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Location: Fraser Valley, Stó:l_ Territoty Project Summary
SUMMARY Phase one of the project will consist of meetings with Stó:l_ community members which will address future sustainable food access, methods to reduce potential harvest by managing conservation units, gain feedback on potential adaptive strategies; also gain a clearer vision of Stó:l_ fisheries. OVERVIEW
This project will look at the overall condition of the Fraser River Sockeye fishery and the role declining fish stocks have played in this change. Over the last 15 years, declines of returning adult Fraser River Sockeye/Salmon have created stress and conflict between competing fishing interests. It is predicted that this decline will continue unless survival conditions for Fraser salmon change. Currently, there is no plan in place for ways to address the changes in abundance, or alternative species and stocks .
We would be naďve to think in one year we would be able to address all the contributing factors, or even have solutions to these growing concerns around the fishery. Our project has been broken down into a smaller more manageable approach to address how the Stó:lo fishery could adapt to change to the fishery over time, and how we could deal with the immediate needs of food security within the Stó:lo communities . As part of this project we will look at adaptive methods and engage communities to find alternative ways to bring fish to Stó:lo communities, many communities have felt the impacts of no sockeye fisheries in 2009. This has left many Stó:lo families hungry and without their main dietary protein. The hardest hits are families that are poor and depend on the return of the Sockeye each year. This has lead to a need for Stó:lo leaders to respond before it’s too late. We feel that the work will need to begin with ways to address the immediate needs. For example “how do we get food fish to Stó:lo communities & how can we improve on conservation of what sockeye maybe left” ? Time and time again the government has made promises to bring more fish and again we are left at the bottom of the priority list, forced to conserve and find alternative food sources. With our project we hope we will be able to frame out a policy around food security. This process will take up to 2 yrs to complete the process is very complex and we have found it very difficult to move out of the Status Quo management regime that has brought to where we are today. Faced with food security issues leading to much needed action from Stó:l_ Communities and its leaders. We will begin our approach to these issue by developing a plan of action with Stó:l_ Communities: * Food Security strategies Our project is a multiyear project. There is no information on previous years as this is the first year of an ongoing process. Year one of this project will frame out what measures Stó:lo First Nation Communities may need to take in order to sustain future Salmon access. This year’s work will clearly map out year two work which will include policy development around Salmon management within S’ olh Temexw, restorative measure to improve Salmon habitat/ health, leading to greater fish access to habitat and population growth within S’olh temexw. The Salmon Policy has identified a need to understand the Biological Diversity of Salmon and their habitat. Diversity includes the lineages of salmon evolved through time. As we progress with our project, we will have a greater understanding on what losses have accrued to Salmon population Within S’ olh Temexw and what steps will need to be taken in year two to improve Watershed health and with the help of ESSA ‘s research we will be able to forge forward and make changes very quickly.
OBJECTIVES Objective #1 Method to reduce impacts to first nations& fish ( i.e. alternative stocks and species etc. ) Objective #2 Analysis of current and historical fishing patterns, methods, and catches, as well as Stó:l_ traditional ecological knowledge regarding historical and current fish health. Objective #3 Culturally appropriate education for First Nations communities on the State of Sockeye/ Salmon
Objective 1 Community meetings ( Small Focus Group ) Using the Food Security method , we will meet with community members, to talk about food security Strategies . This group will be made up of Stó:l_ Fishers within Stó:l_ territory (S’olh Temexw) II. Capacity Building Strategies III. Systems Change Strategies These meeting will be set to begin in early April of 2010 and finish Sept 2010. These meeting differ from IFRAWG process and Salmon Table as they deal specifically with planning for changes in the fishery management we will deal with how we share limited abundances and reduce footprint in the fishery as well as how we can self sustain for future food access in S’ olh Temexw. * Under the mentorship of a biologist a Stó:l_ Youth will gather all existing ATK/TEK information from local sources such as Coqualeetza elders and provincial archives and conduct interviews whenever necessary to fill in data gaps. Our target will be to talk with both elders and youth fishers that have participated in the fisher in any capacity All the information gathering is necessary to help with the decision making process for leaders to be able to make a more informed decision on where our fishery maybe moving. Objective 3 Workshops/ Community Engagement Outcomes of of the smaller focus group Food Security questions. Expected results of the workshops is to gain feedback on historical changes and will identify specific impact to First nations overtime. Other benefits of these workshops more longer term planning for future access. Understanding, what the next steps maybe in order to secure food for future Stó:l_ Generation. How we could meet the immediate needs in Stó:l_ communities, while reducing footprints to the fishery .
A technical review of the history of the Stó:lo Fishery over a period of time will provide insight on how the fishery is changing, what changes have occurred., This technical review will further clarify what further work could be done to change the ways our fisheries are managed. We will need to understand what stocks are healthy and find ways to reduce impacts to weak stocks and reduce the impacts to First Nation by looking Specific conservation units and how to access healthy stock aggregates verses fishing mixed stocks in the main stem of the Fraser. Changing fishing methods to more selective methods.. Working With the Planning for Salmon: a watershed vulnerability assessment of streams in S’ olh Temexw project we will engage Stó:l_ Community members to discuss environment changes over time and how these changes have affected salmon and their habitats. These two projects connect on the topic of how Stó:l_ fishing has changed over time in relation to changing environments, development pressures and climate change. ESSA will have the opportunity to directly engage Stó:l_ community members in a interactive conversation about a series of maps showing the location of salmon habitat, and the productivity of these habitats in selected watersheds in S’olh Temexw. The knowledge shared at these sessions will be supplemented by TEK interviews described above and both sources of information will be useful in ESSA efforts to accurately model watershed vulnerability in S’olh Temexw. Final Engagement meeting The Salmon table has open up the doors pending funding to facilitate a rolling dialogue amongst other fishing interest as well as to have Federal government managers of the fisheries participate in these discussions on fish sharing strategies. We have included three meeting and may need to find further funding if there is a need for more than three meeting.
BENEFITS This project will lay the foundation for Stó:lo communities to understand how their fishery has evolved in recent times , and how best to manage future fishing. Understanding where, when and how people fished and where, when and how they are fishing now will help lead to a strategic understanding of what needs to be restored or recreated and how best to achieve this. Engage First Nations, government agencies and community groups/NGOs Community meeting, workshops and meeting opened meeting to government agencies and community groups
Our project looks at ways of managing CU verses fishing mixed stock in the S’olh Temewx territory Stategy 1 WSP
This project will help Stó:lo communities and Community leaders build capacity to address Food Security needs. And the findings of the project will help influence changes to policies and decision making. Stó:lo Communities struggle to be heard as a Valued partner in the fishery, often competing with commercial fisheries; fisheries that tend to take priority in the fishery.
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