British Columbia chum salmon

Last updated: 23 September 2011
Number of fisheries: 7

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Fishery species:

British Columbia chum (Oncorhynchus keta) - 4 fisheries

MSC assessment status

Please note the British Columbia pink salmon components have been certified.

A new timeline has also been published for the Chum fishery.

Please refer to the assessment downloads section for further information.

Fishery location

Canadian Pacific EEZ and British Columbia Coastal Waters

Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta)

North Coast/ Central Coast British Columbia
Inside Fisheries
West Coast Vancouver Island
Fraser River

Fishing method

Seine, troll, gillnet

Fishery management

The salmon fisheries are managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) – Pacific Region.  The Fisheries and Oceans mandate includes responsibility for the conservation and sustainable use of Canada's fisheries resources.

Salmon fisheries management for all salmon fisheries (First Nation, Commercial and Recreational) in British Columbia is conducted within the framework of an interannual management cycle. 

There are detailed fishery management plans for all salmon fisheries in BC including First Nations, commercial and recreational.  These plans describe the policy framework of the fisheries, the objectives of the management plan, decision guidelines and specific management measures as well as the fishing plans for the First nations, commercial and recreational fisheries.

Licence conditinos and commercial fishing plans lay out all the fishery management measures including seasons, closed areas, allowable gear characteristics such as hook styles, mesh size, net dimensions and the methods by which gear may be used.

In 2007, for all fishing areas province wide, the three commercial gear types harvested 11,131 tonnes of pink and 4,100 tonnes of chum salmon.

Commercial market

Worldwide

Assessment process

The assessment process is scheduled for completion in or around April 2012. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.

The MSC ecolabel can only be applied to product from certified fisheries. The MSC program does allow, in certain circumstances and within strict traceability requirements, the MSC ecolabel to be applied following certification to product caught before the actual date of certification. The target eligibility date therefore represents the date from which products may become eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel, however they cannot be sold until and if the fishery is certified. The actual eligibility date will be determined if the fishery is certified to the MSC standard.

To find out more about when fish from this fishery may be sold with the MSC ecolabel, please follow this link (http://www.msc.org/get-certified/supply-chain/eligibility-dates).