NR-PR-01-040E

April 5, 2001

Selective Fishing

Work continues in planning for selective fishing programs for the 2001 salmon season. Selective fishing practices are an increasingly important element of Canada’s fisheries, and are part of the long-term conservation strategy for rebuilding the resource and developing sustainable fisheries practices. In meeting conservation objectives, fishing opportunities and resource allocations will be defined by the ability of all harvesters - First Nations, commercial and recreational anglers - to fish selectively.

Input from recent community workshops, a coast-wide troll workshop and a large multi-stakeholder meeting held in Vancouver on January 29 and 30 will help to shape these programs during the coming salmon season.

In addition, A Policy for Selective Fishing in Canada's Pacific Fisheries was released in February 2001. The policy outlines a need for the development of selective fishing standards and action plans for every fishery. The policy not only emphasizes the requirement for solutions to salmon by-catch, but also for other species such as seabird and marine mammal by-catch issues. The new policy and lessons learned to date under the Selective Fisheries Program, will be used to guide future initiatives, as the four-year program reaches its final funding year in 2001.

In 2001, key activities under the program will include:

• Further research on post-release mortalities of coho and chinook, which will also focus on the long-term effects of catch and release of salmon, a scientific review of studies done to date, and the effects of multiple captures of fish within a fishery;
• Very specific selective fishing gear development, on which a notice to industry was issued on March 15, 2001 with a call for proposals closing on April 17, 2001;
• Implementation of demonstration-level fisheries;
• The introduction of performance measurement (post-release mortality audits carried out during the fishery);
• Catch monitoring programs that will incorporate real-time monitoring using technology such as satellite data transmission;
• Fisher sponsored training and education programs for gillnet and troll harvesters; and

• Building upon training and awareness programs with First Nations to promote selective fishing techniques and practices.

As noted, further research is planned in the area of post-release mortalities during 2001, however, significant progress has already been made. As a result, a number of changes to post-release mortality levels used for management, will be considered for the 2001 fishing season. These changes are considered interim and will be subject to review as new information becomes available. In most cases, mortality rates will be lower for 2001; however, in some cases rates are higher than originally thought. The following table summarises the post-release mortality rates used to assess fishery impacts prior to 2001 and those under consideration for 2001.

Note: If in-season monitoring programs indicate a need for modifications (up or down), changes would be made on short notice.

A considerable amount of work has been done in the past three years on lowering post-release mortality rates through the use of revival tanks in the commercial fishery. In 2001, revival tanks will continue to be a mandatory requirement, using the same design as 2000. In the case of gillnet and troll vessels, fishers will have the option of using one of two designs: either the standard design that has been used for the past three years or a new design which has shown promise in increasing survival rates of severely stressed fish. Design details can be obtained from your local DFO office.

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