Final Advisory Letter
Final report of the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council in its role as advisors on wild Pacific salmon and steelhead stocks and habitat.
Create Canadian research centre to study climate change and salmon, Fisheries Council urges
(May 5, 2008 – Vancouver) The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (PFRCC) today released a report titled "Climate Effects On Pacific Salmon In The Ocean: Creating A Canadian Focus" that reviews research on Pacific salmon and the lead research institutions and universities with significant salmon climate projects, and concludes that a Canadian research centre is needed to deepen our understanding of how climate affects salmon in the North Pacific.
"The North Pacific Ocean is a vast ecosystem undergoing climate changes that affect salmon populations, so successful stewardship of Canadian Pacific salmon will depend on better understanding these changes," says Paul Leblond, Chair of the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (www.fish.bc.ca). "A centralized Canadian research group would help us better understand and manage salmon populations, whether such a group is a virtual or physical centre."
The first part of the report reviews existing research on Pacific salmon and notes some predominant themes, including carrying capacity, fisheries and predation, the influence of salmon hatcheries, the effects of competition and density-dependence, and changes in salmon growth. The second part of the report examines the various groups involved in salmon climate research and policy. It notes that research and management of Pacific salmon in Canada has tended to focus on short-term changes such as annual or high/low stock cycles in relatively small geographic areas like watersheds and rivers, but more recent research has made it possible to take an ocean-ecosystem view with longer timeframes.
The report concludes that creating a Canadian-based research institute designed to provide timely and useful advice to relevant federal and provincial ministries, user groups, and the public at large would best foster proper stewardship and management of salmon populations and establish Canada. By hosting such an institute, Canada could easily become the world leader in this new research field while also building the capacity to understand how climate changes the populations of our salmon stocks.
A full copy of "Climate Effects On Pacific Salmon In The Ocean: Creating A Canadian Focus" by Dr. Dave B. Preikshot can be downloaded at www.fish.bc.ca.
The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (www.fish.bc.ca) was created in 1998 and is an independent advisory body whose mandate is to alert and inform the federal and provincial governments and the public on issues that threaten Pacific salmon and their habitat.
"The North Pacific Ocean is a vast ecosystem undergoing climate changes that affect salmon populations, so successful stewardship of Canadian Pacific salmon will depend on better understanding these changes," says Paul Leblond, Chair of the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (www.fish.bc.ca). "A centralized Canadian research group would help us better understand and manage salmon populations, whether such a group is a virtual or physical centre."
The first part of the report reviews existing research on Pacific salmon and notes some predominant themes, including carrying capacity, fisheries and predation, the influence of salmon hatcheries, the effects of competition and density-dependence, and changes in salmon growth. The second part of the report examines the various groups involved in salmon climate research and policy. It notes that research and management of Pacific salmon in Canada has tended to focus on short-term changes such as annual or high/low stock cycles in relatively small geographic areas like watersheds and rivers, but more recent research has made it possible to take an ocean-ecosystem view with longer timeframes.
The report concludes that creating a Canadian-based research institute designed to provide timely and useful advice to relevant federal and provincial ministries, user groups, and the public at large would best foster proper stewardship and management of salmon populations and establish Canada. By hosting such an institute, Canada could easily become the world leader in this new research field while also building the capacity to understand how climate changes the populations of our salmon stocks.
A full copy of "Climate Effects On Pacific Salmon In The Ocean: Creating A Canadian Focus" by Dr. Dave B. Preikshot can be downloaded at www.fish.bc.ca.
The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (www.fish.bc.ca) was created in 1998 and is an independent advisory body whose mandate is to alert and inform the federal and provincial governments and the public on issues that threaten Pacific salmon and their habitat.
– 30 –
Media Contact:
Carla Shore
C-Shore Communications Inc.
P: 604-731-0975
carla@shore.ca