence-based planning, clear and consolidated leadership, and the development of priorities to establish a framework would help increase communication between the three levers.

Communication: DFO staff indicated the need for better communication between the three levers.

DFO interviewees (22%) also indicated the degree to which DFO’s strategic direction and vision is communicated within the department differs by lever and organizational position.

Figure 17. When survey respondents were asked to what extent is there clear communication between the following levers, communication was rated strongest between the hatcheries and harvest levers and weakest between habitat and harvest.
Long description - Figure 17

The double bar graph depicts the extent to which DFO staff considered there was clear communication between the hatcheries and harvest levers as well as between the habitat and harvest levers. Communication was rated strongest between the hatcheries and harvest levers and weakest between habitat and harvest.

With regards to hatcheries and harvest: 19% of DFO staff said communication was clear to a small extent; 22% said to some extent; and 16% said to a moderate extent. With regards to the habitat and harvest levers: 16% of DFO staff said communication was not at all clear while 44% said it was clear to a small extent.

Integration: DFO has struggled to integrate multiple program-based salmon work plans across the three levers.

  • Salmon programming is multi-faceted, spanning across several branches and programs that are not aligned and lack an overarching framework linking them to salmon objectives.
  • The evaluation found that habitat activities are perceived as the least integrated, followed by hatcheries and harvest.
  • Working level staff (53%)indicated that internal integration is a gap that should be addressed to provide guidance for the many aspects of Pacific salmon management.

Moving forward, DFO’s PSSI  will focus on 4 key areas, one of which is specific to integrated management and collaborationFootnote 18:

3.7 Financial Information by lever

Finding: DFO tends to focus more on the harvest management lever as a result of the department’s broader mandate. However, in the case of Pacific salmon, all three management levers need to be acted upon.

The unique ecology of Pacific salmon as a species adds to management complexity that requires actions across the habitat, harvest and hatcheries levers.

As a department, DFO historically manages fisheries through the use of harvest management actions as a result of the department’s broader mandate and regulatory frameworks, which are further outlined in Box 5. This means DFO has, in the past, focused more on the harvest management levers than habitat and hatcheries. In fact, many aquatic species such as Atlantic cod, are managed by the department solely on the basis of harvest measures. However, Pacific salmon are unique in that the various management levers have influence over the different stages of a Pacific salmon’s complex lifecycle and migration runs. Therefore, activities in support of Pacific salmon need to focus on all three levers. As an approach, this does not necessarily align with DFO’s traditional approach to fisheries management.

Box 5. The influence of DFO’s regulatory frameworks

It is noteworthy that most policies affecting the management of Pacific salmon are not species-specific. For instance, DFO’s ecosystem-based management approach ensures linkages among multiple key ecosystem components.

DFO’s broader legislative framework is what prescribes the management actions taken by the department. Therefore DFO’s management actions have had to evolve alongside changes to foundational enabling instruments. For instance, DFO’s jurisdiction over factors influencing Pacific salmon habitat has evolved in response to 2012 changes to the Fisheries Act which challenged the department’s ability to protect fish and fish habitat. In 2019, Bill-C68 amendments reinstated these provisionsFootnote 19.

The evaluation found evidence of greater consideration towards harvest management activities than towards the other management levers, such as increased financial support for harvest based on 2016-17 actual spending. In contrast, 2020-21 spending is more reflective of the need to focus on the other management levers, in particular habitat as depicted below.

Figure 18. Spending in the Pacific Region by lever in 2016-17 and 2020-21
Long description - Figure 18

The bar graph depicts spending in the Pacific Region by lever in 2016-17 and 2020-21. Spending related to the harvest management lever stayed the same at $46M across both years. Spending related to the habitat management lever increased from $24M in 2016-17 to $212M in 2020-21. Spending related to the hatcheries management lever increased from $33M in 2016-17 to $38M in 2020-21. Common spending across the levers increased from $6M in 2016-17 to $7M in 2020-21.

3.8 GBA+ considerations in the management of Pacific salmon

Inspiring: The following section, addressed the GBA+ evaluation question which is “to what extent have GBA+ considerations been incorporated into the planning and the management of programs related to Pacific salmon?” This falls under the “Inspiring” category of the Principles Focused Evaluation approach, meaning the evaluation assessed whether the principle is value-based and meaningful.

Finding: DFO considers feedback from Indigenous Peoples and remote communities to support the planning and management of Pacific salmon programs. However, Indigenous Peoples note that despite being consulted, they do not always see their perspectives included in the department’s decision-making in meaningful ways.

Opinions with regard Pacific salmon vary among the different groups and partners with which DFO consults

Groups and partners with which DFO consults have different opinions on what is the appropriate pathway forward and how to measure success or the achievement of results. To better understand how or why opinions differ on Pacific salmon, the evaluation adopted a GBA+ approachFootnote 20. While a variety of GBA+ groups were considered, two in particular stood out as having been considered more than others in the management of Pacific salmon: Indigenous Peoples and remote communities.

Indigenous Peoples

Remote Communities

There are opportunities for DFO to continue engaging with Indigenous partners by working towards using co-design, co-development, and co-delivery approaches in the context of Pacific salmon

Some advancements are being made by DFO to increasingly consider and include stakeholders perspectives in decision-making; for example, as part of the new Fisheries Act amendment, ITK is now provided as part of recommendations to the Minister for certain habitat and fisheries management decisions. Progress is also being made on opportunities identified by the department, for example, strengthening networks and improving mechanisms to share effective and innovative practices with Indigenous Peoples.

Despite this and other efforts, interviewees stated that DFO could continue to engage Indigenous partners in meaningful ways by working towards using co-design, co-development and co-delivery (CCC) approaches to a greater extent, as described below.

Figure 19. Although there are no consistent definitions of CCC approaches, they can be described as followsFootnote 21
Long description - Figure 19

This figure describes the concepts of co-design, co-development, and co-delivery, although there are no consistent definitions to this approach.

Co-design is the what. It involves working to develop general concepts, goals and objectives. It actively involves stakeholders to provide input and directly influence the program design.

Co-development is the how. It is about policies, governance, and program components. It involves developing the pieces of the program that will be needed to achieve objectives and implement the program. It sets the direction of the program.

Co-delivery is the doing. It is about implementation and monitoring as it involves management and delivery of the program over time. It also includes monitoring to identify where the program needs improvements, and cycling back to the design or development phases.

Almost half of internal staff (49%) indicated that the department engaged with partners using CCC from a small to some extent. Most external respondents (67%) indicated that DFO engaged with partners using CCC approaches between not at all to a small extent, as illustrated below. The implementation of these approaches is often sporadic. DFO applies co-design, co-development and co-delivery approaches in certain areas and for some programs, but often it is only select groups in specific areas who are involved. External respondents mentioned gaps in communication, particularly in terms of how partners’ feedback is ultimately included in decision-making.

Figure 20. Engagement with staff and external partners on co-design, co-development and co-delivery approaches is low
Long description - Figure 20

This double bar graph illustrates the extent to which DFO staff and external survey respondents consider that co-design, co-development and co-delivery approaches where used in the management of Pacific salmon.

Most DFO staff indicated that DFO engaged with partners using CCC from a small to some extent, 7% of DFO staff said they were engaged to a great extent, 11% said to a moderate extent, 32% said to some extent, 14% said to a small extent, and 8% said not at all.

