Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative update

Issue 2022-2: September 2022

On this page

• British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund phase 2 announced
• Salmon habitat recovery and resiliency plan: A 3G Approach
• Launch of new PSSI online engagement platform: Let’s Talk Pacific Salmon
• Report of the evaluation of DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon

British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund phase 2 announced

The recent doubling of funding for the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF) signals the ongoing commitment of the governments of Canada and the Province of BC to financially support efforts to protect and rebuild declining key Pacific salmon stocks.

The lives and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples and many coastal British Columbians are inextricably tied to Pacific salmon, and their interest – as well as that of academic researchers – in doing what they can to rebuild habitat and key populations is keen. This is reflected in the tremendous success of the fund’s first 3 years and in the important contribution that Indigenous partners, stakeholders, academics, and communities can make to help where possible bring stocks back to sustainable levels.

On August 23rd, the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and her provincial counterpart the Honourable Josie Osborne, announced doubling their respective contributions to the fund, but also extended the 5-year program. The federal government supplies 70% of the funding, while 30% comes from the Province of BC. The federal government’s $100 million top-up will be funded through the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI); now worth some $285  million (with $85 million coming from the Province of BC), and the life of BCSRIF has been extended until March 31, 2026.

Launched in 2019, the fund was established to provide an investment of up to $142.85 million over 5 years (sunsetting on March 31, 2024) to support protection and restoration activities for priority wild fish stocks, including salmon. It was also intended for projects that position the fish and seafood sector in BC for long-term environmental and economic sustainability. Doubling the fund, along with its extension promises several additional projects aimed at protecting and rebuilding Pacific salmon and their habitat. The aim of the BCSRIF aligns seamlessly with the goals of the PSSI.

A few examples of these projects included one proposed by the Adams Lake Indian Band (ALIB) to enhance and restore the Upper Adams River sockeye salmon populations. The Band partnered with Secwepemc Fisheries Commission and the Okanagan Nation Alliance to undertake studies in Adams Lake. The project involved a rigorous physical, biological and chemical study of the body of water, a population study of existing sockeye/kokanee, and an examination of the impacts of invasive species. The group’s goal was to identify core issues, develop enhancement techniques and ensure healthy s populations for the future. The results of these studies will support nutrient enrichment to increase the abundance of pelagic phytoplankton, which in turn is expected to increase the abundance of zooplankton, an essential food source for sockeye fry.

Another example of the projects funded by BCSRIF is the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society, which wanted to address knowledge gaps on the status of forage fish in the northern Salish Sea. The Society applied a citizen scientist program to assess and monitor intertidal forage fish species and their habitats. This project is of high ecological importance because forage fish populations support chinook salmon, a key prey species of the Northwest’s at-risk killer whales.

In its second year, the project garnered added project support from new collaborators, including Haikai Institute, Islands Trust, UBC. and the K’ómoks First Nation Guardian Watchman, as well as over 60 volunteers who provided over 800 hours of labour for the project by collecting intertidal environmental DNA (eDNA) samples to determine the presence of surf smelt and Pacific sand lance that burrow in the intertidal and subtidal zones (beach areas). A total of 232 intertidal and subtidal eDNA samples from Campbell River, Comox Valley, and Cortes, Hornby and Quadra Islands were sent to the University of Victoria for analysis. As a result of this work, 14 new beaches have been identified that support forage fish spawning, intertidal and subtidal forage fish models to predict areas likely to support forage fish have been refined, and the BC Forage Fish Monitoring Network has been formed.

After 3 years, interest in BCSRIF remains high and bodes well to continue. Applications submitted under the program’s first phase resulted in 97 projects receiving funding approval. BCSRIF will continue to work with clients to find new and innovative ways to adapt to emerging challenges facing the sector, including impacts on projects as a result of climate change-related events such as drought, forest fires and floods.

Phase 2 of the Fund is now underway. The intake of applications for project funding launched on September 15 and will continue until November 15, 2022. Anyone interested in applying can find more information here.

Salmon habitat recovery and resiliency plan: A 3G Approach

In November 2021, an Atmospheric River event resulted in unprecedented flooding of many southern BC watersheds. While the impacts to rivers are significant, it remains to be seen how they will affect the salmon that call these waters home.

In response to concerns about flood impacts to salmonid habitat and populations, the Province of BC, local First Nations, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) are working hand in hand through a newly established 3-government governance structure in each of the affected areas. Funding for the work is being drawn from the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), the Province of BC and environmental non-governmental organizations. Much of the current post-freshet work is focused on fish and fish habitat assessment and monitoring. Teams are working together to rear juveniles recovered from stranding pools and improve conditions for adult salmon passage. Assessments will be critical to guiding future restoration and recovery actions by PSSI. Our shared goal and commitment is to help guide, support, and coordinate salmon recovery in the area.

All 3 partners are collaborating across 4 main areas: population counts, regulatory work, identification and mitigation of compromised habitat conditions, as well as communication and outreach. Critical infrastructure for counting coho which was destroyed by the flooding has been replaced in time to enable counting this fall. A salmon juvenile assessment has been initiated to determine the impacts of flooding survival of early-stage salmon. Watersheds will be monitored, and priority work identified and undertaken to address immediate habitat issues that may be affecting salmon survival or their ability to access spawning grounds.

The 3G structure combines western science with local Indigenous knowledge. Work is under way to record Indigenous knowledge from First Nations to further inform decision making. It also means that cultural and spiritual values and areas are reflected in our efforts, ensuring that management approaches are culturally appropriate.

Wild fish populations are foundational to Indigenous Peoples’ cultural, traditional, and ceremonial activities. The Province of BC and DFO are working collaboratively with Indigenous communities across British Columbia to ensure that the management of Pacific salmon is front and centre when considering urgent issues and initiatives like this natural hazard response. Food security and the protection of salmon as a critical cultural element of Indigenous communities is top of mind when making decisions about flood response.

