Winner of the 2021/2022 PSF Salmon Stamp Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 4, 2020

Winner of the 2021/2022 PSF Salmon Stamp Competition
Chinook Salmon: Breaking Through

VANCOUVER – The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) is pleased to announce the winning image from our annual Salmon Conservation Stamp Competition. Mark Hobson was awarded first place with his submission titled Chinook Salmon: Breaking Through. One of 13 entries in this year’s competition.

Mark Hobson is an international award-winning artist who is focused on creating Pacific coast landscapes and wildlife. Trained as a professional biologist and science teacher, Mark is a three-time winner of the Salmon Conservation Stamp Competition, has designed coins for the Royal Canadian Mint collector’s editions, and his work has been shown by the National Geographic Society, among his many career accomplishments. Living in Tofino B.C. and creating art in his floating studio there, Mark is a passionate conservation advocate, calling for the preservation of the wilderness and wildlife he is dedicated to painting.

Mark Hobson’s Chinook Salmon: Breaking Through will be featured on the 2021/2022 Salmon Conservation Stamp.

On the submission of his painting Chinook Salmon: Breaking Through, Mark reflects, “At the end of their third summer at sea, Chinook salmon return to freshwater. As they near their natal streams they frequently linger closer to shore among kelp beds feasting on small herring-like fish as a final energy boost before tackling to the rigours of spawning. I love the stained glass effect that occurs when sunlight shines through the translucent kelp fronds and have tried to give the viewer a sense of this visual highlight.”

“Thank you to the Pacific Salmon Foundation for your ongoing leadership in the conservation and restoration of wild salmon. Your many efforts – including the ingenious Salmon Stamp initiative – have raised an invaluable amount of awareness and funding. Our government is proud to partner with you on the shared, urgent priority of protecting our pacific wild salmon for generations to come,” says the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

This sentiment was echoed by Martin Paish, Chair of the BC Sport Fishing Advisory Board, who says, “The Salmon Stamp, and the collaboration between DFO, the PSF and participants in the public fishery that it represents, provides a positive and powerful example of how stakeholders, governments and NGO’s can all work together to maintain and rebuild salmon populations across our province. Anglers not only help fund this important work through Salmon Stamp sales, they also represent a huge component of the thousands of person days of volunteer effort that make the projects happen. Their passion for the resource and commitment to a bright future for salmon is a great source of motivation and hope across the angling community in BC,“

“The Pacific Salmon Foundation works hard to help provide constant and reliable funding for the salmon stewards who do the heavy lifting for salmon across British Columbia. Funding from Stamp sales for grassroots salmon projects also inspires the private sector to support our Community Salmon Program,” says Michael Meneer, PSF President and CEO. “Charitable donors are stepping up this year to support PSF because of reduced funding resulting from no sales of Salmon Stamps to out of province anglers due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Thanks to this generosity, we will be able to maintain our grant making to communities in 2021. Every dollar counts and makes a difference in helping to ensure this important work for salmon continues at the grassroots level.”

Thanks to new legislation brought in by the federal government, the value of the Salmon Stamp was increased, accounting for inflation, to $6.13 this year, which will support Pacific salmon conservation and restoration efforts. With another funding round before year-end, the Foundation has already granted nearly $1.3 million to 117 projects in 65 communities across B.C. and the Yukon in 2020. The total value of these projects including volunteer time and in-kind donations was leveraged to $10.3 million in value to the community.

The Salmon 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. The Revenue from the sale of these stamps is directed by the federal government to PSF, and provides over $1 million in funding for salmon restoration, conservation and enhancement each year through the Foundation’s Community Salmon Program. Since 1989, $18.2 million of this revenue has been directed to 2,693 unique salmon projects across British Columbia with a total value exceeding $157 million.

Community Salmon Program grants support projects from across British Columbia and the Yukon, with a focus on habitat restoration, stewardship, salmon enhancement, science and education. In addition to funds generated from the Salmon Conservation Stamp, and from the Province of B.C., these grants are made possible by corporate donations from Trans Mountain, Mosaic Forest Management, Helijet, BC Hydro, Enbridge, Methanex, Seaspan, FortisBC Energy. Funds are also raised through Pacific Salmon Foundation fundraising events,  and donations from individuals, foundations and businesses.

 

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About the Pacific Salmon Foundation:

PSF is the independent, thoughtful leader and catalyst in conservation, restoration, and enhancement of Pacific salmon and their ecosystems through strategic partnerships and leveraged use of resources. www.psf.ca
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