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A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast REPORT · 2021 citation Atlas, W. I., K. Connors, L. Honka, J. Moody, C. N. Service, V. Brown, M .Reid, J. Slade, K. McGivney, R. Nelson, S. Hutchings, L. Greba, I. Douglas, R. Chapple, C. Whitney, H. Hammer, C. Willis, and S. Davies. (2021). A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast. Vancouver, BC, Canada: Pacific Salmon Foundation. authors Will Atlas, Katrina Connors, Jason Slade Rich Chapple, Charlotte Whitney Leah Honka Wuikinuxv Fisheries Program Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance Salmon Watersheds Program, Wuikinuxv Village, BC Campbell River, BC Pacific Salmon Foundation Vancouver, BC Kate McGivney Haakon Hammer, Chris Willis North Coast Stock Assessment, Snootli Hatchery, Jason Moody Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada Nuxalk Fisheries Program Bella Coola, BC Bella Coola, BC Bella Coola, BC Stan Hutchings, Ralph Nelson Shaun Davies Vernon Brown, Larry Greba, Salmon Charter Patrol Services, North Coast Stock Assessment, Christina Service BC Fisheries and Oceans Canada Kitasoo / Xai’xais Stewardship Authority Prince Rupert, BC Klemtu, BC Ian Douglas Salmonid Enhancement Program, Mike Reid Fisheries and Oceans Canada Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Bella Coola, BC Management Department Bella Bella, BC published by Pacific Salmon Foundation 300 – 1682 West 7th Avenue Vancouver, BC, V6J 4S6, Canada www.salmonwatersheds.ca A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast REPORT 2021 Acknowledgements We thank everyone who has been a part of this collaborative effort to develop a salmon monitoring and stewardship Front cover photograph framework for the Central Coast of British Columbia. This and photograph on pages 4–5 includes the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, are by Conor McCracken technical staff and community members from the Kitasoo/ (CDM Images). Xai’xais, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, Charter Patrolmen, and staff from Fisheries and Oceans Back cover photograph by Canada. In particular, we would like to thank the following Bryant DeRoy. individuals for providing valuable advice and feedback: Bernie Elkin, Peter-Siwallace, Megan Moody, Doug Neasloss, The graphic design Diana Chan, William Housty, Jennifer Walkus, Andra is by Rocketday Arts Forney, Ted Walkus, Madeleine Mcgreer, Brendan Connors, (www.rocketday.studio). Charmaine Carr-Harris, Katie Beach, Bradley Koroluk, Lana Miller, Melanie Anthony, Sandie MacLaurin, Russ Hilland, and Brian Riddell. Our sincere thanks to everyone for sharing your time and expert knowledge, and for welcoming us into your communities. Support for this project was provided by the Pacific Salmon Foundation through a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. CCIRA Executive Summary | A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast 3 Executive Summary Pacific salmon are central to the culture and economies of communities on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Despite their importance for people and ecosystems, fisheries management is challenged by major gaps in information on spawner abundance, exploitation rates, and catch composition for many Central Coast salmon populations. Over the past decade, investments in salmon monitoring have declined significantly, limiting the availability of baseline salmon data. Current monitoring and management efforts rely on a mix of community- led initiatives, Fisheries and Oceans Canada-led monitoring programs, and research projects of varying duration and scope. While these efforts collectively provide important information for salmon management, there is an urgent need to work towards greater coordination and investment in salmon monitoring and stewardship to ensure that the information that underpins decision-making is being collected. This project represents a collaborative effort between the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk, Heiltsuk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada , and Charter Patrolmen to develop a regional Salmon Monitoring and Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast. Using a structured decision-making process, a Working Group (many of whom are co-authors on this report) identified goals, objectives, strategies, and on-the-ground actions for salmon monitoring and stewardship in the region. The resulting Monitoring Framework reflects a suite of priority monitoring, coordination, and community engagement actions needed to monitor and assess salmon in order to meet shared salmon conservation and management goals. Ultimately, our intent is that this framework can support and inform emerging collaborative monitoring and management efforts for salmon in the region including through emerging opportunities under the Fisheries Resources Reconciliation Agreement. Executive Summary | A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast 3 Contents Executive Summary ....................................................... 