Most external respondents indicated that DFO engaged with partners using CCC from not at all to a small extent, 4% of external respondents said they were engaged using CCC to a great extent, 11% said to a moderate extent, 18% said to some extent, 35% said to a small extent, and 32% said not at all.

Pacific salmon has socio-cultural significance for Indigenous Peoples

To say that Pacific salmon has social and cultural value, means that “personal identity, emotional satisfaction, and psychological well-being”Footnote 22 is derived from the ability and opportunity to access this species of fish. This is true for Indigenous Peoples through their relationship with Pacific salmon and as such, the socio-cultural value that salmon represents to Indigenous Peoples should be respected.

One way this can be done is to learn to see Pacific salmon with the same eyes as Indigenous Peoples. Two-eyed seeing is a way that non-Indigenous people, organizations, governments and researchers may learn to use their knowledge, such as that derived from western science (WS), along with Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) on salmon, as depicted belowFootnote 23.

This would involve pairing the two prevalent knowledge systems in such a way that both contribute in parallel to generating a mutual understanding rather than an integrated (or assimilated) understanding.

Two-eyed seeing is moving beyond integrating or incorporating ITK into WS and western decision-making. There is room for DFO to explore the adoption of a two-eyed seeing approach into fisheries research and management. As per the Minister’s mandate letter, such an approach would take into account the legislative parameters for incorporating science, the precautionary approach and ITK when making decisions affecting fish stocks and ecosystem management.

Figure 21. Two-eyed seeing approach
Long description - Figure 21

This figure depicts three approaches to understanding the socio-cultural significance that Pacific salmon has for Indigenous Peoples.

The first approach is the Status Quo. The knowledge space for the status quo is based on western science as a singular source of knowledge. In this approach the decision space is based on one eye, that of western science.

The second approach is Knowledge Assimilation. The knowledge space for this approach is based on western science being influenced by Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK). Indigenous Traditional Knowledge is assimilated by western science, resulting in a decision space that is based on one eye as well.

The third approach is Knowledge Coexistence. Both Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and western science mutually coexist in the knowledge space, leading to a decision space that is based on two-eyed seeing where both contribute in parallel.

Recognizing the importance and value of Pacific salmon for Indigenous Peoples should incite greater efforts to ensure transparency, effective engagement and consideration of Indigenous perspectives in decision-making.

3.9 The management of Pacific salmon has become increasingly complex

Developmental: Factors affecting the department’s ability to manage Pacific salmon are discussed next. This section of the report falls under the “developmental” category in the Principles Focused Evaluation approach, meaning that the evaluation focused on whether the principle is context sensitive, complexity adaptable and not time-bound.

Finding: There are a number of factors, not all within DFO’s control, which affect the department’s ability to achieve “healthy and abundant salmon stocks”. The management of Pacific salmon has therefore become increasingly complex, and any strategy guiding activities in support of Pacific salmon needs to be context-sensitive.

Managing stocks of Pacific salmon has become progressively more challenging for various external factors that are outside DFO’s control. Among them are legislative, ecosystem, economic and political factors, some of which are discussed below.

Climate change

The effects of climate change are having cumulative impacts on Pacific salmon and their habitats. Nevertheless, some DFO staff noted that the principle doesn't factor in climate change, even though this will affect future definitions of ‘healthy’ and ‘abundant’. Warming in marine and freshwater ecosystems affects food webs, contributes to stock declines, and limits stock assessments.

Availability of science advice

The availability of science advice drives management approaches since stock status determines which management frameworks will inform harvest, hatchery, as well as, increasingly, habitat rebuilding strategies. DFO collects information through population, catch, and ecosystem monitoring programs. Science staff are distributed among various programs, branches and areas related to Pacific salmon. As a result, coordinated work-planning is needed to link activities and outputs to understand the evolving nature of Pacific salmon, including the impacts of climate change.

Inter-jurisdictional coordination

DFO has fostered successful partnerships with external partners and stakeholders such as communities, ENGOS, and FNs. For example, a network of community-based groups assisted in operating and delivering local enhancement projects, such as DFO’s response to the Big Bar slide described in Box 6 below. Nevertheless, given DFO’s regulatory and fiduciary responsibility for Pacific salmon management, stronger coordination is needed where partners also have jurisdiction over factors affecting Pacific salmon (e.g., forestry, urbanization, etc.). DFO’s ability to achieve objectives related to Pacific salmon is significantly hindered when inter-jurisdictional collaboration is lacking.

Both DFO staff and external partners rated the extent of DFO’s coordination with inter-jurisdictional groups from greatest to least in the following order: International, Indigenous, Provincial and Territorial, and Municipal partners.

Box 6. Big Bar land slide response

Photo of the Big Bar Land Slide.

On June 23, 2019, a significant landslide was reported in a remote canyon along the Fraser River near Big Bar, B.C. Landslide debris prevented migrating Pacific Fraser salmon from reaching their spawning grounds, thus impacting the reproductive cycle of several key Upper Fraser salmon populations. Five days after the discovery, a Big Bar Incident Command Post (ICP) consisting of experts and specialists from First Nations, the Government of B.C. and the GoC was established to respond to the emergency situation. ICP emergency response efforts between June and September 2019 included:

  • Rock scaling to stabilize the cliff and establish site safety;
  • In-river rock manipulation to improve natural passage;
  • Transportation of fish past the slide site, and
  • Intensive fisheries, hydrological and geotechnical monitoring.

As a result of these efforts, approximately 276,000 salmon were detected passing Churn Creek, 40 km north of the site.

Habitat degradation

Pacific salmon are negatively impacted by the loss and degradation of critical habitat. Habitat degradation can occur due to pollution, climate change, deforestation, and land development, etc. For instance, deforestation in B.C. has been significant and ongoing as a result of divided jurisdictional responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments.

Deforestation from the pine beetle epidemic and subsequent logging practices south of Kamloops, B.C. from 1984 to 2020

Deforestation from the pine beetle epidemic and subsequent logging practices south of Kamloops, B.C in 1984.
Deforestation from the pine beetle epidemic and subsequent logging practices south of Kamloops, B.C in 2020.

External Pressures

Opinions concerning Pacific salmon are strong due to the species’ contribution to the economy of the Pacific region and strong social and cultural attachments. DFO management practices balance economic resiliency and conservation alongside a number of stakeholder and partner interests such as industry and Indigenous partners. External pressure from stakeholders may hinder DFO’s ability to reach consensus on Pacific salmon decisions, such as fisheries closures.

External pressures acting on DFO stem from balancing pressures related to twin goals of achieving the economic resiliency and the conservation of species.

In the case of Atlantic cod, a similarly economically important fish stock in Atlantic Canada, DFO addressed declining fish stocks via fisheries moratoriums in the 90’s, most of which are still in place today. Evaluation evidence found that stakeholder and partner interests based on a strong social and cultural attachment to cod was the strongest external factor driving cod fisheries management. Today, cod fisheries are guided by an ecosystem-based management approach, including rebuilding plans and conservation harvesting plans.

IUU fishing

Illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices in the high-seas and within nationally-controlled waters threaten the sustainability of capture fisheries by contributing to the destruction of marine habitat and reduced global fish stocks. Worldwide, IUU fishing is estimated to represent up to 26 million tonnes of fish caught annually and is valued between $10 to $23 billion USDFootnote 24.

