Conservation and stewardship

Salmon face challenges that are complex, cumulative and unique to their specific habitats. As our scientific understanding of these challenges grows, we are making decisions that more effectively support our conservation and stewardship goals.

Through the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), we're investing in targeted salmon science and information to increase our work in the areas of:

• integrated salmon ecosystem planning
• salmon habitat restoration
• integrated rebuilding plans
• improved supports for salmon stewardship activities

Under this pillar, we are committing to a transformational shift by increasing our focus on, and investments in, conservation and stewardship.

We are engaging with First Nations and external partners on broadening our supports for salmon stewardship activities. A key deliverable will be the Pacific Region Restoration Prioritization Plan which engages First Nations and community partners to determine priority support tools and coordination needs to improve integration of restoration activities into salmon conservation supporting rebuilding plans and stewardship.

We have doubled funding for the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF). This program supports external groups in carrying out important conservation and stewardship projects at the community level. BCSRIF, which is a joint federal and provincial initiative, delivers financial support to First Nations and regional stakeholder restoration and conservation projects, which in turn improves the economic resilience and environmental sustainability of Pacific fisheries.

We are also investing in our science data, monitoring systems and frameworks to improve our understanding of salmon ecosystems and how climate change affects them. For example, we are developing a new science program that will work to better understand the offshore ocean phase of the salmon life cycle so we can forecast distribution and abundance of stocks. This will help us better target our enhanced monitoring and enforcement efforts of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing in the high seas.

Our new Stewardship directorate is focused on improving delivery of key salmon stewardship functions. Through this team, we are improving the coordination of habitat restoration, integrated salmon ecosystem and rebuilding planning, and we will increase supports for the external partnerships that are essential to our collective efforts to rebuild vulnerable salmon populations.

We have established the Habitat Restoration Centre of Expertise which builds on our former Resource Restoration Unit. It provides support and guidance on habitat restoration projects to Indigenous and community groups throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

Additionally, we have initiated an Indigenous Stewardship Capacity Fund. This program supports Indigenous groups in building technical capacity to plan and undertake salmon conservation, integrated ecosystem planning and rebuilding efforts.

Related links

• PSSI featured stories
• Integrated Planning for Salmon Ecosystems
• Extreme environmental impacts on Pacific salmon
• Pacific Wild Salmon Policy
• State of the Pacific Salmon report
• BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund