Salmon

The relationship between salmon and Central Coast First Nations cannot be overstated.

For over 11,000 years our culture, social structures, and economy have been based on the abundance of salmon in our territories.
Today, salmon are no less important to our people. Yet, we have stood witness to greed and poor management for 150 years. The result is a fishery in crisis. Salmon runs are at historical lows, commercial fishermen cannot make enough in a single year to pay their expenses, the commercial recreational fishery has been forced to focus on other species, and we cannot get enough salmon to meet our FSC needs. We believe we need to return management of the salmon fishery to our people. We successfully managed the salmon for over 11,000 years, and given the opportunity we could do so again.

Sustainable salmon fisheries will require equitable international treaties on salmon rights, more precise and timely monitoring of stocks in our territories, a decreased commercial and recreational fishing effort, and improved enhancement and habitat rehabilitation efforts.