Sustainable Fishing
Promoting Harvest Reform
Salmon have long been threatened by unsustainable harvesting practices. Watershed Watch developed extensive expertise in harvest reform and selective harvest techniques through years of intense and detailed association with First Nations and the federal government. Watershed Watch currently promotes sustainable salmon harvesting practices as a conservation sector representative on the federal government's "South Coast Integrated Harvest Planning Committee." The committee investigated the 2004 disappearance of 1.3 million Fraser River sockeye, and helped draft formal recommendations to improve Fraser sockeye management and to avoid further 'missing sockeye' events that, sadly, have become far too common.
Marine Conservation Caucus
Watershed Watch is also the Chair and Secretariat of the Marine Conservation Caucus (MCC). The MCC is an officially recognized body which provides the conservation community with a means to participate as a full status stakeholder in formal consultations with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Eight organizations make up the Steering Committee of the MCC (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - BC Chapter, David Suzuki Foundation, Living Oceans Society, Pacific Streamkeeper Federation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and World Wildlife Fund Canada). For more information on the MCC see www.mccpacific.org.
MSC Certifications
Eco-certification can provide a powerful incentive for improvement of fisheries management, but becomes meaningless if the bar is set too low, and unsustainable and mismanaged fisheries are certified. Watershed Watch has provided input to the London based Marine Stewardship Council's (MSC) certification for sockeye from the Fraser River, as well as the Skeena and Nass systems in an effort to ensure that only truly sustainable fisheries are certified. We were dissappointed by the MSC's decision to certify Fraser sockeye given more than a decade of steady decline followed by a surprise bountiful run in 2010. See the media releases and reports below for more information:
- Conservation groups warn consumers to avoid eco-certified Fraser River sockeye salmon, Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild media release, July 30, 2010
- Contentious BC salmon fishery set to receive eco-certification, David Suzuki Foundation, Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild media release, July 12, 2010
- Canadian Salmon Fisheries Granted Eco-Certification: Conservation Groups Wary, Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild media release, July 5, 2010
- Conservationists Launch Official Objection to Eco-certification of Troubled Canadian Salmon Fisheries, Watershed Watch, SkeenaWild and David Suzuki Foundation media release, February 10, 2010
- Backgrounder: Why MSC Should Not Certify the British Columbia Fraser River Sockeye Fishery, Watershed Watch, SkeenaWild and David Suzuki Foundation media release, February 10, 2010
- FAQ on MSC's Certification of the Fraser, David Suzuki Foundation, Headwaters Initiative, SkeeaWild, and Watershed Watch, February 10, 2010
- Cover letter Re: DSF and WWSS review of Draft MSC BC sockeye assessments, J. Young and C. Orr, November 2007
- Review of the Draft MSC Assessment of British Columbia Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Fisheries, K. Wilson for Watershed Watch, November 2007
- Review of the Marine Stewardship Council Draft Assessment of Skeena and Nass River Sockeye Fisheries, A. Hill for Watershed Watch, November 2007
Transferable Shares
Watershed Watch's report Transferable Shares in British Columbia's Commercial Salmon Fishery encourages debate in industry, in fisheries management circles, and most importantly, among members of the concerned public, in the hopes of encouraging the West Coast salmon fishery to make the transition to transferable shares management. Watershed Watch also helped organize and participated in a Speaking for the Salmon Think Tank on Transferable Shares in the Salmon Fishery. The Convenors' Report provides an overview of the days' discussions.