Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that I'm attending virtually from Whitehorse, the Yukon's capital, and the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta'an Kwäch'än Council.
Yukon first nations have been stewards of the Yukon's natural environment since time immemorial. We recognize the tremendous impact the Yukon River salmon decline has had on Yukon first nations subsistence harvest, culture, food, security and traditional practices.
I also recognize that for years, Yukon first nations have voluntarily reduced or ceased subsistence salmon fishing to help restore the species and hopefully build a territory where salmon can be harvested by future generations.
Low returns witnessed on the Porcupine River recently prompted the Vantut Gwitchin First Nation to implement a comprehensive prohibition on the use of gillnets intended for species such as burbot, whitefish and pike. We anticipate these types of prohibitions to be implemented by other Yukon first nations in order to reduce the risk of salmon bycatch in these gillnets. If these prohibitions expand, we expect the need for subsistence harvest to shift to Yukon's freshwater lakes.
Officials in our government are responding to these developments by exploring opportunities to partner with Yukon first nations to identify alternative subsistence fisheries options in order to preserve traditional practices, culture and food security.
Since 2017, Yukon River salmon restoration and recovery has been a topic of joint advocacy by the Yukon government and the Yukon first nations during our annual Yukon Days missions to Ottawa. The importance of this joint advocacy between governments and other co-management partners continues to be a theme in the discussions I have been having with Yukon first nation governments and other partners.
At a recent Yukon Forum, a meeting of Yukon first nations and the Yukon government, the parties suggested the need for an intergovernmental strategy in order to support collaboration and alignment between Canadian co-management partners on Yukon River chinook salmon restoration. As Minister of Environment, I will be approaching my counterparts in Yukon first nation governments to develop this intergovernmental strategy. The conversation around the strategy is still in its infancy, but we are hopeful we can bring together the Yukon government and Yukon first nations leadership to consider such a strategy in the coming months.
I would like to close by welcoming the agreement recently signed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Alaskan state government regarding the recovery of chinook salmon in the Yukon River drainage. The Yukon government was pleased to see that the agreement places a priority on traditional and local knowledge to better understand the causes of low chinook salmon counts, while directing the Yukon River Panel to develop a recovery plan to guide a path forward.
We know the agreement will not fully address the reasons for salmon decline and that our governments will continue to have a role to play in promoting salmon recovery and protecting subsistence fishing opportunities. I am hopeful that through continued collaboration of the Government of Canada, the Government of Yukon, first nations governments and other co-management partners, we can continue to lay the groundwork for a long recovery of Yukon River salmon.
Finally, I want to note that I will be in Ottawa later this month to attend the meeting of federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for conservation, wildlife and biodiversity, where conversation for the protection of species at risk, like salmon, will continue.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to provide opening remarks.