Fisheries committee  We'd like to share our time, if that's okay.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much to the committee for the opportunity to report to you on this very important issue. Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a B.C.-based charity. We were founded 20 years ago. We advocate for the conservation of wild Pacific salmon and their habitats. From our ince

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much for having me here. I am the executive director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society. We're a small salmon conservation charity. We've been identifying problems and engaging in solutions in wild salmon management for about 22 years. I have been here for a

Fisheries committee  Yes. Is that better?

Fisheries committee  Okay. We also need to implement the wild salmon policy. It's an excellent piece of work, and Justice Cohen agreed. The policy's action steps involve assessing the status of our salmon populations and their habitats and implementing rebuilding plans for the endangered ones, but 1

Fisheries committee  I'm sorry.

Fisheries committee  I was talking about overfishing. Many salmon monitoring programs have been cut to the bone, and we shouldn't be fishing if we don't know how many fish we have. There are tremendous opportunities around habitat restoration. One great place to start is with the 1,500 kilometres o

Fisheries committee  Mr. Chair, I would be happy to forward my speaking notes immediately if that would be helpful.

Fisheries committee  You raise a very good point, Mr. Hardie. There was good fishing, and there is again this year, for certain Washington state and B.C. stocks transiting through the Salish Sea. It sort of masks the larger declines that we've seen coast-wide, and the poor state of the Fraser chinook

Fisheries committee  I think it's an excellent question. The place to start, really, is individual recovery plans for the endangered populations, as required under the wild salmon policy, the sustainable fisheries framework and the new Fisheries Act. Through that process, guided by science, we can id

Fisheries committee  I think you've said it well. There is a tremendous need for more resources. I'll talk about habitat. In terms of protecting habitat, some of the most exciting and positive things happening right now are happening through first nations-led land use planning, which is prioritizing

Fisheries committee  We were excited to hear the promise, and I think it's great that it's in the mandate letter. We heard some backpedalling on how quickly that would happen, but we understand there's still a commitment in place. We encourage the government to move forward with that as soon as poss

Fisheries committee  I would support what the other two witnesses have just said. I would mention the other recommendation in the Cohen inquiry of splitting out the mandate of promoting salmon farming from the responsibilities of DFO, because it's charged with both. They have a conflicting mandate

Fisheries committee  Yes, that's a very good point, Mr. Hardie. There is an absolute failure to address the cumulative impacts on salmon habitat. The strategy, too, of the wild salmon policy is actually all about that, and the current wild salmon policy implementation plan won't get us there. It do

Fisheries committee  It's a mixed responsibility, and that's the problem. Federal, provincial and municipal jurisdictions are involved, and the decision about fish falls into a no man's land where everybody shirks the responsibility. We need federal leadership in implementing the Fisheries Act with