$412.9M for salmon plan
Federal authorities announced $412.9 million for a Pacific Salmon Initiative that links cross‑border conservation work, a move flagged in social posts as Canada‑linked and noted by some commentators as politically sensitive. (The funding figure and its Pacific focus were posted publicly and discussed in regional threads over the past 48 hours.) (x.com) (x.com)
Canada said on April 7 it will spend $412.9 million over five years to renew its Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative. (canada.ca) Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson announced the funding in North Vancouver, British Columbia, and said the program will continue work with Indigenous Peoples, provincial and territorial governments, harvesters, scientists and community groups across the West Coast. (canada.ca) The initiative began in 2021 with $647.1 million over five years, and the renewal brings Canada’s total salmon funding to nearly $1.1 billion over 10 years. (letstalkpacificsalmon.ca) (canada.ca) Canada says wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia and Yukon are under pressure from climate change, habitat loss, pollution and illegal fishing. The department said two dozen populations have been assessed as endangered, 10 as threatened and nine as species of special concern. (canada.ca) (ipolitics.ca) The new money is aimed at habitat restoration, hatchery upgrades, science and monitoring, and changes to fisheries management. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the first phase modernized more than 70 hatchery facilities, backed more than 100 partner-run hatcheries and restored 15.7 million square meters of salmon habitat. (canada.ca) The department also said the first phase worked with more than 40 First Nations and Indigenous fisheries organizations, supported more than 443 partners, and retired 538 commercial salmon licences, cutting the eligible licence total by 40.6 percent. (canada.ca) The cross-border piece is built into salmon management, because many fish hatched in one country are caught in the waters of the other. Canada and the United States manage those shared stocks under the Pacific Salmon Treaty, which both governments say has governed bilateral cooperation since 1985. (dfo-mpo.gc.ca) (fws.gov) Canada also tied the salmon plan to North Pacific enforcement, saying the program has helped combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing on the high seas. That work overlaps with multinational bodies such as the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, whose members include Canada and the United States. (canada.ca) (npafc.org) The politics around salmon have been sharp in both countries because conservation rules can cut harvests for commercial, sport and Indigenous fisheries. In Southeast Alaska, for example, this year’s Chinook catch limit was set under Pacific Salmon Treaty rules after last year’s unusually low cap. (adn.com) (fisheries.noaa.gov) For now, the Canadian announcement is a funding renewal, not a new treaty or a new United States appropriation. It keeps Ottawa’s salmon program running through 2031 while the same cross-border fish stocks remain governed by existing Canada-United States agreements. (canada.ca) (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