Significant investments by all 3Gs have already occurred to address salmon concerns. Ongoing and further investments will also be needed in areas such as urgent fish passage issues, committing helicopter time to undertake surveillance flights, acting on habitat issues arising from assessment activities, compliance audits, as well as developing a Geographic Information System spatial tool to capture information central to decision making.

The work by our First Nation partners, BC and DFO is expected to benefit fish and fish habitat and provide critical relief from the stressors of flooding on some of BC’s most threatened salmonid populations.

Launch of new PSSI online engagement platform: Let’s Talk Pacific Salmon

The Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) has officially launched its new online engagement platform: Let’s Talk Pacific Salmon. This platform is a tool for DFO to engage with the public on Pacific salmon, providing an opportunity for British Columbians and those living in the Yukon Territory the opportunity to contribute valuable input and feedback. Engagement opportunities will be focused on various aspects of the PSSI and related DFO Pacific salmon activities. The platform also supports targeted engagement with specific groups for particular topics.

With the launch of the platform, the PSSI Secretariat released its first public engagement: the PSSI Strategic Framework. This public engagement provides an overview of the strategic framework guiding the implementation of the PSSI, including what is driving the initiative, the vision, pillars, themes of work and guiding principles, the pathway to results, and the overall engagement approach. A series of questions is designed to encourage initial feedback. This engagement is open until October 31.

If you would like to learn more about this new engagement tool, please check out and register at the link above. The one-time registration is quick and easy, and your privacy is protected. Once you have registered, you will be notified whenever new engagement campaigns have been posted so you can participate.

If you have any questions about the platform, or any aspect of the PSSI, please don’t hesitate to reach out. The PSSI key contact list can be found on the internet.

PSSI engagement update

Over the past year DFO PSSI senior executives and managers have conducted numerous PSSI general engagement sessions. By spring 2022, we had engaged with over 80 First Nations and Indigenous organizations, provincial-territorial governments, and key stakeholder groups on the PSSI as a whole. This included meetings with 47 First Nations and Indigenous organizations, 8 with provincial and territorial governments, 5 international organizations and 21 industry groups and associations, including ENGOs, harvesters and multi-party groups. (These meetings do not include the extensive engagement on longer-term commercial closures and mitigation measures, undertaken by DFO’s Fisheries Management branch).

General PSSI engagement sessions have focused on sharing and receiving feedback on the PSSI Strategic Framework (the vision, pillars, themes of work, guiding principles and key activities) as well as to learn how groups want to be engaged going forward, and to identify their priorities for engagement. DFO collected initial impressions of the PSSI, including potential challenges and considerations in implementation planning, and how groups want to be engaged.

General engagement sessions to date demonstrated overall support for the PSSI pillars, themes and working vision, as well as the unprecedented level of investment in Pacific salmon. The breadth of scope of work across the four pillars was generally interpreted as a signal that the Department is responding to calls for action. The need for urgent action and a conservation focus to stem the declines of Pacific salmon was heard at each session, as well as the need to plan further. While short term, immediate measures are required, there is recognition that rebuilding salmon populations will require a long-term approach, likely over multiple cycles of salmon. For many, the feedback was that while “planning and doing at the same time” is not ideal, it’s necessary, given the urgent situation.

There was significant interest to better understand and provide input into implementation planning, with calls to DFO to continue to work toward building trust in the process through a focus on transparency and accountability. The focus of the PSSI on collaboration and integration was welcomed, as was the need for coordinated and streamlined engagement. A strong interest was expressed to better understand when engagements would occur on the various aspects of work, with a keen interest to be involved and for the pace of implementation to increase.

The PSSI executive team, the Secretariat and the leads for each of the various key activities under each of the pillars are taking this feedback into consideration as we continue to develop the various key activities of the PSSI and the associated engagement plans.

DFO leads have or are being identified for all key activities; the leads will develop and manage implementation of engagement plans, which will use existing forums, processes, and tables, where possible, to avoid “consultation fatigue”, in addition to the Let’s Talk Pacific Salmon engagement platform.

Report of the evaluation of DFO’s activities in support of Pacific salmon: A summary of the findings and our plan to address them

Every year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada updates a running 5-year plan identifying departmental activities that will be evaluated. DFO’s activities related to Pacific salmon were on the list for review in 2020 and was assessed for the Department’s activities in the 5 fiscal years between April 2015 and March 2020. In keeping with Treasury Board’s Policy on Results, the Department’s Evaluation Division measured and evaluated the Department’s performance in this area and used the information gathered to identify areas for improvement – whether in programs, policies, or services. The Division then validated its key findings and recommendations through consultation.

The evaluation resulted in a report that can be read here. The Department has expressed its agreement with the findings and 5 recommendations of the team and has developed a comprehensive Management Action Plan (MAP) establishing how we plan to address them. Briefly, the recommendations are as follows:

• Recommendation #1: Develop a strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon
• Recommendation #2: Implement a coordinated approach for transfer payments that is aligned with the strategic direction and vision for Pacific salmon
• Recommendation #3: Implement tools and methodologies to track resources in support of Pacific salmon
• Recommendation #4: Implement a performance measurement strategy for activities in support of Pacific salmon
• Recommendation #5: Clearly define the governance framework for departmental activities in support of Pacific salmon

DFO’s Management Action Plan clearly outlines the approach that the Department will take to address each of the 5 recommendations. The Department will be leveraging strategic efforts already underway under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), to catalyze improvements horizontally across all our Pacific salmon programming. For details on the Department’s response, the MAP is appended to the evaluation report and can be found here.