In Atlantic Canada, DFO’s Conservation and Protection Branch - International Unit monitors IUU fishing to support stock returns and regional harvest opportunities. In contrast, there is no dedicated offshore unit in the Pacific Region where inspections often rely on vessels shared with other partnersFootnote 25. To deter IUU fishing, DFO must address:

Conservation and Protection officers undergo inspection boarding
Conservation and Protection officers undergo inspection boarding
Conservation and Protection officers undergo aerial surveillance
Conservation and Protection officers undergo aerial surveillance

DFO’s overall influence over the external factors that affect Pacific Salmon is limited.

The management of Pacific salmon is complex because of the multiple external factors acting on the species at different stages of its lifecycle. For instance, external factors that are related to Pacific salmon habitat, such as inter-jurisdictional coordination and habitat degradation can impact the species’ freshwater life stages. Meanwhile, IUU fishing pressures in the high-seas of the North Pacific affect Pacific salmon during their ocean migrations. Climate change related pressures on Pacific salmon are an exception as they are being felt throughout the entire species’ range.

The unknown cumulative impact of these external factors affects the outcome of DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon. As a result, DFO’s influence over outcomes related to Pacific salmon is such that the department could successfully implement a number of management actions and still not be able to achieve healthy and abundant stocks.

Moving forward, the evaluation found a number of good practices and lessons learned that DFO can apply to the management of a declining stock, such as Pacific salmon. These are further described in Box 7 below.

Box 7. Good practices and lessons learned

DFO has adapted to this dynamic operating context, however policies and programs related to Pacific salmon must continue to evolve to acknowledge contemporary challenges and provide objectives that are clear, measurable and realistic. The following lessons learned and good practices are further described in Annex C.

  1. Modifying fishing gear where possible to avoid unintended bycatch.
  2. Applying data-limited approaches to mitigate uncertainty around knowledge gaps.
  3. Meaningful engagement is key to balancing harvest and sustainability.
  4. Selective fisheries can play a role in supporting the future viability of stocks where enhancement and appropriate controls are in place.
  5. Conservation and protection of highly migratory fish stocks requires engagement, collaboration and joint implementation with domestic and international partners.

3.10 A clear performance story is impacted by the multitude and variety of methods and data collected on Pacific salmon

Evaluable: Findings related to performance data and resources fall under the “evaluable” category in the Principles Focused Evaluation approach, meaning that the evaluation focused on whether the principle is able to document and judge results.

Finding: Performance data related to Pacific salmon is tracked by multiple programs and branches within the department, oftentimes indirectly and without an overarching results framework that is salmon-specific. As a result, progress towards “healthy and abundant salmon stocks” is difficult to evaluate in the absence of an ultimate outcome for the management of Pacific salmon.

The absence of an ultimate outcome related to Pacific salmon poses challenges for evaluation

The decentralized nature of activities in support of Pacific salmon have led to a multitude of performance data being collected across multiple programs and areas of the department. However, performance data related to Pacific salmon cannot be evaluated in the absence of an ultimate outcome.

Generally, DFO does not track results by species. Instead, the department tracks multiple species using an ecosystems-based management (EBM) approach. Despite the challenges associated with EBM, the approach ensures key linkages are made between ecosystems in various decision making processes.

The department’s program inventory was not developed with species-specific outcomes, such as outcomes that are unique to Pacific salmon. Exceptions include outcomes that are related to departmental priorities, such as the South Resident Killer Whale Initiative.

While the WSP outlines DFO’s approach and activities for the conservation of Pacific salmon, including reporting and tracking, limited accountability to the WSP at the regional and national level has led to the lack of an established performance review process for results related to Pacific salmon. Nevertheless, there are a number of different options that can help inform performance reporting for Pacific salmon. These are highlighted in Box 8 below.

Box 8. Different options are available to track results related to Pacific salmon and help inform performance reporting:

  1. Introducing species-level tracking within DFO’s program inventory. The department has tools at its disposal within it’s DRF to identify and track cross-cutting issues, such as those related to Pacific salmon, across programs to demonstrate results.
  2. Tracking through the departmental priority tracking process.
    • Moving forward, the tracking of milestones related to the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) has been identified as a departmental priority in June 2021. Quarterly updates will be provided through the departmental tracking process for information and for discussion.
  3. Creating a unique Salmon Program in DFO’s Program Inventory that includes a Performance Information Profile (PIP). Note, this would result in the loss of horizontality and resources that occurs when many programs achieve results for Pacific salmon.

Performance data related to Pacific salmon is available from a variety of sources within the department

Progress towards healthy and abundant salmon stocks is difficult to evaluate because performance data are widely linked to the various regional activities, DFO programs and management levers that deliver on activities in support of Pacific salmon as illustrated below. As a result, performance data is difficult to integrate and report on across multiple channels, particularly at the species-level.

Figure 22. Multiple activities are supported by 19 results and indicators that directly link to Pacific salmonFootnote 26.
Long description - Figure 22

The figure illustrates multiple activities which are supported by 19 results and indicators that directly link to Pacific salmon: 14 departmental activities relate to stock assessment; 9 relate to conservation; 7 relate to PST commitments; 6 to G&C delivery and 6 to Southern Resident Killer Whale conservation efforts.

Figure 23. Programs such as Fisheries Management and the Salmonid Enhancement Program track most indicators related to Pacific salmonFootnote 27.
Long description - Figure 23

The bar graph illustrates DFO programs that track indicators related to Pacific salmon. Fisheries Management and the Salmonid Enhancement Program track most indicators related to Pacific salmon, each tracks 32% of Pacific salmon indicators, respectively. In addition, Fisheries Science tracks 21% of indicators, Fish and Seafood Sector tracks 10% and Aboriginal Programs and Treaties track 5%.

Figure 24. Performance data that is directly linked to Pacific salmon mostly supports DFO’s harvest lever, followed by the hatcheries lever. Activities under the habitat lever, such as protection and restoration, are tracked indirectly (i.e., not by species).
Long description - Figure 24

The bar graph depicts how performance data is linked to Pacific salmon management levers. Performance data that is directly linked to Pacific salmon mostly supports DFO’s harvest lever, followed by the hatcheries lever. Activities under the habitat lever, such as protection and restoration, are tracked indirectly (i.e., not by species): 58% of performance data is linked to the harvest lever; 21% is linked to all three levers; 11% is not linked to any lever; 5% is linked to the harvest and hatcheries levers; 5% is linked to the hatcheries lever exclusively while none are linked to the habitat lever.

The WSP also tracks performance data related to the abundance of salmon stocks managed by DFO by tracking the proportion of salmon conservation units that are found in cautious and healthy zones as illustrated belowFootnote 28.

Figure 25. The proportion of salmon stocks found in cautious and healthy zones has remained unchanged between 2018 and 2019
Long description - Figure 25

This figure depicts the proportion of salmon stocks that are found in cautious and healthy zones. This proportion of 42.5% has remained unchanged between 2018 and 2019.

3.11 Tracking resources by species is not a routine practice, therefore obtaining information specific to Pacific salmon is difficult

Finding: Within the department, the tracking of resources by specific species is not a routine practice. As a result, financial, human and materiel resources in support of Pacific salmon have been difficult to track. Related accountabilities for financial tracking within the department have likewise been difficult to identify. DFO could leverage internal tools and/or methodologies to improve the tracking of resources.

