Vancouver, British Columbia - Threats like climate change, habitat degradation, pollution, land and water use, acute events like toxic spills and landslides, and fishing pressures have left many Pacific salmon populations at historically low levels. Action is needed to protect and recover this iconic species - for thousands of workers in rural and coastal communities, and hundreds of First Nations communities in British Columbia and Yukon for whom salmon is central to their identity. The Government of Canada is taking decisive action to address challenges facing the species and support conservation through the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI).
Launched in 2021, this $647-million program helps to slow the decline of priority Pacific salmon populations, supports the rebuilding of ecosystems, and transforms the Pacific salmon harvesting sector with the goal of improving the sustainability of a vital fish stock.
Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, announced the next phase of a transformed harvesting sector with the launch of a voluntary Pacific Salmon Commercial Licence Retirement Program. This program will ensure commercial licence holders seeking to exit the sector will receive market value from the Department to retire their licences. In addition to retiring their licences, those who wish to dispose of their commercial fishing vessel and gear in an environmentally responsible way will also be eligible to access Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)'s Derelict Vessel Mitigation and Gear Disposal Program. The Minister also noted the Department will conduct a staged rollout of the Pacific Salmon Indigenous Communal Commercial Licence Alternation Program in the coming months to support holders of this type of licence who wish to shift from salmon to non-salmon commercial licences. This latter program will be introduced once details have been finalized.
Voluntary licence retirement will help drive the transition to a smaller, more financially viable and sustainable fishery for remaining harvesters and reflects the consultations DFO held with commercial and First Nations harvesters throughout the late fall and winter of 2021-22 on the overarching objective of the PSSI to rebuild vulnerable Pacific salmon populations for the benefit of future generations.
