Thank you to everyone who inquired and provided valuable feedback on the development of the lower Fraser River test fishery. We received overwhelming support for our proposed test fishing location at Brownsville Bar and will be proceeding with the test fishery at this location. The deadline for both the Test Fisher and Buyer applications is Friday April 30 at 5:00 PM. Additional details can be found in the attachments.

With record-low Fraser sockeye run sizes in three out of the last five years, it has become increasingly challenging for in-river test fisheries to catch enough sockeye for assessment purposes. This has been particularly challenging at the Cottonwood gillnet test fishery, which is used primarily for stock identification purposes.

The Pacific Salmon Commission in partnership with the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance have received funding from the Southern Endowment Fund to operate an additional test fishery to evaluate an alternative location for the Cottonwood gillnet test fishery in the lower Fraser River.

For more information, see the notice attached below:

The Pacific Salmon Commission is pleased to announce Ms. Susan Farlinger as the recipient of the 2021 Larry Rutter Memorial Award for Pacific Salmon Conservation.

Throughout her career, Sue has made significant contributions to the management and conservation of Pacific salmon. Since 1977, she has worked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada/DFO holding roles as a Research Biologist, Treaty Negotiator, Area Director for the South Coast, Regional Director of Oceans/Habitat/Salmonid Enhancement, Regional Director Fisheries Management, and Regional Director General (RDG) for the Pacific Region.

As RDG, Sue was responsible for the delivery of all DFO programs in the region and worked with the governments of BC, Yukon, and hundreds of First Nations as well as key industry stakeholders on countless files and issues.

Her unending work to know DFO’s constituents, issues, and partners has translated well to the international realm of the PSC where she’s served on Canada’s delegation since 2010. Most recently, Sue’s skills were brought back into the spotlight when she served as lead negotiator for Canada during the recent work to amend Annex IV.

Sue’s diplomacy and respect for her colleagues during that year and half of work fostered the important relationships between the two parties that Larry held so dear. But her efforts didn’t end with the negotiations. Since 2019, Sue has continued as Special Advisor to the current RDG on several fronts. She has taken on the complex task of communicating the new commitments and Treaty regime to DFO and Canadians more broadly. She has also lead the development of financial and human resources, including succession planning for Canada in and outside of the PSC family.

For these and many other reasons, Sue was chosen as the 2021 recipient for the Larry Rutter Memorial Award and received it at the Commission’s 36th Annual Meeting (February 8-12, 2021).

About the award

Larry Rutter was a fixture in Pacific salmon conservation and management for more than three decades until his untimely death in 2014. He was a leading influence in how the Tribes, the United States, and Canada approached salmon management and research during the turn of the 21st century. The Commission established the award to help memorialize Larry’s lifetime of work including his legacy in the PSC, the Pacific Northwest Tribes, the Southern Fund Committee, and beyond.

As an international organization, the Pacific Salmon Commission has been deemed an essential service by the B.C. government. Thus the PSC Secretariat remains operational to support Canada and the United States in their implementation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Bilateral meetings are occurring (online and via telephone) and Secretariat field operations to assess Fraser River sockeye runs will occur under modified protocols. This includes test fisheries, port sampling, and hydroacoustic programs in Canadian and U.S. waters. Through the summer season, the Secretariat staff will be completing their duties through a combination of telework and in-person tasks as dictated by safety protocols and operational needs. Fraser River Panel and Technical Committee meetings will occur online to ensure uninterrupted management of Fraser River sockeye stocks in 2020.

Canadian and U.S. agencies charged with field programs in support of other Treaty provisions are coordinating their efforts continuously. Commissioners will convene online in July to discuss the status of their efforts and to determine formats for the regular PSC meeting weeks in October 2020, January 2021, and February 2021. For more information about any of the PSC’s operations, please contact the Secretariat at 604 684 8081 or info@psc.org.

The Secretariat extends its best wishes to our colleagues, friends, and delegates and is looking forward to renewed connections in-person after the pandemic passes.

Fraser River (Cottonwood and Whonnock) gillnet test fisheries.

The purpose of the Fraser River Panel approved test fisheries is to collect biological and catch per unit effort data on Fraser River sockeye and pink salmon. This work is performed to ensure conservation and sustainable-use of salmon stocks, as well as to meet other objectives of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Contracts for buyers in good standing are eligible for renewal for as many as three additional years (without rebidding), or one sockeye cycle (2020 – 2023). Prices for these three additional years will be renegotiated pre-season and will take into account the initial bid price, historical trends, and year-specific market influences.

See the file attachment below for more information and to apply before March 15, 2020:

Pacific Salmon Commission recommends new language for Chapter 4 under the Pacific Salmon Treaty

July 2, 2019: The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) has recommended to the governments of Canada and the United States a new agreement for Chapter 4 (Fraser River Sockeye and Pink Salmon) under the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST).

Signed by Canada and the United States (U.S.) in 1985, the Pacific Salmon Treaty provides a framework for the two countries to cooperate on the management of Pacific salmon. Pacific salmon are highly-migratory, often spending years at sea and travelling thousands of miles before returning to their natal rivers to spawn. A high degree of cooperation is required to prevent overfishing, provide optimum production and ensure that each country receives benefits that are equivalent to the production of salmon in its waters.

Chapter 4 covers sockeye and pink salmon stocks migrating to and from the Fraser River and was last renewed in 2014. With Chapter 4 set to expire on December 31, 2019, the negotiating team, made up of Canadian and U.S. representatives on the PSC’s Fraser River Panel, met regularly between November 2018 and February 2019 to discuss proposed amendments to the Chapter. In February 2019, an agreement-in-principle was reached during the PSC Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

“I’m pleased we were able to bring forward this recommendation,” said Jennifer Nener, Canadian Fraser River Panel Chair and Director of Salmon Management, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region. “Given that the Chapter was last renewed in 2014, it was still relatively current, with no major issues that needed to be addressed. That said, we did have challenging timelines and through cooperative efforts with our U.S. colleagues, we were able to update the chapter language within these timelines,” she added.

“In the time frame that we had to finish Chapter 4, the parties worked hard and had good discussions,” said Lorraine Loomis, U.S. Fraser River Panel Vice-Chair. “The new language clarified management issues to better manage the resource for both countries,” she added.

Overall, Canada and the United States continue to support the existing Chapter 4 provisions and the proposed changes to Chapter 4 are minor and aimed at clarifying and updating existing procedures that further support management decisions in the coming years.

The proposed agreement has now been referred to the two governments for their legal review and ratification through formal diplomatic channels. If approved, the new agreement will be effective on January 1, 2020 and remain in force through December 31, 2028, aligning the Chapter expiration with five other fishing Chapters under the PST.

For further information, please contact John Field, Executive Secretary of the Pacific Salmon Commission at field@psc.org or by phone at 604-684-8081 (ext. 622).