Accountabilities linked to Pacific salmon resources are challenging to identify

Financial information specifically related to either Pacific salmon or the three management levers is not readily available within the department. Exceptions include the high-costing exercise conducted in 2016 as discussed in section 2.4. There are a number of reasons for this:

Resources allocated to Pacific salmon are difficult to estimate

DFO does not have an internal mechanism to systematically track all resources associated with Pacific salmon. Proxies for tracking, such as FTE-time spent on Pacific salmon activities, have been used in the past to identify resources. However, similar exercises were not deemed feasible based on time and effort constraints associated with them at the operational level.

Because financial tracking by species is challenging, it is difficult to calculate the resources that are allocated to Pacific salmon relative to other species in the Pacific Region. Nevertheless, a few interviewees indicated that the proportion of resources allocated to Pacific salmon largely outweighs that allocated to managing all other species managed by the Pacific Region.

Allocation and tracking of resources in support of Pacific salmon can be improved

There are a number of financial tracking options that DFO can use as the department is frequently asked to provide information about the resources that are allocated to Pacific salmon. These are further outlined in Box 9 below.

Box 9. Alternative financial tracking options

To track resources in support of Pacific salmon activities, DFO can pursue alternative practices for financial tracking. These are further discussed in Annex D.

  1. Status Quo continuation of high-level costing exercises;
  2. Application of consistent departmental tracking methodologies;
  3. Use of a single reporting structure; and
  4. Use of project codes to allocate costs by species directly in DFO’s SAP financial system.

3.12 Improved coordination of G&C programs could lead to better outcomes for Pacific salmon

Finding: Transfer payments, such as grants and contributions (G&C) programs, for activities in support of Pacific salmon lack a coordinated approach. As a result, there are opportunities for the department to take a proactive and strategic approach to achieve Pacific salmon objectives.

Pacific salmon grant and contribution programs lack a coordinated approach

Numerous G&C programs exist within DFO to directly and indirectly support activities related to Pacific salmon.

When G&C programs may contribute indirectly to Pacific salmon and are not tracked, it is difficult to identify total resources being allocated to Pacific salmon. Based on public accounts, $29M was granted to G&C recipients in the Pacific Region between 2016 and 2020 under programs linked through common objectives specific to Pacific salmon. These include:

Another $275M was granted to G&C programs that could support Pacific salmon indirectly as illustrated below. These include transfer payment programs that support salmon indirectly through objectives such as improving relationships with Indigenous Peoples, minimizing negative impacts on ecosystems, etc. A complete list of G&C programs can be found in Annex E.

Figure 26. Direct and indirect G&C programming in support of Pacific salmon from 2016 to 2020
Long description - Figure 26

The bubble graph depicts the relative proportion of direct and indirect grant and contribution (G&C) programming in support of Pacific salmon from 2016 to 2020.

During this period, direct G&C programming totaled $29M from the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund (PSEF), Yukon Salmon Sub Committee (YSSC), British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF), Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF), Salmon Enhancement Program (SEP), Community Involvement Program (CIP), and T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation (TBSEF).

Indirect G&C programming in support of Pacific salmon totaled $275M from G&Cs such as Aboriginal Aquatic Resource And Oceans Management Program (AAROM), Coastal Restoration Fund (CRF), Indigenous Habitat Participation programs (IHPP) & Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species and Aquatic Habitat (CNF), Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) and Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (PICFI).

While most DFO staff (60%) agree that transfer payments are appropriate to support the three levers, evaluation evidence points to a lack of a coordinated approach for G&C programs in support of Pacific salmon.

Departmental funding to support Pacific salmon activities is increasing

Regional spending on Pacific salmon has significantly increased over the evaluation period as illustrated below. 

Figure 27. DFO spending ($ millions) under G&C programs directly linked to Pacific salmon has increased from 2016 to 2020
Long description - Figure 27

The bar graph depicts DFO spending, in millions, under grant and contribution (G&C) programs that directly linked to Pacific salmon from 2016 to 2020, specifically the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF), British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF), Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund (PSEF) and Yukon Salmon Sub Committee (YSSC).

DFO spending under G&C programs directly linked to Pacific salmon has increased from 2016 to 2020. In 2015-16, total spending from the PSF and YSSC spending totaled $1.7M; in 2016-17 total spending from the PSF and the YSSC increased to $1.8M; in 2018-18 total spending from the PSF and the YSSC returned to $1.7M; in 2018-19 total spending from the PSF, PSEF and YSSC increased to $6.8M; in 2019-20 total spending from the PSF, BCSRIF and YSSC increased again to $8.3M.

DFO does not have a prioritization system for G&C delivery that links to a broader direction and vision. Instead, G&C programs are proposal driven, in particular programs related to habitat activities.

Interviewees indicated that DFO is working in a reactive manner rather than using a proactive approach to link G&C programs with overarching priorities.

With budgets increasing in 2020-21, as discussed in section 2.4, the need for a coordinated approach is even more critical to ensure DFO obtains the greatest possible impact from departmental investments in support of Pacific salmon.

4.0 Conclusions and recommendations

4.1 Conclusions

Salmon is integrally important to communities in Canada’s Pacific Region. With declining salmon stocks, there is an ongoing need to continue to manage Pacific salmon under DFO’s legal authority and mandate and in accordance with existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights. There are a number of hindering factors, not all within DFO’s control, which affect the department’s ability to achieve “healthy and abundant salmon stocks”, however, there are many challenges within DFO’s control that exist as well.

According to the evaluation evidence, the management of Pacific salmon could be strengthened by :

Recognizing that salmon is one of many species that the department is responsible for, this evaluation (particularly the cross-cutting nature of the evaluation findings and resulting recommendations) may have potentially broad impacts on the management of other species within the department.

In addressing any recommendations stemming from this report, the evaluation recognizes that during the period this evaluation was conducted, the federal government announced an investment of $647.1 million for the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), through Budget 2021. This new, robust, evidence-based strategy aims to address downward trends in many Pacific salmon populations through an integrated approach to salmon management.

The Initiative will guide investments focusing on four pillars designed to support a strategic and coordinated long term response, rooted in collaborative action as follows:

The funds announced through Budget 2021, will help preserve wild Pacific salmon, by:

These investments will help address some of the challenges highlighted throughout this report and the recommendations proposed in the following section are meant to offer foundational guidance as new policies, programs, and actions under each pillar of the strategy move ahead.

4.2 Recommendations

A foundational strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon

Recommendation #1: Develop a strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon

It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science create a clearly defined and unified strategic direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon that can be implemented across the department and communicated to internal and external stakeholders.

Rationale: The need for an integrated direction and vision for Pacific salmon was raised throughout this evaluation as necessary to bring together all areas of the department that have responsibilities for activities in support of Pacific salmon and is a foundational step in ensuring a unified approach to the delivery of these activities. The establishment of a strategic direction and vision will assist in providing unified guidance throughout the department on the principles underlying Pacific salmon management.

Tools in support of Pacific salmon’s strategic direction and vision

Recommendation #2: Implement a coordinated approach for transfer payments that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon

It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy, the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science and the Chief Financial Officer implement a coordinated approach for transfer payment programs supporting Pacific salmon that is aligned with the departmental strategic direction and vision.

Rationale: An integrated approach is needed to bring together all the different areas of the department that are involved in the delivery of Pacific salmon grant and contribution transfer payment programs. The evaluation identified a need to be more strategic in the prioritization of grants and contributions, which are currently proposal driven. A coordinated approach for transfer payments supporting Pacific salmon would ensure that projects are clearly linked to the departmental strategic direction and vision. It would also ensure that outcomes from those transfer payments can be linked to results for Pacific salmon.

