Simon Fraser University department of biological sciences professor John Reynolds at Stoney Creek in Burnaby, B.C.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
Reductions to federal counting of salmon stocks have left researchers unable to assess the well-being of nearly half Canada’s Pacific salmon populations, a study from Simon Fraser University has found.
The number of annual counts of salmon spawning populations performed by researchers is down 32 per cent since Canada adopted its Wild Salmon Policy in 2005, a study at the Burnaby, B.C., institution concluded.
The federal policy was introduced to protect salmon in response to concerns about poor monitoring and declining populations.
Despite those government efforts, the study found reliable salmon counts that could identify environmental concerns are dwindling. The monitoring programs “have long suffered from chronic underfunding and lack of prioritization,” the study said.
There is insufficient data to assess the health of 46 per cent of Canada’s Pacific salmon populations as a result, according to the study, raising concerns about industrial and climate-related threats to fish health.
Prof. Reynolds says without adequate monitoring data, it is difficult to prescribe successful conservation strategies.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
“These are fundamental data by which to take the pulse of salmon, and we’re not gathering it,” said Michael Price, the study’s lead author and a Pacific salmon expert at SFU.
Prof. Price said federal monitoring programs are now largely focused on “indicator streams,” which is when data from salmon in one stream is used to extrapolate fish health in many other streams nearby.
“That’s not accurate,” Prof. Price said. “They fluctuate immensely, even in nearby streams.”
The number of salmon-counting surveys has declined between the policy’s adoption and 2022, which the study called a “genuine erosion in the integrity and reliability of spawner information.”
Annual counts of spawning salmon have been declining for four decades, a trend that has persisted through the adoption of the Wild Salmon Policy, and reported counts are at their lowest level in 70 years, according to the study.
In a statement, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it is aware of the concerns raised in the study, but said it increased funding to support the viability of Pacific salmon since the conservation policy was adopted in 2005.
In the 2025 season, the DFO and First Nations partners delivered more than 40 projects focused on Pacific salmon stock assessment at a cost of more than $5-million, DFO spokesperson Alexandra Coutts added.
These are fundamental data by which to take the pulse of salmon, and we’re not gathering it.
— Michael Price, lead study author and Pacific salmon expert at SFU
The DFO acknowledged its current salmon population database is not immediately reported publicly and said it is set to be replaced by a new public salmon tracking dashboard, which will include an interactive map with information about salmon data in British Columbia and Yukon. The DFO said it is also adopting tools like drones and environmental DNA - which tracks genetic material that organisms leave in their environment - to improve counting accuracy.
The reduction in annual counts means researchers could miss seeing population declines caused by new industrial projects such as mining operations or pipelines, according to Prof. Price.
He’s also concerned that the federal government’s new push to fast-track major industrial projects will mean Canada is “largely making decisions in the dark” without knowing the potential impacts on fish populations.
Recent analyses suggest many Canadian Pacific salmon populations are shrinking as waters warm and glaciers retreat, Prof. Price said, so it is “more urgent than ever” to track fish populations. Better monitoring could help pinpoint opportunities to open salmon fisheries, the study added.
Prof. Price said monitoring has taken a downturn in tandem with declining commercial fishing in Canada since the 1980s.
He said the DFO has prioritized investing in initiatives like buying back fishing boats but has fallen short in spending on monitoring programs.
“There’s been declines in funding for decades, but fundamentally, it’s not an issue of money,” Prof. Price said. “What’s at the heart of this is that monitoring has become, it seems, a low priority for DFO.”
There is insufficient data to assess the health of 46 per cent of Canada’s Pacific salmon populations, according to the study.Jennifer Gauthier/The Globe and Mail
Without adequate monitoring data, it is difficult to prescribe successful conservation strategies like reducing fishing pressures or improving salmon habitats, said John Reynolds, a fish ecology expert at SFU. He said Canada has underperformed on its “visionary” promises outlined in the Wild Salmon Policy.
Prof. Reynolds called the new study a “depressing” update to a 2017 study that found monitoring for all salmon species on British Columbia’s north and central coasts was eroding, and the numbers of multiple species of spawning adult salmon was declining.
“Apparently, nobody was really paying attention when the alarm bells were sounded nine years ago,” Prof. Reynolds said. “So things are getting worse, not better.”
Monitoring is especially important in areas like northern British Columbia, where receding glaciers are opening up new habitats for salmon, Prof. Price said.
He said better data collection doesn’t have to be technologically advanced and can start with more funding for people to get out into the field and count manually. He added increased funding for Pacific salmon monitoring could offer employment opportunities in remote communities.
“It doesn’t have to be an extremely expensive process,” Prof. Price said. “We just need more people walking the streams and counting fish.”