Data from: Reviewing 20 years of progress towards sustainable fisheries under Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy

The Wild Salmon Policy was adopted in 2005, to safeguard salmon
biodiversity and provide sustainable benefits to Canadians. Over the last
20 years the WSP has made important contributions to conservation, but
many gaps remain. We find that many Conservation Units (83%; 324/390) have
not had status assessments, a key element of the WSP. Changes in fisheries
targeting Skeena and Nass sockeye, and Interior Fraser River coho salmon
have promoted recovery of some CUs, but failure to robustly implement WSP
strategies for north and central coast chum and coho salmon populations
creates conservation risks with potentially devastating consequences for
fisheries and ecosystems. Most Chinook salmon CUs in British Columbia are
unassessed (81%; 65/80), and two out of the 15 assessed CUs are considered
healthy (green status zone). Despite these risks, changes in the
management of mixed-stock Chinook fisheries have been inadequate for
reversing declines. A renewed commitment to WSP implementation, and an
increased focus on transitioning harvest out of high-risk mixed-stock
fisheries can support improved outcomes for Pacific salmon in Canada.