SEHAB Member:    Tracy Bond 

Area:                          Northern Interior    

Community Advisor:   Guy Scharf

Date:                           January 25, 2017

Key Issues:

What top three points can you distill from community input to take to DFO RHQ?

1. DFO resourcing – in staff, management, monitoring, W.S.P., implementation….if minimal budget to do so, then what is the strategy and how will goals get reached. There are groups that are prepared to support these goals but there is a need for resourcing. Where will this come from?
2. Specific Stock concerns..take your pick!
3. Support for groups: Financial, Expertise - What is Strategy moving forward based on realistic budgetary constraints.

Stories:

A few examples of successes, failures, challenges.

See Submissions

Issues Specific to SEHAB’s Work Plan:

Submissions, Comments from Groups:

• Where is the Upper Fraser DFO salmon restoration support going to come from when Judy Hillaby (Restoration Biologist for Region)retires?  Having it south of WL will further limit restoration activity in the north
• Update on the Fisheries Act Renewal progress (ie: reporting back timelines)
• Update on efforts to increase low sockeye runs  with enhancement (ie: mid-upper Fraser River stocks)
• Update on work to support DFO’s Stream to Sea Program materials with PSF funding
• Update on group core funding progress
• Is there going to be any new $$ for SEP (ie: what are the next 5 years going to look like so we can strategize)
• Volunteer Requirements for Funding Agencies ie P.S.F. requiring large volunteer support which limits funding access to rural groups that 1. Do not have the volunteer numbers and have vast areas to cover and largely industrial impacts to restore, which requires more than what volunteers can provide.

Regarding issues you may want to raise at your meeting with DFO:

1. Southern BC Chinook Strategic Planning Initiative -  This is a First Nations/DFO led process with other interested parties also participating, including SFAB, MCC etc, to develop a series of strategies (conservation, enhancement and fisheries) to address the decline of chinook stocks in Southern BC. The process has been pieced together with various funding sources for a few years but needs a commitment from DFO to finalize and implement the strategies.   Members of the Steering Planning Committee have written letters in support of the initiative including the SFAB and recommending a commitment. SEHAB can support this process, which can be found on the DFO Website, if anything can be found on the labyrinth of a site.  I should also say this is more of a long-term process that will inform specific actions.  It is also a process that successfully demonstrates the Wild Salmon Policy 5 step planning process.
2. Short term actions with regards to Upper Fraser Spring and Summer Chinook stocks need to be implemented now.   There are many information gaps that need to be addressed so we can better understand the root of the decline. We need a commitment to implement indicator systems, which were once in place in the Upper Fraser and have since been removed.  The Coded Wire Tagging program at Chilko is a start, but this is not a committed program yet and would be good to show support for, we also need an Upper Fraser indicator stock for the Spring 5-year-old chinook stocks. 
3. Gaps in monitoring, despite what may be misunderstood, First Nation fisheries and the commercial fisheries are heavily monitored throughout the province, but we know there are gaps in the marine recreational fisheries monitoring.  DFO needs to increase monitoring in the Marine Recreational Fisheries and possibly the Lower Fraser as well.  We already know that for the most part when there have been recreational fisheries in our area in recent years that there has been monitoring.  Especially in new fisheries such as the pink fishery, where we have no information which is very helpful and required.
4. Interior Fraser Coho – this species was designated endangered in 2002, in November it was reassessed as a threatened species.  What was the process and who from the original Recovery team, which included many from the interior was involved a review of the status of these fish resulting in the recent designation? How was the designation arrived at?
5. Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations – DFO has concluded a first round of consultations, I believe with members of SFAB and SEHAB. What is DFO’s intentions to follow up wrt to the progress of negotiations and seeking feedback on the issues being raised as well as presentation of the negotiated chapters for final feedback prior to ratification of an agreement.
6. Wild Salmon Policy –  I support an implementation plan, but I don’t support redrafting the current plan without a comprehensive consultation process.  The Implementation plan should include resources to properly implement the 2005 WSP.
7. Ministers Mandate – Would be good to review the mandate letter and determine the progress.
8. Could also raise the issue of establishing escapement targets /benchmarks for the Interior salmon stocks and the need to move adequate numbers of fish in river to meet those targets.  This could be a benefit to everyone in the Upper Fraser, allowing for rebuilding of diminishing stocks, the freshwater environment and potentially fishing opportunities.
9. Management should focus on individual stocks – too often weaker stocks are lost in the management of aggregates. Maybe aggregate based commercial fisheries management somewhat worked when we had stronger returns across the watershed, but it isn’t working today.  We have many smaller weak stocks that get hit in mixed stock fisheries, allowing for management on a stock by stock basis will allow us to target stronger stocks while protecting the weaker stocks.  The Upper Fraser Commercial Fishing Enterprise (managed by the UFFCA due to the conservation principles that are implemented) which receives a commercial allocation for the upper Fraser region when it is determined available, can target its harvest on strong stocks in a specific system (Chilko, Stellako sockeye for eg.) while allowing the weaker stocks (Quesnel, Late Stuart) to swim by.  I am not trying to pick on the commercial sector, but I am saying there are viable options to protecting weaker salmon stocks in hopes of rebuilding those stocks for all to enjoy.
10. Increased assessment programs, DFO has been downsized:  First Nations and community groups, such as SEHAB and SFAB are ideally situated and largely have the capacity to fill in the gaps. The Oceans Protection Program and the Science $ announced by Trudeau’s government should be designed to incorporate our capacity.
11. Protection of Chilcotin Steelhead.  Stocks are at an all-time low and in danger of being unrecoverable. Recommend action be taken to protect these fish.
12. Critically low numbers of Sockeye in the Bowron run for many years (letter sent to Angela Bate)
13. Lack of enforcement officers in the Prince George office, Quesnel, Williams Lake
14. lack of habitat biologists in the Prince George office
15. lack of overall staff at Prince George DFO office and Williams Lake Office (and I've heard some retiring positions will likely not be filled
16. With only 3-4 people working in an office that used to hold 12-15 people (Prince George office) could DFO downsize and allocate those funds elsewhere?
17. The "non-prescriptive" nature of the Wild salmon policy, runs that are consistently dropping and "red zoned" have no recovery plan and no area where DFO is forced to take action.