Thank you very much.
Bonjour and good afternoon, Mr. Chair and committee members.
My name is Sarah Murdoch, and I'm the senior director of the Pacific salmon strategy initiative. My colleague and I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
We all share a deep concern for Pacific salmon and appreciate the committee's study on the potential impacts of flood mitigation systems on this important species. This concern is rooted in the department's core mandate of fish conservation and protection.
I am accompanied today by Brad Fanos, the director of the fish and fish habitat protection program here in the Pacific region. After my opening remarks, we look forward to answering any questions you may have.
I would like to begin by providing a brief overview of the department’s efforts to assess and address the impacts of November’s extreme flooding on salmon and salmon habitat in British Columbia.
The flooding is likely to have impacted several riverine fish species and populations. This includes Pacific salmon eggs and juvenile salmon in rivers and streams across portions of Vancouver Island, the Squamish River watershed, the lower Fraser River watershed and the Thompson and Nicola rivers near Merritt, British Columbia. In some cases, eggs have been washed away or covered with sediment. In others, scour and erosion from high water flows have likely altered or removed salmon spawning and rearing habitats.
Currently, the department is working hard to assess and better understand the potential impacts to salmon and other species from the flood events. Following the spring freshet, which is when snow and ice melt into rivers and raise water levels and flows in early spring, the impacts will become more evident. That said, it may take several years to understand the full impact of the flooding to some specific salmon stocks given their two- to five-year life cycle.
Over the next few months, DFO will be continuing its stock assessment work while also prioritizing activities and actions to mitigate impacts and support restoration of fish and fish habitat. This will include working with the Province of British Columbia, indigenous groups, local governments, environmental NGOs, local stewardship partners and others to assess the impacts and determine what would be effective short-, medium- and long-term actions to promote recovery.
As well, DFO will continue to provide strategic support regarding salmon habitat restoration opportunities for impacted habitat related to both natural river processes and longer-term infrastructure rebuilding. The department has established an internal flood response task team that is responsible for coordinating input from subject matter experts across our program areas to support the broader inter-agency flood response and planning that's under way.
We are also re-evaluating current restoration techniques and priorities to help ensure that, going forward, salmon habitat restoration work in the future is able to withstand extreme weather and will support fish populations that may be vulnerable to climate impacts.
Going forward, DFO expects to be engaged in both local and regional flood infrastructure decisions in either a planning or project review capacity. For example, in our regulatory role, we review project proposals to assess the potential impacts to fish and fish habitat as well as provide advice to support mitigation and avoidance of impacts.
The recent flooding highlights the many challenges facing Pacific salmon and the need for DFO to take action. As committee members know, up to 50 populations of southern chinook and sockeye populations here in British Columbia are slated for COSEWIC consideration in the coming years. Many indigenous communities have been unable to meet their basic food, social and ceremonial fishery needs. Both commercial and recreational harvesters have been restricted in recent years to help protect the stocks of concern.
The $647-million Pacific salmon strategy initiative will guide and support our efforts, going forward, to conserve and rebuild salmon populations. That includes two key pillars—conservation and stewardship, and integration and collaboration that apply to the work here regarding the flood response.
Under the conservation and stewardship pillar, DFO will be focused on improving habitat monitoring and assessment, integrated planning for salmon ecosystems and strategic support for habitat restoration. On this last point, we are creating a salmon habitat restoration centre of expertise, which will complement existing programming and partnerships by providing technical experts to external groups undertaking salmon habitat restoration work.
As you know, the initiative also includes a commitment to double the federal contribution to the jointly governed and managed B.C.-DFO B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund, which we call BCSRIF, to support the salmon stewardship and restoration work led by external partners across British Columbia, which complements the efforts of the department.
Under the integration and collaboration pillar of the PSSI, DFO will be continuing to strengthen our partnerships with the governments of British Columbia and Yukon as well as first nations. As you know, with regard to salmon habitat, there is shared jurisdiction, so it's imperative that we continue our efforts to work closely with each other. At a more local level, DFO will also be undertaking collaborative integrated planning to identify strategic actions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change and enable better outcomes for our salmon populations.
The impacts of the recent flooding on B.C. have been devastating for many communities. As we continue to better understand the impacts of the floods on salmon and other species, we'll be continuing to work with our partners in a strategic and coordinated way. Through the PSSI and other programs, we'll be working to bring together the expertise required both inside and outside of DFO to ensure that salmon habitat restoration work will be most effective, which includes taking into account future extreme weather impacts.
I'd like to thank the committee for conducting this study and providing us the opportunity to discuss the impacts with you today.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
