Shifting salmon policy
Photo by Alex Harris.
Ecosystems are complex. They are communities of living organisms connected through interacting processes and features on the land, in water, and between the two. Yet BC’s antiquated environmental policy doesn’t reflect this. Colonial society governs ecosystems by siloing them into distinct ministries and resources instead of reflecting the interconnected nature of habitats that make them function in the living world. This “siloed decision making”is the root cause of many of the ecological challenges we face today.
Our policy goals
1. Manage fisheries for ecosystems
- Set salmon harvest at levels that optimize the benefits of spawning salmon to watersheds and wildlife.
- Shift away from historic management paradigms that minimize the number of spawning salmon reaching rivers and maximize harvest (called Maximum Sustainable Yield). Move towards fisheries management that meets salmon spawning targets that are ecologically based, not harvest-based.
- Shift harvest toward selective terminal fisheries (conducted in or near the rivers of origin) that respect the ‘place-based’ nature of salmon, and optimize the benefits to ecosystems, Indigenous cultures, and local communities.
2. Implement ecological-based governance
- Conservation planning and a commitment to sustainability that looks 7 generations ahead.
- A “whole-of-government” approach that implements shared solutions by Indigenous, federal, provincial, and municipal governments to achieve salmon recovery from inland watersheds and rivers, to the open ocean.
- Governance that honours Aboriginal rights and title, inherent Indigenous jurisdiction and law, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
- Sustainable funding strategies for watershed-scale restoration and planning.
3. Advance land-use policies that prioritize the health of wild salmon and biodiversity
- Zoning that bolsters functioning watersheds and riparian habitat (i.e.protect natural features, limit impervious surfaces, reduce urban sprawl, adopt nature-based solutions).
- Forestry policy that prioritizes salmon health by restricting clear-cutting in salmon watersheds, and incentivizes a sustainable, second or third-growth forest economy.
- Climate adaptation policy that incentivizes nature-based solutions including natural shorelines, intact riparian areas, unrestricted floodplains, managed retreat, and use of rain-gardens in urban areas.
Our recent reports
Recent articles
Wildlife Part of the Pipeline Equation, Too
Island Tides April 7-April 20, 2011
The notion that animal welfare applies to wildlife has escaped most people, including animal welfarists and conservationists alike…
The early bird catches the herring
Seaside Times
April 2011
By Chris Genovali
Caroline Fox has been a biologist with Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s marine conservation program since 2007 and serves as Raincoast’s lead scientist for our work on marine birds…
Study assesses plastic pollution in BC waters
A new study has estimated that the inshore waters of coastal BC are filled with approximately 36,000 pieces of garbage, most of which is plastic. CFAX host Adam Stirling speaks with Raincoast’s Misty MacDufee about the study and what it means for marine animals. Click here to listen (MP3)
Raincoast Slide Show in Sidney
Join Raincoast and Maple Leaf Adventures for a slide show presentation on spirit bears, wilderness adventure and much more in Sidney on Thursday March 31, 7:00 PM at the Charlie White Theatre, Mary Winspear Centre…
Travel and conservation work together
Comox Valley Echo March 22, 2011
Take an illustrated voyage through the coast’s natural history and hear about efforts to protect the Spirit Bear in this presentation by adventure cruise guide Maureen Gordon and by Raincoast’s guide outfitter coordinator Brian Falconer…
Enbridge tar sands pipeline threatens Canadian wildlife
Although rarely considered, many human activities deprive wild animals of their life necessities by destroying or impoverishing their surroundings, causing suffering of individuals through displacement, stress, starvation, and diminished security…