Government of Canada enters into Fraser Salmon Collaborative Management Agreement with 76 British Columbia First Nations

Vancouver, British Columbia - There is no relationship more important to the Government of Canada than the one with Indigenous Peoples. Our government is committed to advancing a renewed relationship with Indigenous communities, based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership. As part of this commitment, we are working to modernize and strengthen nation-to-nation, government-to-government structures, and to support a more collaborative approach to fisheries management by the Government of Canada and Indigenous Peoples.

 

British Columbia (BC) First Nations along the migratory route of Fraser salmon have a long standing and profound relationship with the Fraser salmon. The conservation and restoration of Fraser salmon today, and for generations to come, is the highest priority when we are making governance and management decisions about this species.

 

Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, and Darren Haskell, President of the Fraser Salmon Management Council (FSMC), announced the signing of the Fraser Salmon Collaborative Management Agreement between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the FSMC.

 

This is a landmark agreement that signals a significant change and opportunity for meaningful and innovative reconciliation work between DFO and Indigenous communities. This creates a joint DFO-FSMC board that will review, and make collaborative decisions on operational fisheries issues, to be outlined in their annual work plan.

 

The Fraser Salmon Management Council was established by First Nations along the migratory route of Fraser salmon in March 2014, with the adoption of their constitution and bylaws. FSMC currently includes 76 member First Nations representing a majority of British Columbia (BC) First Nations with access to Fraser salmon fisheries. The Fraser Salmon Management Council membership includes First Nations along the migratory route of Fraser salmon, including the Upper, Middle and Lower Fraser and Marine Approach (Vancouver Island) areas.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.