Banner Photo: Shrimp fishing. (Credit: Maxwell Hohn)

Unsustainable resource extraction is one of the great threats to our oceans, and this includes unsustainable harvesting of seafood by both recreational and commercial fishers. Recently, an increasing number of sports anglers have been attracted to the Sound by recovering fish stock, such as Chinook salmon. However, other species such as pink salmon have variable population estimates, and therefore their sustainability is uncertain. Monitoring population size is important to maintain healthy fish stocks; however, critical funding for monitoring salmon return in the Cheakamus River – the only consistent indicator of salmon population dynamics in the watershed – has been cut.

By contrast, the shrimp and prawn fisheries in Átl’ḵa7tsem/Txwnéwu7ts/ Howe Sound benefit from strong monitoring programs, which result in fishery closures when stocks drop too low. Due to the indiscriminate nature of fishing methods, the shrimp trawl fishery has been closed throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem/Txwnéwu7ts/Howe Sound since 2017 due to low stock numbers. Further actions to protect sensitive habitat and species, such as glass sponge reefs, include using improved fishing technology and gear, closing certain areas to bottom trawling and promoting fishing methods to decrease bycatch.

Both sport fishing and the shrimp/prawn fisheries are likely to be negatively impacted by climate change because many of these species prefer cooler water temperatures. Warmer waters, droughts and floods will impact the survival of all life stages of these species. Taking action to address climate change, implementing long-term fish monitoring programs where they are lacking, and protecting fragile habitats will be key moving forward.