Canada East, 17 June 2011
You can't put a monetary value on some things, but it's nevertheless true that attaching a dollar sign to something is a good way to put it in a context that everyone of us can grasp.
To that end, the Atlantic Salmon Federation has hired respected economic consultants Gardner Pinfold to carry out the most comprehensive study of the economic benefits to the eastern Canadian region of wild Atlantic salmon that has ever been put forward.
You can expect the results to be made public in September. ASF has long-term plans to share the study's findings with the general public, anglers, First Nations, community leaders, elected officials and politicians, government officials, legislative committees, fisheries critics, and internationally through the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization.
"ASF expects the study to provide valuable information on the true worth of the species now and when restored, information that should help strengthen government policy and actions to conserve wild Atlantic salmon," says ASF president Bill Taylor.
The study is a past, present and future analysis, the scope of which will include the worth of wild Atlantic salmon to recreational fishing as well as to First Nations, tourism, conservation and education, and other non-use values of the species.
It's a case of fighting fire with fire, you might say. The Atlantic Salmon Federation notes that funding for wild salmon keeps going down, while the priority of governments seems to tend towards aquaculture salmon, at least partly because the aquaculture industry has clearly studied the economic value of its industry which is widely seen by those who cherish wild and natural fish as a detriment to wild Atlantic salmon.
"Federal funding for the restoration of wild Atlantic salmon has collapsed. Fisheries and Oceans Canada's priority appears to be towards developing commercial ventures, such as the salmon aquaculture industry, rather than to restore wild Atlantic salmon," Taylor says.
"This is driven by the view that the aquaculture industry has measurable contributions that appeal to elected officials and communities. Government needs to understand that the recreational and First Nations food fisheries for salmon are important industries that provide economic benefits, jobs, and have significant cultural importance. We hope that the data that Gardner Pinfold provides will convince government to put more money into conservation and restoration of this species, and we will embark on a long-term plan to convince government leaders to do so."
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) publishes economic surveys on the value of all recreational fishing in Canada, including Atlantic salmon, every five years.
"The Gardner Pinfold study may provide additional data that gives a fuller picture, resulting in a higher value for the recreational salmon fishery than is reported by DFO," Taylor says, "but the trend that the DFO reports portray, regarding a loss of benefits from the recreational salmon fishing industry since 1995, is alarming and cannot be ignored."
The 1995 DFO survey indicated that the revenues from recreational salmon fishing in Quebec and Atlantic Canada at that time was $191 million.
That value had decreased to only $62 million by 2005, according to the DFO survey, a 68 per cent drop in the value of the recreational salmon fishery in terms of today's dollars.
According to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), recreational salmon catches in Canada were about 30 per cent higher in 1995 than those in 2005.
"It is reasonable to conclude that even restoring salmon runs to 1995 abundance will help restore about $100 million in annual revenues through recreational fishing alone," Taylor believes.
"Other benefits to First Nations and the general public reinforce the need for attention to wild salmon."
The study includes a review of existing data and literature, two surveys (one of anglers and one of the general public) and interviews with key players such as First Nations, private camps and non government organizations. It also includes case studies of the local salmon economies of four rivers: the Grand Cascapedia in Quebec, the Miramichi here in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia's renown Margaree and the Exploits in Newfoundland.
The wide-reaching study will take into account the value of the conservation movement and restoration activity by volunteers and the corporate sector and provide a value for salmon fisheries when salmon populations are restored.
Salmon lovers everywhere will be anxiously awaiting for the results of the study. Anyone who travels to ply their fishing skills or to watch these magnificent creatures is aware that there's a sizeable industry surrounding wild salmon, the best parts of that economic activity being that it occurs almost entirely in hard-pressed rural areas and that it barely makes an impact on the fish or its environment.
The study is a good move that is over-due and it will give conservationists some good ammunition they can use in the battle for ever-scarcer public funding.
Source; Canada East
