New salmon conservation stamp revealed for 2024/2025
The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) is proud to share the winning art entry in the annual Salmon Conservation Stamp Competition.
Chosen from 19 entries in this year’s competition, Dale Cooper was awarded first place with an acrylic painting titled Pursuit. The image (shown below) will be featured on the 2024-25 Salmon Conservation Stamp, a required purchase for anglers to retain any Pacific salmon caught in British Columbia’s marine environment. The proceeds from these sales fund hundreds of salmon conservation projects every year.
Cooper, a veteran sports illustrator and fine artist, is a first-time winner of the Salmon Stamp Art
Cooper, a veteran sports illustrator and fine artist, is a first-time winner of the Salmon Stamp Art Competition. He has participated in the competition several times over the years, with his first salmon painting earning him third place in 1998. This year, Cooper’s winning entry shows a pair of Chinook salmon pursuing a school of herring.
Pursuit by Dale Cooper
Dale R. Cooper was born in Portage la Prairie, Man. and now resides in Armstrong, B.C., with his wife and children. After working for the City of Burnaby’s sanitation department, Cooper enrolled in the Graphics and Visual Design program at Kwantlen College in 1981 to become a full-time artist.
“Outside of sports, I’ve always painted B.C. wildlife, and I’ve painted a lot of salmon,” Cooper shares. “I’m very pleased to finally win this year — and right before the holidays, too.”
The artist credits his memories of working at a salmon cannery in Steveston, fishing trips, and salmon runs in the Adams River as inspiration.
“With this painting, I wanted to do something that was really relevant to their environment,” he notes. “Kelp just seemed to fit, and chasing the herring is part of what salmon do. I wanted the salmon to look healthy.”
The Salmon Conservation Stamp is a decal that must be purchased annually by anglers and affixed to their saltwater fishing license to retain any species of Pacific salmon. Every year, hundreds of thousands of recreational anglers support Pacific salmon conservation by purchasing the $6.46 Salmon Stamp. Through a landmark agreement in 1989, the revenue from these stamps is directed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to the Foundation.
“The Pacific Salmon Conservation Stamp represents an important collaboration between the Pacific Salmon Foundation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the sport fishing community. It recognizes the paramount significance of preserving iconic Pacific Salmon populations and their habitats for generations to come” says Hon. Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. “For over 30 years, the PSF has stewarded revenue from the stamp to support a range of critical Pacific Salmon conservation, restoration and enhancement projects in BC and Yukon.”
Indeed, PSF grants up to $2 million annually to more than 200 community-led projects. The outputs of these Community Salmon projects, including volunteer time and in-kind donations, provide exponentially more value to conservation efforts. Since 1989, PSF directed $22.4M of the Salmon Stamp’s revenue to 3,187 unique salmon projects across British Columbia with a total value of nearly $190 million.
An annual Salmon Conservation Stamp, valid between April 1 and March 31 of each fishing season, can be purchased online or through an Independent Access Provider.
PSF warmly congratulates each of the 19 artists who’ve submitted an entry to this year’s Salmon Stamp Competition. Here, we featured some of the other entries received, including the second and third-place submissions. Well done!
Second Place: “Rush Hour” by Curtis Atwater
Third Place: “This Way” by Donnie Hughes
