Objectives of the Sustainable Fisheries Project
Objective 1. Define and articulate the need and concept of a Sustainable Fisheries Strategy (SFS). Tasks include identification of the problem, development of a conceptual proposal and action plan, and preparation of informational materials on the Sustainable Fisheries Project Status: Completed.
Objective 2. Establish contacts and develop partnerships with scientific organizations, regional and national fishing and conservation groups, Canadian First Nations and American Indian Tribes, political entities, and government agencies, to generate support for and ensure compatibility between the Sustainable Fisheries Project and other management initiatives. The associated activities included dissemination of information, review and comment on project proposal, acquisition of letters of support, and establishment of project Advisory and Steering Committees. Status: Completed.
Objective 3. Refine project goals, objectives, and budgets based on response to initial proposal; develop funding strategy and secure necessary funds. The project was organized so that the activities necessary to attain individual objectives can be financed and managed separately. Requests for funding can thus be tailored to match project needs with program priorities of potential funders. Status: Ongoing.
Objective 4. Organize an international fisheries conference in the spring of 1996, to review the status of Pacific salmon and steelhead populations and habitats in the United States and Canada, and to identify the major biological, economical, social, and political challenges facing fisheries managers in the Pacific Northwest. Attainment of this objective was pivotal to the success of the Sustainable Fisheries Project. To ensure visibility, quality, and widespread support for the Conference, the Sustainable Fisheries Foundation (the Foundation) enlisted the American Fisheries Society and several fishing and conservation groups to help organize, publicize, and facilitate the Conference. Salient features of the Conference included a Plenary session in which invited speakers address the assembly, a series of concurrent technical sessions which address a diversity of issues, and intensive, professionally facilitated work group sessions in which participants identified common goals and developed consensus solutions for achieving them. The results of these collaborations provided the basis for developing a SFS for protecting and conserving Pacific salmon and steelhead stocks. Status: Completed.
Objective 5. Publish a SFS report, addressing the coast wide status of salmon and steelhead populations and habitats, the impediments to sustainable fisheries management, and the consensus recommendations of conference participants. After incorporating comments received from conference participants, the Foundation will finalize and publish the SFS report in a form suitable for general distribution and use by the public. Status: Completed.
Objective 6. Publish the Proceedings of the Sustainable Fisheries Conference (Sustainable Fisheries Management: Pacific Salmon), including the integrated principles and recommendations of workgroup participants as part of a Sustainable Fisheries Strategy. The Publications Committee coordinated the peer review of the technical papers that are submitted by authors. The Foundation also finalized and published the SFS in a form suitable for inclusion in the Proceedings. CRC Press was selected as the publisher for the book. Status: Completed.
Objective 7. Develop a coast wide Implementation Plan by preparing regional implementation strategies, including conducting a series of workshops to develop further consensus among stakeholders, and to encourage implementation of the Strategy in the context of local and regional biological and societal constraints. Implementation strategies will be compiled into a coast wide Implementation Plan which prescribes specific management actions to protect and restore salmon populations and associated benefits to the Pacific Northwest. Moreover, incentives for implementing a SFS, will also be developed. Status: Ongoing.