Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Salmon Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board (SEHAB)
Roundtable Report October 2010
Lower Fraser River, North Side Burnaby to Pitt River
Community Advisor: Maurice Coulter Boisvert
Representative Dianne Ramage
It is that time again when the stewardship community has a chance to celebrate and to see the results of their labours.Salmon are coming home.
Strangers to this wonder are falling under the spell of the awe of this miracle.
Below the SEP volunteer community shares their concerns, challenges and successes.
The following is a list of conversations topics I as SEHAB have had or others in my community have had since the last meeting:
By Topic
Salmon Enhancement Program Review and resulting SEP Revitalization
DFO Huge turn over, Acting Positions, new staff, loss of corporate knowledge
Reduction of fish culture at PIP and CEDP facilities
DFO and SEP budget cuts for remainder of 2010-2011 fiscal, more cuts for 2011-2012
Upcoming Workshop 2011 in Campbell River May long weekend 2011
Cohan Commission Inquiry disarray – science panel, standing, submissions, direction-man/ science
Sockeye abundance
Implementation of Auditor General’s Report recommendation- where are these at- who is monitoring the implementation
SEP budget, DFO budget – regional and national
New Fisheries Act- where is it at
Habitat Modernization Program and operating statements- monitoring of its effectiveness
Cumulative effects
Water Quality- pollution and Ev Ca
Water Smart Provincial initiative- where is it at
Water Tact Modernization- where is it at
Steelhead numbers- trends?
DFO - Public Partnership- how can we help them
Expected returns- we are excited
Habitat Compensation- is it mapped or logged somewhere- where can we see a balance sheet of the authorizations and the compensation from 1986 to today
Success of public outreach
Salmonids in the Classroom – students love it- past students working and voting throughout BC as 1,000,000 have taken part in this
Salmon come home celebrations everywhere
Vancouver 6th Annual September as Wild salmon month
BC Rivers Day celebrates its 30 anniversary....................wow!!!!
30,000 volunteers in SEP community and growing.
By Watershed
Byrnelife observed after February pollution event
Stream of Dreams 10th anniversary and 100,000 fish- Wow
StoneyJennifer passed away, what a huge loss, we will miss her, see special insert
Multi- million dollar salt shed construction has begun
Brunette Metro Van habitat tweaking of major weirs
City of Burnaby block Gateway habitat work, unresolved disputes not fish related
Gateway major reconfiguration –relocation of creeks on Como watershed results in improved access
Schedule E culverts – being modified to assist fish and wildlife
Colony Farm- Wilson Farm fish habit project underway, Metro Vancouver partnering with Gateway
AlouetteSockeye returns continue to improve after 100-year absence -2010 returns 107, radio tagged to help gather info to inform program
North Alouette water withdrawals- have water licenses been issued, are the intakes screened and fish friendly, are the inside water courses fish habitat, are the withdrawals monitored, has the MOE Water Stewardship branch and DFO started litigation
Public perception NO ACTON by regulators - DFO and MOE
CoquitlamSockeye returns continue to improve after 100-year absence -2010 returns 1-3, poor smolt release program
Silverdalehuge new habitat created designed to reduce predation by invasive predatory species
Maple New pump, pump burnt out and city augmented flows with city water from fire hydrant until pump replaced- PRECEDENT setting, also couldnot have happened if GVRD had adopted the use of chloramines rather than chlorine
Integrated Watershed Management Planning Process has commenced after a 4-6 year wait
CoquitlamPhase III FSWP Watershed Strategy Process Completed
SpencerNew fish passage partnership between District of Maple Ridge and PSF with Western Diversification funding
Cottonwoodsame
WhonnockCPR – MOT major fish passage construction project
Written comments submitted for this report:
Terry Slack “From the North Arm of the Fraser River"
Volunteer since 1972 Fraser River Coalition
Co-coordinator 2010 Fraser River Park Educational Classroom Kiosk Display
Thank you for the interest and opportunity to report what we observe , this is kind of a new report card of how Nature is starting the recovery and creating opportunities for us to work with what she has now started and continues to do for "Juvenile Salmon Habitat Health and Recovery, in these two Fraser River Arms !
As a now "Retired Commercial Salmon Fisher Person 2010" I kind of keep a keen eye on the two river-ways , from Swishwash Isl. in the Middle Arm and The Iona Jetty and the Point Grey Flats" Musqueam Marsh" or Booming Grounds at the mouth of the North Arm.
One of the good stories this year was the opening to the public of the Vancouver Fraser River Park Interpretative Educational Kiosk "Student Outdoor Classroom" ! A great partnership with the Van. Parks and Recreation , PSF, First Nations and the Fraser River Coalition ! The Fraser River Wild Salmon that are highlighted on the many educational Panels are attracting a lot of interest from the visiting public and near by schools !
A request to have a Fraser River Wild Salmon Wedding was received and I attended the wonderful celebration at the Kiosk site this spring ! The project is a great example of educating School students and the public on how important the Fraser River is in all our lives ! Understanding how a river Works for Salmon and other species of estuary fish and wildlife was also a theme put forth by the late Dr. Bert Brink and a panel highlight of the display !
Its the North and Middle arms of the Fraser River that over time have suffered from Water Quality and Estuary juvenile Salmon Habitat losses !
