Premier John Horgan has released the following statement regarding Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s decision on Fraser River chinook salmon management:

“Wild salmon are an iconic species. They are vital to Indigenous communities and local economies up and down the coast.

“The measures taken by Fisheries and Oceans Canada will have a significant impact on recreational, Indigenous and commercial fishers, and the communities that depend on them. I’m disappointed that successive years of bad decisions have led us to this point.

“The federal and provincial governments have committed more than $140 million to rebuilding our fisheries. For the sake of all those who depend on wild salmon, we must focus our efforts on restoring salmon habitat and producing more fish.

“Protecting wild salmon is a high priority of our government and for all people who live in B.C.

“We are creating a made-in-B.C. wild salmon strategy to promote healthy, abundant wild salmon stocks. We will keep working with our federal partners to rebuild salmon stocks, and support habitat restoration and community hatcheries.”