Recommendation #3: Implement tools and methodologies to track resources in support of Pacific salmon

It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy, the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science and the Chief Financial Officer leverage internal tools and methodologies to improve the financial tracking of activities related to the management of Pacific salmon.

Rationale: The evaluation found that financial information related to Pacific salmon species and DFO management levers is not readily available within the department. Identifying accountabilities linked to financial resources is challenging. Improvements to the tracking of financial, human and materiel resources related to Pacific salmon can help identify accountabilities for the allocation of resources within the department. This will in turn improve the performance data that is available to inform decision making.

Recommendation #4: Implement a performance measurement strategy for activities in support of Pacific salmon

It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region and the Head of Performance Measurement in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science develop and implement a performance measurement strategy for activities in support of Pacific salmon that is consistent with the department’s strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon and that clearly identifies the department’s expected results.

Rationale: It is acknowledged that there are a number of hindering external factors which affect the department’s ability to achieve results for Pacific salmon, some of which are out of DFO’s control. The need for a robust performance measurement strategy was identified throughout this evaluation as necessary to provide the department with targets and data to clearly articulate results for Pacific salmon despite the existence of known external factors.

Recommendation #5: Clearly define the governance framework for departmental activities in support of Pacific salmon

It is recommended that the Executive Head, Pacific Salmon Strategy Transformation, in collaboration with the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbour Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science implement a clearly defined governance framework for activities in support of Pacific salmon that is consistent with the department’s strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon and that clearly identifies roles and responsibilities across DFO programs at the regional and national level.

Rationale: : It is acknowledged that governance frameworks lack clarity within the region and nationally across the department. Roles and responsibilities for Pacific salmon are well defined within DFO’s program siloes but are not clear across other areas of the department due, in part, to unclear accountabilities associated with a lack of clear direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon. The need for a clearly defined governance framework was identified throughout the evaluation to establish a holistic and integrated national and regional approach for the management of Pacific salmon.

5.0 Annexes

Annex A – Methodology, limitations and mitigation strategies

Although the evaluation encountered some methodological challenges, methodological limitations were mitigated, where possible, through the use of multiple lines of evidence and the triangulation of data. This approach was taken in order to establish the reliability and validity of the findings and to ensure that conclusions and recommendations were based on objective and documented evidence. 

Administrative and financial data

The evaluation team conducted a review of all administrative data pertaining to Pacific salmon, including performance and financial data. Included in this review were the performance information profiles across several programs including Fisheries Management, Salmonid Enhancement, Conservation and Protection, and Fisheries Science. The financial data analysis included the costing study commissioned by the department in 2018, information extracted from DFO’s management reporting systems by Pacific Region staff, and G&C information available in DFO’s Departmental Plans and the Public Accounts. Due to the extensive nature of the activities in support of Pacific salmon in the region, there was limited financial tracking done during the scope of the evaluation.

Limitations and Mitigation:

Interviews

The evaluation team conducted 79 interviews (22 scoping, 34 conduct interviews and 23 interviews as part of the case studies) with individuals in Pacific Region and National Headquarters to gather views of DFO employees and stakeholders on the need for DFO to continue to participate in the management of Pacific salmon. These interviews were conducted using the principle-based evaluation framework.

Limitations and Mitigation:

Survey

The evaluation team conducted two surveys: one for DFO Pacific Region employees, and one for external partners and stakeholders in the Pacific Region.

DFO Employees Survey

External Stakeholder Survey

Limitations and Mitigation:

Document Review

The evaluation team completed a review of DFO and external documents to understand the context and background of Pacific salmon, and to assess the general need for the management of Pacific salmon, and best practices.

Case studies & documented example

The evaluation team conducted three case studies identified through scoping interviews with DFO’s Pacific Region and senior management as well as one documented example on cod management in Atlantic Canada.

Case Study #1: Mark-Selected Fisheries

Case Study #2: The Socio-cultural Significance of Pacific Salmon

Case Study #3: Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

Documented Example: Atlantic Cod

The purpose of the documented example was to discuss management responses applied to Atlantic cod to document lessons learned that may broadly apply to other fish stocks in decline. Sources for this example included document review and interviews. This provided insight into another complex fisheries recovery led by DFO.

Limitations and Mitigation:

Annex B – Policy context driving the management of Pacific salmon

Policies and legislative frameworks governing the management of Pacific salmon include:

COSEWIC 1977: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) provides a single, scientifically-sound classification of wildlife species at risk of extinction.

Pacific Salmon Treaty 1985: The Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST) is the primary agreement that guides Canada’s international obligations related to Pacific salmon. The Treaty commits Parties to cooperate on science, stock assessment, salmon enhancement, and to develop specific conservation and harvest sharing arrangements for specific salmon stocks and fisheries.

Salmon Allocation Policy 1999: The Salmon Allocation Policy (SAP) guides annual allocations of salmon in B.C. among First Nations, recreational and commercial harvest groups, as well as among gear types in the commercial fishery. The policy is consistent with legal obligations towards First Nations and Canada’s international obligations, including the PST. The SAP is currently under review.

Species at  Risk Act 2002: The Species at Risk Act (SARA) provides a legislative basis for the protection of wildlife species at risk including the prevention of wildlife becoming extirpated or extinct, support for the recovery of endangered or threatened species, and management of species of special concern. Once listed under SARA, species designated by COSEWIC as at-risk would qualify for legal protection and recovery under the Act, depending on their risk level.

Wild Salmon Policy 2005: The Wild Salmon Policy (WSP) advances goals to safeguard the genetic diversity of wild Pacific salmon populations, maintain habitat and ecosystems integrity, and manage fisheries for sustainable benefits. The WSP was updated in 2017 and a 2018-2022 Implementation Plan was developed in response to recommendations from the Cohen Commission on restoring sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River.

Sustainable Fisheries Framework 2010: The Sustainable Fisheries Framework (SFF) establishes DFO’s Precautionary Approach to fisheries management, including establishing a harvest strategy that identifies three stock status zones relative to a limit reference point as healthy, cautious, or critical to determine removal rates within each zone. The SFF also provides the basis for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management.

Fisheries Act and Bill C-68 2019: The Fisheries Act (1985) gives DFO the authority to manage Pacific salmon and their habitat. The amendments made through Bill C-68 prescribed new fish stocks provisions that require rebuilding plans for stocks that fall below a limit reference point.

Annex C – Good practices and lessons learned

Three case studies and a documented example were conducted as part of this evaluation, including: Atlantic cod management; Chinook selective fisheries; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fisheries; and the socio-cultural value of Pacific salmon. The following good practices and lessons learned were documented in support of management of highly migratory fish stocks, they are further described in section 3.9:

Lesson learned 1. Modifying fishing gear where possible to avoid unintended bycatch.

Lesson learned 2. Applying data-limited approaches to mitigate uncertainty around knowledge gaps.

Lesson learned 3. Meaningful engagement is key to balancing harvest and sustainability.

Lesson learned 4. Selective fisheries can play a role in supporting the future viability of stocks where enhancement and appropriate controls are in place.

Lesson learned 5. Conservation and protection of highly migratory fish stocks requires engagement, collaboration and joint implementation with domestic and international partners.

Annex D – Alternative financial tracking practices

Interviews with DFO staff within different DFO programs and regions (i.e., Pacific, Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, SAP implementation Team) and other government departments (i.e., Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada) noted several financial tracking practices that could help inform DFO’s challenges around accountability due to lack of clear financial tracking by species. See section 3.11 for further information on DFO’s financial tracking of Pacific salmon.

