This report provides a summary of fisheries projects conducted by the Nisg̱a’a Fisheries and Wildlife Department (NFWD) between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 as part of 2022-2023 fiscal funding. The 2022 field season represented the 31st consecutive year of operation for this multi-faceted fisheries program and the 23rd season of Nisg̱a’a Treaty implementation.

The annual funding required to implement core Nass fisheries stock assessment activities (20 to 30 projects annually) is approximately $1.3 million. Core funds are primarily spent on escapement monitoring projects (75%), followed by catch monitoring (15%), and research projects (10%). Most of the core funds (90%) are allocated to Upper Nass salmon (Sockeye [Oncorhynchus nerka], Chinook [O. tshawytscha], and Coho [O. kisutch]), followed by later-timed salmon (Pink [O. gorbuscha] and Chum [O. keta]), summer-run steelhead (O. mykiss), and non-salmon catch monitoring as part of determining allocations according to the Nisg̱a’a Treaty.

Funding for core projects comes primarily from the Lisims Conservation Trust Fund (LCTF), Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government (NLG), and a Fisheries Finance Agreement with Canada. Non-core project funding comes from a variety sources and partnerships, including the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), BC Ministry of Forest, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Despite the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NFWD staff successfully implemented 24 separate projects in 2022, achieving their stock assessment, catch monitoring, research, and capacity building objectives. This report summarizes these projects.