Federal Government looks to build back Pacific Salmon stocks with licence buy back program

The Federal Government will be launching a buy back of Pacific Salmon
Commercial Fishery licences in a bid to rebuild fish stocks 

Another round of reductions of those in the commercial salmon fishery is in the future, with the Federal Government releasing details on Wednesday of their plan to rebuild the Pacific Salmon stocks by reducing the numbers of those who are fishing for them.

The next phase of a transformed harvesting sector by way of  the launch of a voluntary Pacific Salmon Commercial Licence Retirement Program was introduced yesterday by Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard,

This program will ensure commercial licence holders seeking to exit the sector will receive market value from the Department to retire their licences. In addition to retiring their licences, those who wish to dispose of their commercial fishing vessel and gear in an environmentally responsible way will also be eligible to access Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)’s Derelict Vessel Mitigation and Gear Disposal Program. 

The Minister also noted the Department will conduct a staged rollout of the Pacific Salmon Indigenous Communal Commercial Licence Alternation Program in the coming months to support holders of this type of licence who wish to shift from salmon to non-salmon commercial licences. 

The latter program will be introduced once details have been finalized.

As with licence retirement programs offered in the past, the Department plans to retire licences based on market values using a voluntary process. 

The Pacific Salmon Commercial Licence Retirement Program, Pacific Salmon Indigenous Communal Commercial Licence Alternation Program and Derelict Vessel Mitigation and Gear Disposal Program are funded up to a total of $123 million as part of the PSSI. 

Fund allocation is flexible and based on the extent of interest in each program. 

There is an additional $8.36 million dollars remaining in the Pacific Salmon Treaty mitigation program that will be used to continue to support retirement of commercial Pacific salmon troll licence eligibilities.

Some further background on the scope of both the Pacific Salmon Commercial Licence Retirement program and the Pacific Salmon Indigenous Communal Commercial Licence Alternation Program can be reviewed below:

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The details to the Derelict Vessel Mitigation and Gear Disposal program is available for review below:

The focus for the licence buy back program is to stem the decline of pacific fish stocks.

The Minister's statement on Wednesday observed that: Many Pacific salmon stocks are declining to historic lows; 60 Pacific salmon populations in Southern BC have been assessed for potential listing under the Species at Risk Act, by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in . Twenty-four have been assessed as Endangered, ten as Threatened, and seven as Special Concern.

There was no timeline released as to when the buy back program will launch.

The full information release outlining how the program will work can be reviewed here. 

An accompanying Background piece on the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative can be examined here.