The federal government is making a new push to restore Fraser River sockeye-salmon runs, and its decision to hire more scientists is a significant step in tackling the problem of declining salmon stocks.
After sockeye-salmon stocks in the Fraser River collapsed in 2009, the Conservative government appointed B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen to head an inquiry. Cohen produced 75 recommendations in 2012, of which 32 have been implemented, according to Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc.
LeBlanc said this week the government wants to make those recommendations a priority and reverse the delays in implementing them.
To put his money where his mouth is, the minister said $197.1 million already announced in the federal budget will include support for 29 new Pacific scientists and technicians over five years. They will do research on fish health, ecosystems and sustainable aquaculture.
More research is certainly needed to preserve the health of salmon and to answer the contentious questions about the effect of salmon farms on the health of wild fish. The addition of scientists and money can only help in the pursuit of answers.
Since Cohen’s report, the situation has continued to look grim. This year, instead of an already-low estimate of 992,000, the summer Fraser River sockeye run was estimated Tuesday at 700,000, according to the Pacific Salmon Commission, a Canadian-American agency that helps manage fisheries.
For at least a decade, returns have been generally declining. Just 1.4 million sockeye returned to B.C.’s rivers in the summer and late fall runs in 2009 — far below the expected 10 million fish. The following year’s record run of 30 million sockeye was a rare exception to the downward trend.
While Cohen found that many factors are likely to blame for the declines, the role of fish farms on the coast continues to be a question that needs an answer.
The B.C. Salmon Farmers Association says fish farms provide more than 5,000 jobs and have an economic impact of $1.1 billion in the province. The association points to its research programs and environmental certifications to bolster the argument that fish farms are not a threat to wild stocks.
Environmentalists say that sea lice and disease are evidence that the threat is real. They marshal research of their own to make their case.
We need rigorous, impartial science to settle this question and make informed policy decisions. That should be the job of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. However, its ability to do that job is impaired by LeBlanc’s decision to maintain DFO’s dual mission of regulating fisheries and promoting aquaculture.
Combining regulation with promotion always undermines the perception of fairness, and often makes effective regulation impossible. The untenable double mission of B.C.’s Ministry of Mines, which was on display in the Mount Polley tailings-pond disaster, is just one example.
If the government is serious about settling this issue with an authoritative body of research, it should separate promotion from regulation.
That research should be part of a renewed commitment to an over-arching policy on wild salmon.
Greg Taylor, fisheries co-ordinator for Watershed Watch Salmon Society, says the new push by the federal government misses the mark on the 2005 Wild Salmon Policy, a blueprint for managing salmon.
“We had real hopes that there would be significant progress with Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau and the new government,” Taylor said. “But his failure to address the key recommendations by Cohen on the Wild Salmon Policy leave that in doubt.”
By LeBlanc’s count, 43 of Cohen’s recommendations are on the to-do list. Whittling down that number has to be a priority.