Practice A. Status Quo continuation of high-level costing exercises

Practice B. Application of consistent departmental tracking methodologies

Practice C. Use of a single reporting structure

Practice D. Use of project codes to allocate costs by species directly in the SAP financial system

Annex E – Grants and contributions in support of Pacific salmon

The following list was compiled by the DFO evaluation team based on an analysis of the description of Transfer payments in the public accounts from 2016-2020 granted to recipients in the Pacific region, including British Columbia and Yukon, for activities in support of Pacific salmon. The table may not include an exhaustive list of all grants and contributions programming. Grants and contribution programs related to Pacific salmon are not presented by lever as they were not designed to directly address a specific management lever.

G&C program: Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) and Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (PICFI)

G&C program: Aboriginal Aquatic Resource And Oceans Management Program (AAROM)

G&C program: Coastal Restoration Fund (CRF)

G&C program: Indigenous Habitat Participation programs (IHPP) & Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species and Aquatic Habitat (CNF)

G&C program: British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF)

G&C program: Salmon Sub-Committee of the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board (YSSC)

G&C program: Salmon Enhancement Programming & Pacific Salmon Foundation  (SEP and PSF) including T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation (TBSEF) and Community Involvement Program (CIP)

G&C program: Grant to Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund (PSEF)

G&C program: Contribution in Support of Ecosystems and Oceans Science

G&C program: Grants and contributions to support Aboriginal Reconciliation Agreements

Annex F - Management action plan (MAP)

Evaluation of DFO’s activities in support of Pacific Salmon (project #96524)

PMEC Date: January, 2022

MAP Completion Target Date: December 2024

Lead ADM/DC: Regional Director General, Pacific Region; Executive Head, Pacific Salmon Transformation

Recommendation 1: Develop a strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon

Fall 2022

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science create a clearly defined and unified strategic direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon that can be implemented across the department and communicated to internal and external stakeholders.

Rationale: The need for an integrated direction and vision for Pacific salmon was raised throughout this evaluation as necessary to bring together all areas of the department that have responsibilities for activities in support of Pacific salmon and is a foundational step in ensuring a unified approach to the delivery of these activities. The establishment of a strategic direction and vision will assist in providing unified guidance throughout the department on the principles underlying Pacific salmon management.

Management Response

The program agrees with this recommendation and recognizes that developing a cohesive and integrated direction and vision for the management of Pacific Salmon is a critical element in achieving the goal of stemming historic declines in key Pacific salmon stocks and rebuilding the species to a sustainable level over the long term.

As per the recommendation, the long-term persistence of Pacific salmon stock declines demands more integrated solutions and actions beyond the current capacity of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), to stem Pacific salmon declines and mitigate the impacts on harvesters. The new Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) is well positioned to lead the way on this front as it is aiming to transform the management of Pacific salmon. Clearly defining a unified strategic direction and vision will be essential to enabling this transformation into a coordinated long-term response that will address the multiple drivers of stock declines. Leveraging the PSSI Secretariat, expected to launch in December 2021, DFO will advance internal integration and also build on and leverage strong partnerships with First Nations and external stakeholders, implementing new engagement and consultation mechanisms to develop a consistent strategic vision and direction for Pacific salmon, salmon habitat, and ecosystems.

Under the Executive Head of Pacific Salmon Strategy Transformation, the PSSI Secretariat, will collaborate across the department and with external partners to develop consistent departmental objectives and priorities for Pacific salmon. In collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Harbour Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Strategic Policy, and the Assistant Deputy Minister of Ecosystems and Oceans Science, the PSSI Secretariat will leverage governance forums and workshops to develop a clear and integrated direction and vision for managing Pacific salmon. The strategic direction and vision will be consistent with existing national policies and commitments for how aquatic resources are managed.

PSSI envisions that the following elements would be included in the strategic direction and vision:

  1. Clear and consistent guidance for the management of Pacific salmon for all three management levers (i.e. harvest, habitat, and hatchery)
  2. Clear and consistent principles, aligned to measurable results and performance indicators from the Performance Measurement Strategy (Recommendation 4) for PSSI and Pacific salmon writ large.
    • This includes the five year and 15 year ultimate outcomes (below) which will be evaluated using one specific unit of assessment, stock management units (SMUs), for all species of Pacific salmon
      •  Five year – per cent of salmon stocks in the critical zone with an approved and implemented rebuilding/conservation plan.
      • 15 year – per cent of stocks in cautious or healthy zones

Communicating this vision is another critical factor in enabling consistent and successful transformation for the management of Pacific salmon. It is expected that the draft vision will be developed by January 2022, so it can be shared for external engagement over March 2022. The final strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon will be completed, with consideration of external input received, by end of the summer of 2022. The performance measurement strategy (recommendation 4) will subsequently be developed in alignment with this strategic direction and vision.

Link to larger program or departmental results (if applicable)

  • Budget 2021 announcement on “Preserving Wild Pacific Salmon”
  • Contributes to DFO’s Core Responsibilities for “Fisheries” and “Aquatic Ecosystems”

MAP Results Statement

Result to be achieved in response to the recommendation

MAP Milestones

Critical accomplishments to ensure achievement of results for PMEC’s approval

Completion Date

Month, Year

Director General Responsible

Strategic direction and vision are developed for the management of Pacific salmon

PSSI Implementation Secretariat launched

December 2021

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region

Draft strategic direction/vision developed

January 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Strategic Priorities and Policy - SP
  • DG, Fisheries Resource Management - FHM

Engagement on draft strategic direction/vision

March 2022

  • Executive Head PSSI (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific

Final Strategic direction/vision document is produced

June 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Strategic Priorities and Policy – SP
  • DG, Fisheries Resource Management - FHM

Strategic direction and vision is communicated across the department and to partners

Strategic direction/vision is communicated to internal and external partners through a series of engagements/ workshops

September 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region

Recommendation 2: Implement a coordinated approach for transfer payments that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon

October 2022

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy, the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science and the Chief Financial Officer implement a coordinated approach for transfer payment programs supporting Pacific salmon that is aligned with the departmental strategic direction and vision.

Rationale: An integrated approach is needed to bring together all the different areas of the department that are involved in the delivery of Pacific salmon grant and contribution transfer payment programs. The evaluation identified a need to be more strategic in the prioritization of grants and contributions, which are currently proposal driven. A coordinated approach for transfer payments supporting Pacific salmon would ensure that projects are clearly linked to the departmental strategic direction and vision. It would also ensure that outcomes from those transfer payments can be linked to results for Pacific salmon.

Management Response

The Program agrees with this recommendation and recognizes that it will be critical to implement a coordinated approach for transfer payments that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific Salmon. This will be essential for tracking resource allocations and enabling a more strategic and responsive approach to managing Pacific salmon.

According to the Pacific Salmon Evaluation, some G&C programs contribute indirectly to Pacific salmon but they are not tracked in manner that allows for targeted reporting related to Pacific salmon. Instead, they are tracked at a program level which makes it is difficult for the programs to isolate data related to particular species of fish, in this case Pacific salmon. Further, this also makes it difficult to identify the total resources being allocated to external groups for Pacific salmon-related initiatives. DFO, through PSSI implementation, will build on existing efforts across both the Pacific Region and the department to implement a coordinated, consistent and integrated approach for PSSI transfer payment programs, in the form of a PSSI G&C Delivery Strategy. This strategy will aim to complement existing efforts and help serve as a foundation for coordinating all Pacific salmon transfer payment programs over the longer term.

