Madam Speaker, I rise to table a petition on behalf of the BC Recreational Fishing Association urging the Minister of Fisheries to reconsider new proposals for chinook salmon harvest closures across most of the south coast of British Columbia. These restrictions would have a significant and devastating impact on the recreational fishing industry and the coastal economy of British Columbia, effectively ending the industry, which is a way of life in countless coastal communities.
The petitioners indicated that over 9,000 direct jobs, $600 million toward GDP and over $400 million in direct household income to British Columbia are at risk. The petitioners state that it is time to confront the critical contradiction in the government's policy that imposes harsh restrictions on the recreational fishing industry, despite healthy chinook salmon stocks. According to DFO's 2025 salmon outlook, hatchery chinook stocks on the south coast of British Columbia are forecast to be abundant or near abundant.
The petitioners state that the goal of the closure is to protect southern resident killer whales, but the problem is not a lack of salmon; it is a flood management model that refuses to account for the entire ecosystem.
Recreational fishing has an almost unmeasurable impact on salmon stocks. Federal funding to coastal hatcheries, which is already inadequate, is being cut, and federal funding to fight zebra mussels, an invasive salmon-killing species, has ended. The petitioners indicate the massive impact of invasive predation on salmon stocks is also being ignored.
The petitioners are requesting that the Minister of Fisheries must urgently bring together all relevant stakeholders, including the recreational industry, to complete meaningful consultations and establish effective science-driven actions. They are asking for a plan that supports the recovery of southern resident killer whales while also sustaining a multi-million dollar recreational fishing industry that our coastal communities depend on.