Report of the Skeena Independent Science Review Panel

Summary

The objective of the Panel was to use the best available science to review the current management of anadromous salmonids in the Skeena watershed, to recommend a renewed approach to fisheries management, and identify what additional monitoring and data collection would be needed to implement Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy (WSP). The Panel was to take into consideration the WSP, respect for the interests of First Nations people, and the sustainability of commercial and recreational fisheries for the people of Canada.

The Panel’s review of salmon management was jointly sanctioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment (MoE) and was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of San Francisco, California. While the Panel was sanctioned by DFO and MoE, it carried out its assignment with complete independence from both of those institutions.

The Panel’s report is divided into five major topic areas: (1) the fish and the fisheries, (2) habitat status and protection, (3) critical monitoring needs for future management, (4) governance, and (5) recommendations.

–Excerpt from the report’s Executive Summary