Executive Summary
DFO’s current approaches to Chinook and Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) management are costing Canada millions of dollars during an economic crisis and reduced departmental budgets. These strategies are financially burdensome and are also causing unnecessary harm to vital coastal communities. Both historical evidence and recent developments suggest that there are more effective ways to achieve conservation and economic objectives.
Historical Background
In the mid 60’s, recognizing the depth of knowledge among Canadians who fished, then Minister of Fisheries Robichaud believed that engaging and motivating these individuals would allow his department to benefit from their expertise in advising and growing the valuable Pacific Sport Fisheries resource. To that end in 1964, the Sport Fish Advisory Board (SFAB) was initiated. The SFAB has since advised Fisheries Ministers for over sixty years, with members including experienced anglers, enhancement and habitat experts, DFO alumni, individuals with technical training, and stakeholders from successful business backgrounds such as lodge operations, retail sales, marina facilities, and fishing tackle manufacturing companies.
The SFAB was designed to provide unfiltered advice to the Minister and senior staff, with meetings historically co-chaired by the Director General of the Pacific Region to ensure advice was not lost in translation between the west coast and Ottawa. Ministerial leadership of this kind has disappeared, to the detriment of the relationship between recreational anglers and the region. The most productive policy era occurred with the creation of a Sport Fishing Division led by Tom Bird (Director), Terry Gjernes (Science), and Bill Otway (Ombudsman). Their combined expertise and political connectivity grew the sport fishery economy to over $1 billion annually, elevating the recreational fishery to its highest dollar value per salmon and surpassing the commercial fishery on the BC coast.
This division’s removal from DFO management has caused confusion and unnecessary complexity, resulting in a decline in the sport fishing economy and reduced participation, with generational change making it increasingly difficult for people to simply go salmon fishing.
The Minister’s Mandate
The Minister’s mandate is to conserve and protect fish populations and orcas, while permitting fishing opportunities where science supports it and the Canadian economy can benefit. Recreational fishing depends on both the expectation of catch and the opportunity to fulfill that expectation. Unlike in commercial and Indigenous fisheries, lost time in the recreational fishery cannot be recovered, making flexible management especially important in challenging economic times.
Recent Background
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has introduced multiple overlapping regulations in the Pacific region aimed at conserving Chinook salmon and supporting SRKW recovery. However, these actions have created inconsistent, unevenly applied, and inflexible regulations that reduce the coherence and effectiveness of DFO’s overall strategy. This has unnecessarily threatened the survival of critically important recreational fisheries and coastal communities.
Commercial Chinook fisheries do not exist over most of the affected areas, and First Nation fisheries operate with constitutional protections, limited only by conservation needs. As a result, recreational fisheries have absorbed the brunt of restrictions intended to reverse Chinook stock and SRKW declines. Historically, harvest allocation priorities placed recreational and commercial fisheries behind conservation and First Nations Food Societal and Ceremonial fisheries, with species importance and economic return guiding further allocation. The current regime disproportionately impacts recreational fisheries.
Key Threats to SRKW Recovery and Chinook Populations
Increasing large, deep draft marine traffic
Significant quantities of PCB’s and other contaminants in the Salish Sea
Predation and competition for forage from seals and sea lions due to increased populations
In-breeding and reduced reproduction rates
Ongoing industrial shoreline development within critical whale habitats
Current State of Chinook Abundance
Despite DFO claims that prey availability for SRKWs remains an issue for SRKW recovery, DFO’s own data show Chinook stocks in the Georgia Strait are increasingly abundant. The 2025 Georgia Strait escapement bulletin reports rising escapement numbers, and Cowichan indicator stock and fence counts further support this upward trend. Nevertheless, SRKW abundance continues to flat-line, with a high rate of calf mortalities.
Challenges for Upper Fraser River Chinook
Serious habitat loss and insufficient financial investment
Lack of adequate technical support for volunteers and unreliable escapement counts
Insufficient coded-wire tagging (CWT) to assess impacts and stock distribution
Competition from billions of Alaskan and Asian hatchery pinks and chums
Predation on juvenile Chinook by seals and sea lions
Fisheries exploitation rates for these at-risk Chinook populations have dropped from 50-60% in the early 2000s to less than 5% for spring 4-2’s and 5-2’s and 13% for summer 5-2’s by 2020.
Issues with the Current Management Approach
DFO’s dual recovery strategies are under scrutiny for their ineffectiveness and for facilitating political grandstanding by groups opposed to recreational angling. Recent SRKW Recovery consultation meetings with Sport Fishing Advisory Committees (SFACs) were limited in time and scope, failing to address alternative management options such as the American bubble model and mark-selective fisheries. The current DFO process is inflexible and unable to answer important questions about measurable success criteria.
Consequences of Overlapping Regulations
Overlapping spatial and temporal restrictions create a circular management loop with no measurable performance indicators for Chinook or SRKW recovery, making both objectives difficult to achieve. Escapement data for Fraser River Chinook stocks show variable but generally improving trends, yet SRKW abundance remains stagnant. After seven years, these measures have resulted in a loss of policy credibility and increased skepticism among recreational fishers and stewardship organizations regarding DFO’s science-based decision making. DFO’s approach treats Chinook as a homogeneous species and focuses on Fraser River 4-2 and 5-2 populations, ignoring the diverse origins of Chinook in SRKW diets, particularly the abundant US hatchery fish available in many areas and seasons.
Recommended Path Forward
Adopt a transparent, science-driven framework that integrates Chinook management with SRKW recovery and avoids redundant measures.
Implement the US bubble model in Canadian waters, reflecting the cross-border movements of SRKWs.
Incorporate the significant contributions of US and Canadian hatchery Chinook in assessing prey availability and management needs.
Use ecosystem-based modeling to evaluate trade-offs among whale feeding, salmon recovery, fishery access, and economic impacts.
Release annual public reports on the performance of management actions for all fisheries and stocks of concern.
Base pre-season fishing plans on credible, agreed-upon science, with cross-sectoral discussion occurring only after the season and focused on collective goals.
Ensure strong monitoring, accurate catch data, and robust enforcement for all fisheries, with serious penalties for major violations.
Consider a joint Canada and US task force to engage both government and private sector participants to collaborate on science-based, measurable SRKW recovery strategies.
Conclusion
DFO’s current regulatory regime has failed to achieve its objectives for both Chinook and SRKW recovery, while unnecessarily damaging the recreational fishery and coastal communities. To support salmon, orcas, and stakeholders, DFO management should become more adaptable, grounded in science, and transparent in its decision-making process.
By Bill Campbell (South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition), Tom Davis (Public Fishery Alliance), Brian Tutty (Retired DFO)