WSP - Good News Stories

• January 14, 2011 - Fish and Water Management Tool in the Okanagan
• November 9, 2010 - Salmon and the Cowichan Valley Ecosystem

January 14, 2011

Fish and Water Management Tool in the Okanagan

In a collaborative effort led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dr. Kim Hyatt and his team have developed a Fish and Water Management Tool which helps fish-and-water managers maintain salmon friendly water flows in the Okanagan valley.

Okanagan sockeye are one of only three anadromous sockeye populations that return to the Columbia River system, and the only population that originates in Canada. Despite harvest limitations, Okanagan sockeye declined significantly during 1986-2000 due, in part, to impacts of water management decisions on spawning, incubation and rearing success of Okanagan sockeye salmon.

The Fish and Water Management Tool is a computer model being used by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the Okanagan Nation Alliance to make water storage and release decisions. The model uses indicators such as climate and water supply variations to identify water management options that minimize damage to fish, their habitat, riparian property and associated urban or agricultural infrastructure under seasonal flood or drought conditions.

This tool supports Wild Salmon Policy implementation objectives by ensuring the inclusion of common ecosystem values and monitoring activities by both fish and water managers. Taken together with other salmon restoration work, the Fish and Water Management Tool has undoubtedly contributed to dramatic increases in returns of wild Okanagan sockeye salmon in 2008-2010.

Additional technical information about the Fish and Water Management Tool is available: Fish and Water Management Tool Project Assessments: Record of Management Strategy and Decisions for the 2006-2007 Water Year

November 9, 2010

Salmon and the Cowichan Valley Ecosystem

In 2010, Fisheries & Oceans Canada collaborated with the Cowichan Valley Regional District Environment Commission on a report that considers the importance of salmon in the Cowichan Valley ecosystem and the importance of a healthy ecosystem for salmon.

The Cowichan Valley is located in the southern portion of Vancouver Island and is famous for its wild Chinook, Coho, Chum and Steelhead salmon runs.

DFO participated with numerous other partners to develop the 2010 State of the Environment Report. This report examines the historic and current environmental conditions in the Cowichan Region so that future changes in the environment can be tracked and measured.

Pacific salmon are important to many ecosystems on Vancouver Island, and this report supports DFO’s commitment under the Wild Salmon Policy to progressively consider ecosystem values in salmon management.

The full report is provided courtesy of the Cowichan Valley Regional District: 2010 State of the Environment Report