Conservation Issues
The Skeena is faced with a variety of issues that threaten our salmon and the benefits they provide for our region. These include over harvesting of weak stocks by the commercial and sport fisheries domestically and in Alaska, development such as mining and oil and gas projects, and habitat degradation from poor forestry practices, urbanization and agriculture.
Over arching all of these issues is the threat of climate change, which has been attributed in recent years to drastic declines of returning salmon from British Columbia to California. Changing climate in the ocean environment appears to be unstable and different than anything we have ever experienced. As a result, many of the current problems of low salmon returns may be a direct result of changes in ocean conditions: climate change -> changed upwelling -> less nutrient -> less food -> less fish -> smaller harvests. As a result, we have to take a precautionary approach to our current management practices to ensure Skeena salmon and steelhead continue to provide benefits to our local communities.
One issue that SkeenaWild has devoted significant resources to is fisheries management. Protection of weak stocks in the face of climate change is a difficult challenge. Uncertainty and declining salmon stocks is a reality for the Skeena watershed. Such a collapse could spell disaster not only for the fish but for the people who rely on this resource for their livelihood. There are several interrelated issues that must be addressed to ensure a sustainable fishery on the Skeena: (1) the natural cycle of salmon to spawn in rivers, migrate to sea, and then return to their natal spawning grounds again; (2) the harmful effects of forestry, mining, oil & gas development and urbanization on salmon spawning & rearing areas; (3) the harvesting of salmon in the skeena approach waters (ocean) and within the Skeena river; and (4) the harvesting of Skeena salmon in international waters (Alaskan Interception).
SkeenaWild is dedicated to ensuring the protection of Skeena salmon in all of their diversity. The recently developed Pacific Wild Salmon Policy (WSP) was developed by the Department of Fisheries & Oceans specifically for this purpose. SkeenaWild will continue to support and help implement this policy in its entirety in the coming years.
(Fred Seiler photo)