I am seeing the beginning of huge positive changes in the two arms of the Fraser River ! All the" starting slowly natural changes to Juvenile salmonid habitats" , with no help at all from us , to me are wonderful ! As always a "helping the wild salmon human hand, can for sure can speed up the two Arms Salmon Healing ways to Recovery ! I will send on a list of my recent Salmon Habitat observations and Water Quality issues of the North and Middle Arms of the Fraser River .
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The issue of snagged and lost gillnets in the Fraser and Skeena River by the Commercial and First Nations salmon fishers is a very serious and must be addressed as soon as possible by the government ! The Fraser River gillnet gear has now completely changed from old Nylon Webbing to the new Alaska Twist mono Filament Webbing in all sizes of nets ! The new nets are very transparent in the river and marine environment and of course catch more salmon .
Lost nets , snagged on the river bottom or just abandoned,become permanent invisible fishing forever ghost nets ! Salmon and other fish species such as Sturgeon etc. are continually being entangled in the near invisible gear, in commercial salmon fishing rivers in B. C.
The lost Alaska Twist Mono nets must be retrieved and disposed off in a environmentally friendly way ,and presently there are no plans inplace to address this growing fishing gear problem, specifically in the Fraser and Skeena Rivers !
The huge amounts of "Discarded Old Nylon Gillnetting Webbing" from the conversion of the gillnet fishing gear to Alaska Twist Mono Filament Webbing, has also now become a serious environmental problem in most B. C. coastal fishing towns and cities ! Presently no recycling depot's, metal recyclers or net sales stores will except the unwanted nylon netting and potential polluting lead core lines .
The only way to dispose of the old Nylon Gillnet Webbing and leaded lines is to dump the fishing gear in land fills and other garbage collection areas ! It is here where birds and small animals become entangled in the webbing and die and the polluted landfill leachate over time returns to our rivers and streams !
I would hope that the Federal Minister of Fisheries could address these problems in a timely way, as the Federal Fisheries Regulations have now allowed the use of the new Alaska Twist Mono filament Salmon Gillnet Gear, Coast wide in British Columbia !
Dianne Ramage, Maple Creek SEP Volunteer
I have been thinking. I highly recommend that the entire workshop 2011 focus on SEP revitalization.
The following are just a few things the SEP community may want to know – maybe they would like answers or to talk about this with the folks in DFO with the responsibility and authority for the SEP Renewal/Revitalization.
SEP program
What are the new indicators of success, what are the benchmarks, how were they developed, who and how will data be collected and reported, what decision will be made based on this data.
What does future success look like? What does failure look like, what then.......
Show the logic model to the entire SEP community both in the department and to us -the public- explain it to us, show us how it fits and benefits salmon not just provides accountability back to the RDG and the minister.
Resources
How will the existing budget not only be protected, but where will the necessary increase come from to keep pace with increasing “superannuation costs” of existing and retiring employees, cost of inflation and to undertake the over due repaired, rebuilds and maintenance of aging infrastructure- instream works, hatcheries, water gates/valves (some owned by partners such as Duck unlimited)
Community Advisors
The retiring CAs –how will new ones be selected, mentored and trained.
Knowledge transfer between and among the retiring CAs, the new ones and the community- with inadequate budgets for overlapping retiring and new CAs are the stewards responsible for training of new CAs- that don’t stay!
In the new SEP model who creates the CAs work plan- is it still the community or is it Area Management driven.
Hatcheries – Stock enhancement
Practices and changing priorities of the SEP program, new and emerging practices, what are they- how is this knowledge shared from science to CA to community. How will this be done with new CAs.
Partners
Us the public- we are ageing, few new groups, what are the obstacles to recruiting new volunteers, how is this practically overcome – on mass, as part of the new SEP. what is the relationship between SEP and the Sport Fishing Institute?
What is DFO’s plan to recruiter, train, and resources new volunteers by the hundreds and thousands.
Does the new DFO know how to treat a partner, do they know who we are , what we do, if so why are we maligned when we try to help the department ie: SEP public response to the Auditors General Report of May 2009. SEP public response to the Cohen Commission
Having the department say they don’t response to the public or its committed partners is just not good enough.
Habitat
How is the habitat compliance and monitoring program going- how is the disparate need to protect habit and the pressure to allow damage – either authorized, or illegal and ignored, or illegal and reported being address, what are the future plan to seriously address this.
Education
Why is there not salmonid in the classroom in every school in BC? Not enough $, not enough eggs, not enough teachers or students? Not enough SIC coordinators?
How is DFO education efforts dovetailing with changes in the BC curriculum or the efforts of other organizations and level of government?
Budgets, Legal and FN
How is SEP helping to fund the regional and nation ATIPs and lawsuits to defend DFO, not to take violators to court- that is separate- in fact where is that budget... is it in the annual budget forecast.
DFO Mandate:Safe and Accessible Waterways, Healthy and Productive Aquatic Ecosystems, and Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture
How does SEP fit in this, response to these expectations (through logic model?), and implement these directives.
Summary:
What does the SEP review and its recommendations mean at an area management level, at a public level, PIP- partnership maintenance level? Please tell us- your sep-pip partners.