3 1 Introduction. 9 2 Central Coast Salmon Social-Ecological System ........................... 13 2.1 Central Coast First Nations Communities ............................. 14 2.2 Salmon Populations on the Central Coast ............................ 17 3 Project Approach & Findings ............................................. 23 3.1 StEP 1 – Defining the Context for Salmon Monitoring & Management ... 25 3.1.1 Review of Salmon Monitoring Activities ........................ 25 3.1.2 Semi-Structured Interviews with Salmon Experts ............... 31 3.2 StEP 2 – Identify Goals and Objectives for Salmon Monitoring ......... 33 3.3 StEP 3 – Develop Strategies and Actions ............................. 35 3.4 StEP 4 – Review and Finalize Evaluation Criteria ...................... 36 3.5 StEP 5 – Evaluate Monitoring Actions ................................ 39 3.6 StEP 6 – Implement Monitoring Framework and Adapt ................ 39 4 The Central Coast Salmon Monitoring Framework ......................... 41 5 Conclusion .............................................................. 83 Glossary of Acronyms .................................................... 86 References .............................................................. 88 6 A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast | Contents Executive Summary | A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast 7 Appendices Appendix 1 Salmon Conservation Units in the Central Coast Project Area ............................... 94 Appendix 2 Summary of Salmon Monitoring in the Central Coast Project Area .............................. 101 Appendix 3 Semi-Structured Interview Questions ......................... 108 Appendix 4 Final Evaluation Scores for All Proposed Monitoring ..................................... 110 Figures Figure 1 The Central Coast project area encompassing the traditional territories of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais (Klemtu), Nuxalk (Bella Coola), Heiltsuk (Bella Bella), and Wuikinuxv (Wuikinuxv Village) First Nations in BC, Canada. The project area overlaps with DFO Pacific Fishery Management Areas 6–10. ....................... 10 Figure 2 Adapted six-step structured decision-making approach (modified from Gregory et al., 2012). ........................... 24 Figure 3 Goals and the associated objectives identified by Working Group members. ..................................... 34 Tables Table 1 Overarching evaluation criteria, applied to all actions. .......... 38 Table 2 Overarching evaluation criteria, applied to actions associated with specific goals. ................................ 38 Executive SummaryContents | A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast 7 Photo by Grant Callegari. Callegari. Grant by Photo Introduction | A Salmon Monitoring & Stewardship Framework for British Columbia’s Central Coast 9 1 Introduction On the coast of British Columbia (BC), Canada, There is an urgent need for a more coordinated the well-being of Pacific salmon and people are and strategic approach to salmon monitoring and inextricably linked. This is certainly true for First stewardship on the Central Coast. Currently, data Nations communities located on the Central are collected through a mix of First Nations-led Coast of BC who have stewarded, fished, and initiatives, ongoing programs led by Fisheries and managed salmon for more than 7,000 years.1,2 Oceans Canada (DFO), and a variety of academic With hundreds of locally adapted Chinook, chum, research projects of varying duration and scope. coho, pink, and sockeye salmon populations, the While these efforts collectively provide important Central Coast remains a stronghold for salmon. information for fisheries management, there is a Yet in recent years, many salmon populations in critical need to evaluate opportunities for greater the region have experienced declining trends in coordination, standardization, and investments in abundance 3,4 raising concerns about the future of salmon monitoring. A lack of adequate baseline salmon in the region and their ability to provide information, and processes for sharing this social-ecological benefits.5 These downward inform ation transparently, limit the ability of trends have been attributed to a variety of factors First Nations and DFO to develop collaborative including anthropogenic climate change, habitat fisheries