June 20, 2024

Vancouver, British Columbia – Healthy fish stocks and prosperous fisheries rely on healthy and resilient ecosystems. Climate change, habitat degradation and other environmental challenges are putting stocks and ecosystems at risk. Innovative and collaborative approaches, founded in science, are crucial to ensuring that future generations can enjoy the significant economic, cultural and environmental benefits that Pacific salmon provide.

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, B.C. Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Kelly Greene and B.C. Parliamentary Secretary for Watershed Restoration, Fin Donnelly on behalf of the B.C. Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the Honourable Nathan Cullen, announced $39.4M for 15 projects receiving funding under the second phase of the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF). 

Of the 15 projects announced today, five directly address the effects of climate change events such as droughts, flooding and wildfires on Pacific salmon. These include:

• The Investment Agriculture Foundation British Columbia will receive $3M to work with Indigenous partners on a watershed-to-watershed basis, identifying climate change adaptation and mitigation goals
• The University of Northern British Columbia’s Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, will receive $5M to research the effects of climate change on salmon ecosystems and, with collaborators at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance, to improve hatchery infrastructure for Chinook salmon enhancement and conservation
• The Pacific Salmon Foundation received $3.98M to help communities monitor climate change in salmon freshwater habitats and enable local and broad-scale planning for climate resilient salmon ecosystems
• Nanwakolas Council Society will receive $2.86M for the Nanwakolas 50 Watersheds Project, an Indigenous-led science partnership and research project to better understand, and develop tools to address, the threats posed by climate change and forest management on salmon populations and their habitat

Other projects support habitat restoration, improvements to hatchery operations and sustainable sablefish aquaculture. The 15 projects announced today are vital in bolstering ecosystems and ensuring the long-term resilience of Pacific salmon, other fish species, and a robust seafood sector.