Improvements at both the regional and enterprise-wide level for G&C management are being planned, delivered and tracked against regional and national multi-year workplans lead by the G&C Coordination Unit in Pacific Region and the national G&C Center of Expertise within the CFO sector. Pacific staff from all G&C programs and the G&C COE are supporting both regional and national efforts. The PSSI approach will be aligned with the to-be-established strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon and help to realize Pacific salmon goals, as per the performance measurement strategy.

As part of these collective efforts, the PSSI Secretariat will build a comprehensive PSSI G&C Delivery Strategy to enable a full understanding of the transfer payments landscape related to PSSI. In the shorter-term, a reporting approach for PSSI-related transfer programs will be developed and implemented, while longer-term needs are identified as part of the national G&C system review that will ultimately result in the development of an enterprise-wide systems solution for G&C. When implemented, the PSSI G&C Delivery strategy will support the integration of information on all PSSI transfer payment program expenditures, to clearly show the funding distribution across all programs and areas.

As stated above, the PSSI Secretariat will work with all programs involved to develop a PSSI G&C Delivery Strategy, which will include identifying a governance mechanism or process for the coordination of all transfer payment programs related to PSSI, to ensure that resource allocation decisions for G&C programs are well-informed and clearly linked to overarching operational and strategic priorities. This work will be done in alignment with and support the broader Pacific Region G&C coordination efforts. The development of this PSSI G&C Strategy will require extensive engagement with the implicated teams in both the Pacific region and in NHQ. This will include a priority setting exercise in order to guide future transfer payment processes and funding decisions and ensure DFO will be able to report on G&Cs related to PSSI.

The key components of the Strategy are also expected to include a governance approach for strategic departmental decisions on PSSI transfer payments, alignment of priorities, and documentation of clear roles and responsibilities for allocating G&C resources across programs. This approach will set up a solid foundation for longer term efforts to integrate and coordinate transfer payment programs for all Pacific salmon related G&Cs within the context of broader regional and national approaches.

Over the long term, the PSSI Secretariat will also undertake consultation and analysis with the DFO programs involved, to identify and adopt an effective approach for the financial tracking of the costs and expenditures related to Pacific salmon transfer payment programs that are not included within the PSSI funding envelope, as currently these are embedded within existing program costs and must be estimated. This may include or result in a review of expenditures every five years (like what was done in 2017).

Link to larger program or departmental results (if applicable)

  • Budget 2021 announcement on “Preserving Wild Pacific Salmon”
  • Contributes to DFO’s Core Responsibilities for “Fisheries” and “Aquatic Ecosystems”

MAP Results Statement

Result to be achieved in response to the recommendation

MAP Milestones

Critical accomplishments to ensure achievement of results for PMEC’s approval

Completion Date

Month, Year

Director General Responsible

Coordinated approach for PSSI transfer payment programs that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon is implemented 

Initial mapping of all PSSI G&C programs that outlines program leads, terms and conditions, transfer payment program

December 2021

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO

PSSI G&C Delivery Strategy is drafted

March 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO

Coordinated approach for all Pacific salmon transfer payment programs that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon is implemented 

Engagement to determine a longer-term approach for coordinating Pacific salmon transfer payment programs (beyond PSSI) is initiated

October 2022

  • RDG, Pacific Region (lead)
  • Executive Head PSS Transformation
  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO

Recommendation 3: Implement tools and methodologies to track resources in support of Pacific salmon

April 2023

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy, the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science and the Chief Financial Officer leverage internal tools and methodologies to improve the financial tracking of activities related to the management of Pacific salmon.

Rationale: The evaluation found that financial information related to Pacific salmon species and DFO management levers is not readily available within the department. Identifying accountabilities linked to financial resources is challenging. Improvements to the tracking of financial, human and materiel resources related to Pacific salmon can help identify accountabilities for the allocation of resources within the department. This will in turn improve the performance data that is available to inform decision making.

Management Response

The program agrees with this recommendation and recognizes the importance of establishing a robust and streamlined tracking strategy for financial, human and materiel resources, to support: (1) the effective allocation of resources, (2) clear accountabilities, (3) flexibility to transfer these resources within DFO, and (4) improved performance data to inform decision-making for the management of Pacific salmon.

DFO will establish a financial tracking strategy through the PSSI to provide a more granular line of sight on the resource allocations devoted to Pacific salmon activities and initiatives, and to enable the real-time transfer of financial allocations between initiatives based on performance and dynamic priorities.

This strategy will include the following key components:

  1. DFO will confirm a notional approach for the preliminary allocations for Pacific salmon activities and initiatives under the PSSI funding envelope ($647M over five years).
  2. DFO will ensure the financial coding of all PSSI funding by pillar, initiative, sub-initiative, and their designated funds/cost centres.
  3. This information will be fully accessible through the new SAP system once implemented, which will permit granular and dynamic reports to support clearer accountabilities by activity/initiative and improve performance data and decision-making.
  4. Once implemented, the new SAP system will provide resource breakdowns based on the financial coding structure: purpose (functional area), fund (source of money), general ledger account (type of expenditure), funds/cost centre (who is spending), funded program (for monitoring initiatives), and work-breakdown structure/WBS/internal order (for money spent on a project). This resource information structure will permit the continued tracking in real-time of PSSI allocations, commitments, and expenditures.
  5. PSSI Secretariat will determine and implement the appropriate requirements for monitoring and periodic reporting, utilizing the built-in capabilities and functionalities of the new SAP system.
  6. In the context of setting strategic and operational management priorities for resource allocation, the PSSI secretariat will implement governance strategies for the review of financial monitoring and reporting results and will support the implementation of decisions for resource allocation/reallocation.

Over the long term, the PSSI Secretariat will also undertake consultation and analysis with the DFO programs involved, to identify and adopt an effective approach for the financial tracking of the costs and expenditures related to Pacific salmon that are not included within the PSSI funding envelope, as currently these are embedded within existing program costs and must be estimated. This may include a review of expenditures every five years (similar to what was done in 2017). The solution for this may be in the SAP system, but if it is determined not to be feasible within the constraints of SAP, then DFO will need to find complementary tools and/or methodologies that can enable the department to track all resources in support of Pacific salmon to meet reporting requirements.

Link to larger program or departmental results (if applicable)

  • Budget 2021 announcement on “Preserving Wild Pacific Salmon”
  • Contributes to DFO’s Core Responsibilities for “Fisheries” and “Aquatic Ecosystems”

MAP Results Statement

Result to be achieved in response to the recommendation

MAP Milestones

Critical accomplishments to ensure achievement of results for PMEC’s approval

Completion Date

Month, Year

Director General Responsible

Tools and methodologies are developed and implemented to track resources in support of PSSI

Establish an overall plan to track resources in support of PSSI activities

December 2021

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO

Financial tracking framework for PSSI funding, with clear processes aligned with the implementation of new SAP system.

September 2022

  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO (lead)
  • Executive Head PSSI
  • RDG, Pacific

Tools and methodologies are developed and implemented to track resources in support of Pacific salmon

Additional resource tracking tools and methodologies developed to complement SAP capabilities (if required)

April 2023

  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO (lead)
  • Executive Head PSSI
  • RDG, Pacific

Financial tracking framework for non-PSSI funding for Pacific Salmon, with clear processes aligned with the implementation of new SAP system is implemented

April 2023

  • DG, Budget Planning and Financial Management - CFO (lead)
  • Executive Head PSSI
  • RDG, Pacific Region

Recommendation 4: Implement a performance measurement strategy for activities in support of Pacific salmon

May 2023

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Regional Director General, Pacific Region and the Head of Performance Measurement in collaboration with the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbours Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science develop and implement a performance measurement strategy for activities in support of Pacific salmon that is consistent with the department’s strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon and that clearly identifies the department’s expected results.

