Fraser River Sockeye Salmon - Cohen Commission

Executive summary
evidentiary hearings, as well as Policy and Practice Reports and Scientific Reports
prepared by or for the commission. Members of the public may make submissions
on any matter relevant to the commission’s Terms of Reference and may comment
on another person’s submission. Submissions, and bilingual summaries of them, are
posted on the website.
My final report, due in 2011, will include my findings of fact regarding
the causes for the decline of the Fraser sockeye, as well as the current state of
those stocks and the long-term projections for them. It will also contain my
recommendations for improving the future sustainability of the Fraser sockeye
fishery, including, as required, any changes to DFO’s policies, practices, and
procedures in relation to the management of that fishery.
Preliminary views and assessment
The Terms of Reference direct me to set out in my interim report my “preliminary
views on, and assessment of, any previous examinations, investigations or
reports” that I consider relevant to the commission. In addition, I am asked to
comment on “the Government’s responses to those examinations, investigations
and reports.”
Previous reports and government responses
Over the past three decades, there have been dozens of examinations,
investigations, and reports into the Pacific fisheries, primarily focusing on
DFO’s management of the fishery and the department’s legislative powers
respecting harvesting, protection of habitat, protection of wild salmon stocks,
and aquaculture.
In May 2010, DFO provided the commission with a document entitled
“Recommendations Related to Fraser River Sockeye Salmon and Responses
by the Government of Canada, 1982–2010.” This document set out the
recommendations contained in 25 reports prepared by or for the
Government of Canada between 1982 and 2005, along with the federal
government’s initial responses.
In this interim report, I refer to 22 of those 25 reports. I have also considered
reports from several other sources, including provincial auditors general,
provincially appointed commissions, and reports commissioned by Aboriginal
organizations and an environmental non-governmental organization. My
principal interest was reports that are relevant to the Fraser sockeye fishery, but I
also thought it important to review reports that deal more generally with various
aspects of West Coast fisheries, such as DFO management, conservation, and
habitat protection and the potential impact of open-pen salmon farms on wild
salmon stocks.
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