DFO ' s Wild Salmon Policy: The Challenge of Moving from Monitoring to Management Action

1. DFO's Wild Salmon Policy: The Challenge of Moving from Monitoring to Management Action Smithers, BC March 14, 2007

2. Why a Wild Salmon Policy? • Concern for reduced abundance and diversity of Pacific salmon and habitat loss • New legislation and policy • Obligations to First Nations • Marine Stewardship Certification • Need for a common vision.

3. Restore and maintain healthy and diverse salmon populations and their habitats for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of Canada in perpetuity WSP Overview Goal Maintain habitat and ecosystem integrity Manage fisheries for sustainable benefits Objectives Safeguard the genetic diversity of wild Pacific salmon 1) Standardized monitoring of wild salmon status 2) Assessment of habitat status 3) Inclusion of ecosystem values and monitoring Strategies 4) Integrated strategic planning 5) Annual program delivery 6) Performance Review Conservation of wild salmon and their habitat is the highest priority Honour Obligations to First Nations Sustainable Use Open Process Guiding Principles

4. Strategy 1 – Monitoring Salmon Status • Identify the unit of biodiversity to conserve: the Conservation Unit (CU) • Develop preliminary list of CUs • Develop Indicators and Benchmarks • Develop Stock Assessment Framework

5. Step 2 Glacial History Step 1 Taxonomy Step 3 Geography (physical limits to exchange) Life Histories (the diversity you see) Ecology (“adaptive landscape”) Local knowledge Molecular Genetics (hidden diversity) Conservation Units How to Identify CUs?- Proposed Approach

6. Bering Sea Alaska Downwelling Arctic Ocean SE Alaskan Fjords Nass-Skeena Estuary Dixon Entrance QC Sound- Hecate Strait Georgia Strait Coastal OR-WA Outer QCI QC Strait – Johnstone Str – S Fjords Puget Sound VCI Coastal Current Ecology - Ocean Zones • Describe the adaptive environment of pink, chum, and ocean (river) type sockeye • Each zone has at least one CU • 13 ocean zones in BC, 12 with anadromous salmon Unique Ocean Zones (boxes) and associated watersheds (coloured)

7. Yukon HW Teslin HW Alsek Lower Liard Taku NC Lower Stikine Upper Skeena Middle Skeena Nass Lower Skeena NC Upper Fraser Middle Fraser Haida Gwaii NC N Thompson Bella Coola S Thompson Lillooet Rivers-Smith SC Lower Thompson WVI Okanagan EVI Lower Fraser Boundary Bay Ecology – Freshwater Zones 26 freshwater zones with anadromous salmon in BC

8. Yukon HW Teslin HW Lower Liard Alsek Lower Stikine Taku SE AK Fjords Nass Upper Skeena Middle Skeena Lower Skeena Coastal 3-4-5 N-Haida Gwaii Upper Fraser Middle Fraser W-Haida Gwaii NC N Thompson E-Haida Gwaii Bella Coola S Thompson Lillooet MI Rivers-Smith Lower Thompson NWVI SC Okanagan NEVI EVI Lower Fraser WVI Boundary Bay Joint Adaptive Zones 33 joint adaptive zones with anadromous salmon in BC

9. Adaptive zones & FN Linguistic boundaries

10. Benchmarks

11. Benchmarks

12. Reporting CU Status

13. Strategy 2 – Habitat Status • Progress to date …. • Habitat requirements for different life history types documented • Developed two-tiered approach using PRESSURE and STATE indicators • Developed preliminary list of habitat indicators • What's next… • Finalize, refine and pilot indicators • Development of monitoring framework including web-based information system

14. Ranked stream habitat Pressure indicators • Stream length channelization/floodplain alienation • Stream length riparian zone alteration • Road density • % watershed area conversion to various land uses (e.g. forestry, agriculture, urban) • % watershed area impervious surface • % wetlands loss • Water abstraction (quantity, timing)

15. Ranked stream habitat Status indicators • Habitat Quantity: #Km fish accessible stream length, #Ha fish accessible off-channel habitat • Stream discharge • Channel stability • Water temperature • Water chemistry parameters • LWD, Instream cover • Sediment load

16. Potential Lake Indicators • Pressure • Road density, % riparian zone altered • % watershed impervious surface area • % water-shed area various land cover alterations • % lake foreshore altered, recreational pressure. • Status • Accessible shore length, barriers; • Accessible off-channel habitat area • Temp, water chem. (nutrients, D.O., pH, conductivity, contaminant) • Sediment/substrate

17. Potential Estuarine Indicators • Pressure • % surface area disturbed off-shore/in-shore • % shoreline altered • Invasives, shipping traffic • Status • Eel-grass, marine riparian vegetation • Spatial distribution of wetlands and mudflats • Flux of detrital organic matter (C,N,P) • Accessible off-channel habitat area • Estuarine habitat area, sediment, TSS • Pathogens, water chemistry, aquatic invertebrates

18. Strategy 3 – Ecosystem Monitoring • Progress to date …. • Reviewed potential indicators to monitor status of freshwater ecosystems (PFRCC assisted) • Consulted on approaches to incorporating ecosystem values • What's next… • Convene Workshop/Panel to develop integrated framework • Pilot monitoring program • Review of trends in marine survival of salmon

19. Strategy 4 – Strategic Planning • Develop long term strategic plans for CUs • Requires right governance structure for fisheries marine use and land-use planning. • Requires right planning approach

20. 5-Step Planning Approach • Identify planning priorities • Identify resource management options and alternative management strategies • Establish biological, social and economic performance indicators • Assess the likely impacts of management alternatives • Select the preferred management alternative

21. Challenges • Mechanism for shared delivery of ecosystem monitoring and management – balkanization • Development of effective and affordable habitat/ecosystem indicators • Capacity to develop appropriate social and economic indicators • Integration/sharing of data over multiple levels of government

22. Challenges • Lack of governance structure for integrated planning of oceans, fisheries and watersheds: considering scale based fisheries commission/sustainability roundtable • Engagement of First Nations and appropriate approach to ATK/TEK • Water

23. A Small Wind ?

30. Vision • A results-based ecosystem monitoring program delivered by all 4 levels of government, industry, NGOs and volunteers • A scale-based sustainability round table that brings regulators and community perspectives together to advise initially and ultimately co-manage resources. Interagency committee + BV CRB • A joint technical committee that supports the roundtable and provides integrated data/information and analyis.