Summary of the Evaluation of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative

The Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) is a five-year initiative launched in June 2021 with the goal of stemming declines in Pacific salmon and rebuilding priority stocks to sustainable levels.

1.0 About the evaluation

The evaluation was designed to be forward-looking and identify possible improvements for future Pacific salmon programming. The evaluation also followed up on the status of the Management Action Plan (MAP)in response to five recommendations made in the 2022 Evaluation of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) Activities in Support of Pacific Salmon.

2.0 Key findings

Overall, the delivery of the PSSI has been positive despite early challenges with implementation.

Open dialogue between DFO staff and external stakeholders facilitated the delivery of PSSI, particularly with the Habitat Restoration Centre of Expertise, Salmon Enhancement program, and British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF). In addition, BCSRIF Phase 2 projects allowed the federal and B.C. governments to jointly support the restoration of priority Pacific salmon populations and their ecosystems and to provide funding directly to groups. The strength of the provincial-federal partnership was highlighted as a positive and facilitating factor.

Interviewees expressed a need to continue to support Pacific salmon programming and recognized that the Government of Canada is well-suited to provide an outcome-based approach to Pacific salmon rebuilding; however, there are differing views regarding what role DFO should play. First Nations and stakeholders expressed a desire for trilateral governance structures and increased input to PSSI planning processes to improve alignment. While communication and engagement were promoted within and outside the Department, more could be done to increase meaningful engagement.

3.0 Considerations

The management of the PSSI and future potential Pacific salmon programming could be strengthened with the following:

• mobilizing First Nation and stakeholder expertise and partnerships, particularly when responding to extreme environmental events impacting Pacific salmon by shifting funding models away from internal DFO delivery
• continuing efforts to enhance trilateral collaboration as a strategic step towards increased alignment between PSSI, First Nation and stakeholder priorities
• communicating priorities, outcomes, and progress updates based on an implementation strategy within and outside the Department, thus providing clarity regarding how various PSSI activities support the vision
• increasing capacity and opportunities for First Nations and stakeholders to participate in the engagement process