Can BC Hold the Line on Protecting our Provincial Fish?

WWF

On March 16th 2013 the Government of BC announced that it would be adding pacific salmon as the “official provincial fish emblem.”  In the press release, then Environment Minister Terry Lake stated, “With the epic migration of Pacific salmon from B.C.’s rivers and streams to the ocean and back, there is no symbol more iconic of British Columbia.”  There is not a child that has grown up in BC that can’t tell the remarkable journey of salmon.  Fish are so ingrained in the identity of British Columbians that we get pretty upset when we are told that only fish that support a commercial, recreational or aboriginal fishery are worth protecting.

A spawned out chum salmon provides nutrients for insects and mammals alike in British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest. © Mike Ambach
A spawned out chum salmon provides nutrients for insects and mammals alike in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. © Mike Ambach

Since the changes to Fisheries Act snuck through parliament, British Columbians have been saying that all fish are important and we expected the government to protect the health of all of our rivers and streams. In case anyone wants a peer-reviewed take on why protecting entire ecosystems is important check out this recent scientific paper “Principles for ensuring healthy and productive freshwater ecosystems that support sustainable fisheries.” I share this view and was interested to learn that the current interpretation by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) about what counts as a recreational fishery is “that fish is harvested under the authority of a licence for personal use of the fish or for sport.”  Turns out that in BC, the Wildlife Act requires anyone fishing for any species in any non-tidal waters to obtain a license. Effectively this means that despite the best efforts of our national government the Fisheries Act continues to apply to all waters in BC.
Great news right?
Cottonwood trees are adapted to the flooding conditions that occur with Spring runoff in Northwest British Columbia, Canada © Mike Ambach
Cottonwood trees are adapted to the flooding conditions that occur with Spring runoff in Northwest British Columbia, Canada © Mike Ambach

The thing is, on a recent call between the Marine Conservation Caucus and DFO I learned that DFO and the Provincial government are currently in discussion about how to change things in BC so that the Fisheries Act will not apply to all of BC’s waters. This was the first I had heard of these discussions and I wonder when the BC government was going to inform British Columbians that it was engaged in a discussion about how to weaken the protection of our streams and lakes.
By happy accident the law seems to have worked in favour of protecting our water, our rivers and our fish. I hope our government listens to the voice of those that care about salmon and pushes back against the federal government’s efforts to dilute environmental protection in BC.