Bridging the gaps to save British Columbia’s salmon

Pacific salmon in British Columbia face many small pressures that add up. Rivers are warming, with their flows changing, and habitats are being lost or blocked. Pollutants are creating extra stress. A new paper, by British Columbian researchers, including scientists from the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF)’s Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, brought science and policy together to explain why many of these problems persist, and to suggest legal, policy, and governance solutions.

Fisheries practices in different places affect the same fish at different life stages, with human activities creating stressors. Salmon move from mountain streams to estuaries and then into the North Pacific. They cross many jurisdictions along the way. Current regulations and data systems along the route are often mismatched, which can lead to missed opportunities to protect these iconic and economically important fish.

What is getting in the way?

The researchers highlighted five key areas of concern:

• Inconsistent monitoring and missing data. For example, it is hard to find clear records for where and how much water is withdrawn, or how many resource roads affect streams. Without consistent data, it is difficult to connect activities to outcomes for salmon.
• Project by project assessments. Environmental reviews often focus on large projects, with many small approvals, which can collectively harm habits, falling through the cracks.
• Few binding targets at the right scale. There are not enough legal objectives or thresholds at the watershed or estuary scale. These should include flows, temperature, sediment, and connectivity. When such limits do exist, they rarely trigger action when crossed.
• Weak accountability. Activities that damage habitat are authorized in a piecemeal way, with compliance being uneven. Past damage, like blocked side channels or tide gates, are often left in place.
• Failure to recognize Indigenous governance. Colonial systems have often ignored Indigenous laws, jurisdiction, and stewardship. This reduces the effectiveness and fairness of decisions.

These barriers show that salmon declines are not only a biology problem; they are also a governance and information problem.

Dr. Sara Cannon, co-author of the study and postdoctoral fellow in the IOF Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, focused on framing the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems to BC’s salmon policy. “Indigenous stewardship, including Indigenous led watershed management, needs to be recognized and supported, giving First Nations and local communities clear decision making authority.”

She noted the paper’s other recommendations, including reducing fragmented governance that treats each permit or project in isolation, and improving data integration and access, especially for tracking stressors and salmon responses across life stages. “Embedding co-governance with Indigenous Nations at every stage will also help,” said Cannon.

“We already have the knowledge and power to conserve wild Pacific salmon,” she said. “The challenge is bridging the gaps between science, governance, and Indigenous knowledge systems to act collectively and effectively for the well-being of salmon and people in British Columbia.”

“Barriers and opportunities for the effective management of cumulative effects in salmon ecosystems in British Columbia, Canada” was published in FACETS.

Tags: Aboriginal fisheries, British Columbia, Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, Chinook salmon, Indigenous conservation, Indigenous fisheries, Indigenous Knowledge, IOF postdoctoral fellows, Pacific Ocean, salmon, Sara Cannon, stewardship