The status of salmon stocks in British Columbia is poorly understood. The most recent attempt at providing the public with a picture of the state of BC’s salmon stocks was a 1996 study undertaken by four Canadian scientists associated with the North Pacific Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. That study illustrated the significant “information gaps” encountered in efforts to determine the status of BC salmon stocks. While the scientists managed to identify 9,662 salmon stocks in BC and the Yukon, assessments were possible for only 57 percent of the stocks, and those assessments were often based on unreliable and outdated data. Still, of the 5,487 stocks where assessments were possible, the authors of the 1996 study concluded that 142 stocks had been rendered extinct in the 20th century, 624 were at high risk of extinction, 78 were at moderate risk of extinction, and 230 stocks were considered of “special concern.”

The PFRCC, in this first report, intends to provide a broad species-by-species overview of stock status and trends for BC as a whole, as well as an overview of the relevant fisheries management issues associated with determining stock status. The initial aim is not to provide a detailed or complete enumeration of all local conservation issues, but rather to highlight major concerns, and to identify needs for more detailed analysis.

We begin with a discussion of biological diversity in salmon, the “stock concept” and its scientific uncertainties, and how these issues relate to sustainable fisheries management. We then describe the methods Fisheries and Oceans uses to assess abundance and productivity, and to establish spawning stock and exploitation goals. This is followed by a broad species-by-species overview of stock status and trends. We then provide a review of the issues involved in harvest regulation, focusing on the compromises that occur in balancing fisheries production, protecting biological diversity, and setting allocation goals. Finally, we discuss the benefits and pitfalls associated with developing alternative strategies for rebuilding weak stocks and ensuring sustainable harvest management.

–Excerpt from the report