Fisheries committee  I can concur with what I've read, which is that the management of bycatch, especially around chinook, has been a very important part. What I want to bring up is that it may not be the same for chum salmon, which are experiencing a decline—a dramatic catastrophic decline—in the Yukon River as well, although the evidence may not be there that these are chum from the Yukon River.

Fisheries committee  I agree with Chief Pitka. I would also add that I think there is work to be done to continue the good efforts and good work that have been established with the dialogue between Alaska and Canada, and the fisheries, the people and the stakeholders. I think the panel has done some really valuable work.

Fisheries committee  I would say, with current data and the current situation, yes. I am hopeful, though, that, with the seven-year moratorium, we might see some returns of some of these larger fish. There was a study in 2008 at Rampart Rapids, when there was a closure of the fishery at the mouth and of commercial fishing along the river.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely, I think so and, as I've mentioned, on the river but also on the ocean. New technologies and new fishing techniques both provide for the ability to better target species for mixed fisheries and prevent bycatch, but at the same time that also increases the efficiency of the catch, so that has long-term impacts.

Fisheries committee  Commercial fishers on the Canadian side and first nations fishers have complied very well with DFO management regulations and efforts at conservation, especially since I've been involved in the fishery from the early 2000s. Prior to that, I can't really speak with any authority on it.

Fisheries committee  Thank you for that. You brought up really good points. Quickly, I think the first nations' initiative of having a moratorium for one life cycle, currently, of chinook is a really important part of taking action. That is something I believe is well overdue, and I look forward to seeing how that impacts what we see and how that will impact the run over the coming seven years.

Fisheries committee  Chum salmon are something that I feel very passionately about as well. There was a collapse in 2020 from one year to the next, where approximately 13% of the run returned of the 10-year average. That was a very serious and catastrophic collapse that happened essentially within a one-year cycle.

Fisheries committee  Yes, that's a very good point and a good question, and it's one that I think really comes down to management, rigorous management programs that consider the mesh size, the fishing techniques, the lengths of nets and things like that used throughout the fishery. I'm speaking primarily to commercial fisheries, but I think, as well, that all fisheries should be considering this as part of moving forward.

Fisheries committee  That's in reference to in-river specifically. That's what I'm talking about.

Fisheries committee  From my time fishing and also working as a habitat technician, and also from the history of other fishers whom I've talked to on both sides of the border, there has been a continuing decrease in the size and weight of the fish returning, at least onto the Canadian side of the border.

Fisheries committee  Hello, my name is David Curtis. I am joining you today from the traditional territories of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, on whose lands I have had the honour to live for the past 27 years. I first worked as a field technician on a number of salmon studies within the Klondike region in the early 2000s.