Rationale: It is acknowledged that there are a number of hindering external factors which affect the department’s ability to achieve results for Pacific salmon, some of which are out of DFO’s control. The need for a robust performance measurement strategy was identified throughout this evaluation as necessary to provide the department with targets and data to clearly articulate results for Pacific salmon despite the existence of known external factors.

Management Response

The program agrees with the recommendation and recognizes the importance of developing a comprehensive approach to measuring the performance of activities in support of Pacific salmon that is consistent with the department’s strategic direction and vision (as per Recommendation 1).

DFO, through the PSSI is in the process of establishing a Performance Measurement (PM) Strategy which will align with the department's strategic direction and vision. The Strategy will include a logic model and clear results narrative for PSSI delivery. It will also include a broad inventory of outcomes, milestones and performance indicators that span the activities and initiatives related to Pacific salmon through the PSSI. As part of the PM Strategy, PSSI will seek to establish effective performance measure(s) that are consistent with the long-term vision for Pacific salmon (as per recommendation #1), and enable DFO to measure progress towards “healthy and abundant” Pacific salmon stocks.

It is important to note that Pacific salmon have a four-to-five-year life cycle, and that it will require investments through multiple cycles (up to 10-15 years) for signs of recovery. The PSSI initiatives to be actioned within the five-year span of this investment set the foundation for the longer-term actions required to support rebuilding. To measure progress on these foundational efforts, the department has proposed that the ultimate outcome to be achieved is “priority Pacific salmon populations are conserved and protected through targeted action in collaboration with others”. Two indicators have also been proposed to measure our program towards that ultimate outcome, and that link the 5-year plan with the long term (15+ years) vision for Pacific salmon:

On an annual basis, PSSI will conduct annual reporting via the departmental performance reporting and planning cycle. The outcomes to be reported on will link to each pillar of the PSSI, and will be evaluated based on multiple performance indicators. In addition, the PSSI Secretariat will provide annual updates to Cabinet, as requested.

PSSI will build on the PSSI Performance Measurement (PM) Strategy as implementation evolves, and work in collaboration with key partners internally and externally to build the broader Pacific salmon results/PM story. The goal will be to aim for an overall Pacific Salmon PM Strategy, to better articulate and capture all DFO Pacific salmon activities.

Link to larger program or departmental results (if applicable)

  • Budget 2021 announcement on “Preserving Wild Pacific Salmon”
  • Contributes to DFO’s Core Responsibilities for “Fisheries” and “Aquatic Ecosystems”

MAP Results Statement

Result to be achieved in response to the recommendation

MAP Milestones

Critical accomplishments to ensure achievement of results for PMEC’s approval

Completion Date

Month, Year

Director General Responsible

A performance measurement strategy is implemented for PSSI

PSSI Logic Model developed

March 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • DG, Planning Results and Evaluation - CFO

Internal Engagement completed

December 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region

PSSI PM Strategy is integrated into Pacific salmon results overall

 Draft Pacific salmon Performance Measurement Strategy is completed

December 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Planning Results and Evaluation – CFO
  • DG, Strategic Priorities and Policy – SP

Pacific salmon Performance Measurement Strategy is implemented

May 2023

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • DG, Planning Results and Evaluation – CFO
  • DG, Strategic Priorities and Policy – SP

Recommendation 5: Clearly define the Governance framework for departmental activities in support of Pacific Salmon

March 2022

Recommendation: It is recommended that the Executive Head, Pacific Salmon Strategy Transformation, in collaboration with the Regional Director General, Pacific Region, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Fisheries and Harbour Management, the Assistant Deputy Minister Aquatic Ecosystems, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister Strategic Policy and the Assistant Deputy Minister Ecosystems and Oceans Science implement a clearly defined governance framework for activities in support of Pacific salmon that is consistent with the department’s strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon and that clearly identifies roles and responsibilities across DFO programs at the regional and national level.

Rationale: It is acknowledged that governance frameworks lack clarity within the region and nationally across the department. Roles and responsibilities for Pacific salmon are well defined within DFO’s program siloes but are not clear across other areas of the department due, in part, to unclear accountabilities associated with a lack of clear direction and vision for the management of Pacific salmon. The need for a clearly defined governance framework was identified throughout the evaluation to establish a holistic and integrated national and regional approach for the management of Pacific salmon.

Management Response

The program agrees with the recommendation and recognizes that clearly defining a governance framework for all departmental activities in support of Pacific salmon is critical to facilitate collaborative decision making on PSSI activities and on Pacific salmon writ large. Further, it is imperative to have strong and clear governance devoted to Pacific salmon in order to successfully execute on the recommendations set out in the evaluation on Pacific Salmon.

The Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) is a transformational initiative intended to stem the decline of key Pacific salmon stocks and to assist the rebuilding of stocks to sustainable levels. While the operational management and program delivery for Pacific salmon to date has largely been led by the Pacific region, various sectors and branches throughout the Department have policy and program responsibilities related to Pacific Salmon from a national perspective. Given this, a review will be undertaken of whether existing departmental governance can meet the objective of ensuring the implementation of the PSSI is undertaken in an integrated and coordinated way across the entire Department. Should gaps be identified, adjustments to departmental governance will be proposed to the Departmental Management Committee (DMC).

Principles:

The objective is that the departmental governance will support integrated PSSI implementation and management responses to key recommendations of the recent departmental evaluation on Pacific Salmon activities.

Strategic advice will also be sought from ADMs and RDG with direct accountabilities, on an ad-hoc basis, informally to inform priority-setting and implementation, as and when needed. Formal decision making will still be sought from existing ADM level committees for the Department (Departmental Management Committee, and the Departmental Policy Committee).

Link to larger program or departmental results (if applicable)

  • Budget 2021 announcement on “Preserving Wild Pacific Salmon”
  • Contributes to DFO’s Core Responsibilities for “Fisheries” and “Aquatic Ecosystems”

MAP Results Statement

Result to be achieved in response to the recommendation

MAP Milestones

Critical accomplishments to ensure achievement of results for PMEC’s approval

Completion Date

Month, Year

Director General Responsible

A clearly defined governance framework for activities in support of Pacific salmon is established

Bring to DMC for discussion an analysis of the existing governance framework, which identifies whether existing structures can be leveraged more fully or if new Committees are required in order to ensure there is an effective governance framework for the management of Pacific Salmon.

January 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • Director, Governance and Ministerial Correspondence Unit

Complete Terms of Reference for any new governance committee, should they be required based on the review above. These terms of reference should clearly define the gap that the new committee is addressing and how the new committee is complimentary to existing departmental operations governance, including the Program and Operations Committee (POC)

February 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG Pacific Region
  • Director, Governance and Ministerial Correspondence Unit 
  • Co-chairs Program Operations Committee

Complete a governance framework / interdependencies placemat

February 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region

If required, new governance committee is launched and integrated with existing governance (where appropriate)

March 2022

  • Executive Head, PSS Transformation (lead)
  • RDG, Pacific Region
  • Director, Governance and Ministerial Correspondence Unit
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