ADAM OLSEN: This is the culmination of a process that began last summer for the BC Wild Salmon Advisory Council

Wild salmon continue to grow in policy prominence in the 41st Parliament of the British Columbia Legislature.

This past Saturday the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) hosted their annual fundraising gala in Victoria. They host several of these events around the province. According to emcee, and incoming CEO Michael Meneer, this was the first time that the Premier of B.C. has ever attended a PSF gala.

Not only did Premier John Horgan attend, as did Hon. Lana Popham (Minister of Agriculture), but he also offered a few powerful, from the heart, words in support of the efforts of all the salmon warriors in the province.

Notably, the Premier's office officially released the B.C. Wild Salmon Advisory Council Recommendations for a Made-in-B.C. Wild Salmon Strategy last Friday. (See report below.) This is the culmination of a process that began last summer for the Council. For me, it goes back to Fall 2017. Indeed, it is the central focus of my policy work in the Legislature since then.

The health and well-being of salmon is personal for me, as it is for many British Columbians. It's a well told story on the virtual pages of my blog.  My persistent and consistent advocacy in question period and Member's statements helped elevate the discussion of salmon policy. We hosted a round-table of salmon stakeholders across the industry culminating in the Standing up for Wild Salmon report.

In the end, this shows the positive impact of like-minded politicians working together to advance good public policy.

There is a lot to celebrate in the recommendations of the Wild Salmon Advisory Council.

Recommendations

My focus has been in three areas. The first set of recommendations covers two of them: habitat protection and habitat restoration.

• Protect salmonid habitats, including water, from loss or degradation by actively enforcing existing provincial laws and regulations. (1.1)

• Develop new laws and regulations where existing laws and regulations are shown to be insufficient to adequately protect salmonid habitats, including the assurance of sufficient water quality and quantity to enable successful migration, spawning and rearing of all salmonids. (1.2)

• Increase monitoring and enforcement efforts for salmonid habitats across B.C.’s watershed and nearshore environments. (1.3)

• Invest in the restoration of critical salmonid habitats that have been lost or degraded. (1.4)

• Invest in and support salmon enhancement activities that are strategic and science-based. (1.5)

The second set of recommendations covers the fishing industry: commercial and recreational/sport. They cover a wide spectrum of opportunities for the provincial government. From strategic enhancement, employment, training and mentoring, marketing and branding, re-connecting coastal communities adjacent to the fisheries and eco-tourism development.

Admittedly, I have not put much of my initial focus in this area. It is not because I do not see value in this. But I feel that stabilizing our ecosystem management should be the priority first step. It comes from the basic notion of no fish, no industry. In the coming months, much more of my advocacy work will be with coastal communities and the fishing industry.

Finally, the third area of recommendations from the advisory council is about how government is organized and how it engages with the community.

• Develop focused and co-ordinated leadership capacity in government to champion and deliver on the wild salmon and economic development recovery efforts. (3.1)

• Actively engage existing community stewardship groups and Indigenous governments. (3.2)

Dr. Brian Riddell

Finally, finally...

Dr. Brian Riddell has been the CEO of the PSF for the past decade. 

He joined the Foundation following his retirement from government and has done a tremendous job building the organization and grounding it in science and evidence-based advocacy.

Dr. Riddell announced at the PSF Victoria gala that he is retiring at the end of March 2019. He leaves big shoes to fill. I also have no doubt that Michael Meneer will do an excellent job.

I think the health and well-being of wild salmon is personal for him as well.

Thank you Dr. Riddell for all you have done. And, all the best in your retirement!