North Vancouver, British Columbia - Wild Pacific salmon are central to the cultural, social, and economic fabric of British Columbia and Yukon. They are a lifeforce for ecosystems, a foundation for coastal and inland communities, and a species of deep significance to Indigenous Peoples. Yet wild Pacific salmon face increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, pollution, and compounding cumulative effects. Protecting and restoring these iconic species is essential to safeguarding Canada's lands and waters for generations to come.
Today, the Honourable Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries, announced $412.9 million over five years to renew the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI). The renewed PSSI will build on the successes achieved since the initiative first launched in 2021, enabling continued collaboration with Indigenous Peoples, provincial and territorial governments, harvesters, stewardship partners, environmental organizations, academia, and communities across the West Coast. These partnerships have been central to the progress made to conserve and restore critical salmon habitat, combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fisheries in the North Pacific, modernizing and retrofitting over 70 hatchery facilities, and the construction of three new hatcheries which will support rebuilding of stocks of conservation concern.
The PSSI will enable continued protection and recovery of wild Pacific salmon stocks of greatest conservation concern. It will also strengthen science and monitoring, enable essential habitat restoration, modernize salmon fisheries, and expand collaboration with partners. Addressing the decline of Pacific salmon is not something DFO can do alone; it requires the collective energy of governments, First Nations, the scientific and academic communities, and local stewardship groups working together to share their experience and take action.
Funded through A Force of Nature: Canada's Strategy to Protect Nature, the renewed PSSI brings total Government of Canada funding to protect and restore pacific salmon to nearly $1.1 billion over ten years - an unprecedented level of support for these vital species and the communities that depend on them.
The Government of Canada will continue working closely with First Nations and Indigenous organizations, provincial and territorial governments, local communities, industry, and conservation organizations to advance shared priorities for wild Pacific salmon recovery and long-term sustainability. By working together, we can provide ecosystem, cultural, social and economic benefits for coastal communities and all Canadians.
