This report describes a collaborative initiative between the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, the Nuxalk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Heiltsuk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and regional Charter Patrolmen, facilitated by the Pacific Salmon Foundation, to document a vision for salmon monitoring and stewardship on the Central Coast of British Columbia.

This report identifies practical investments to make in monitoring and stewardship in the region based on First Nations values and priorities. Four high-level goals have been articulated as follows:

• Strengthen community participation in stewardship and collaborative salmon management;
• Strengthen ability to detect and respond to changes in the status of salmon;
• Strengthen catch monitoring of salmon; and
• Strengthen understanding of current and future climate pressures on local salmon populations.

More than 200 on-the-ground actions were identified by our collaborators to help meet these goals. These actions include making strategic investments in local First Nations capacity for monitoring, engaging youth in salmon monitoring through internship programs, utilizing new technologies like artificial intelligence to support monitoring in remote areas, and implementing mass-marking programs for hatchery-reared salmon.

The Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework is intended to strengthen the scientific foundations for sustainable fisheries management, identify shared priorities and capacity needs across the four Central Coast Nations, and build collaboration towards management and recovery of wild salmon across the region.