From “Evaluation of the Salmonid Enhancement Program, Project Number 6B105

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

September 22/09

1.1 Background.

The Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) was established in 1977 with objective of restoring stocks of salmon to their historic levels of abundance. Over 30 years, the program has evolved beyond its original goal centered on salmon production to a program based on multi-faceted set of objectives. The current emphasis is on achieving both ecosystem wide and socio-economic benefits categorized into four priorities: fish production, community capacity development, public stewardship and habitat restoration.0 Executive Summary

1.2.1 Relevance

There are also indications of public support for SEP activities in the Pacific region particularly in relation to habitat stewardship, education and outreach which are important to make possible the societal adjustments for resource conservation.

1.2.2 Success

The SEP has met and sometimes exceeded expectations relative to reaching hatchery production targets, providing community outreach and partnering, and raising public awareness through education for the conservation and protection of salmon habitat.

1.4 Recommendations

Component A

1. It is recommended that a succession and mentoring plan be developed and implemented. This plan should include steps to ensure the transmission of vital corporate knowledge to new and existing staff particularly community advisors and scientific and technical staff.

2.1 Program Background

Over 30 years, the Program has grown from its original primary objective to include a multi-faceted set of objectives which address the Government of Canada’s priorities and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) strategic objectives. As a result, while SEP is responsible for a number of activities, it has gradually expanded its role to provide information to the fisheries management and stock assessment programs, to enhance the management of pacific salmon stocks and to support international treaty negotiations and requirements such as the Pacific Salmon Treaty (PST).

Community Involvement Program (CIP) ($6.5M per year): The CIP consists of two elements. First, the Community Economic Development Program (CEDP) with an annual budget of approximately $3.5 million is composed of 21 hatchery projects operated under contract.  Second, the Public Involvement Program (PIP) receives $3.0 million for education, outreach, streamkeepers activities, and the operation of small volunteer run hatcheries and funds roughly 350 projects.

Habitat Restoration ($2.7M per year): This component focuses on habitat, restoration, as well as support for integrated watershed planning and partnerships related to habitat. It leverages between three to four million dollars a year from the private and volunteer sectors.

2.2 Risk Profile

 

Risk	Level	Risk Event
1. Alignment of funding to program delivery	Extreme	There is a risk that SEP’s program commitments and delivery requirements will further out pace its funding.
2. Infrastructure	High	There is a risk that infrastructure deterioration will exceed the program’s ability to maintain assets.
3. Knowledge	High	There is a risk that the SEP program loses so much critical knowledge that program effectiveness dwindles below acceptable levels.
4. Program Effectiveness	High	There is a risk that SEP is unable to demonstrate performance.
5. Governance Structure	High	There is a risk that the current state of implementation of the governance structure will lead to missed opportunities to strategically address regional priorities, and to implement the program with consistency.
6. Information Management	Moderate	There is a risk of loss of information and inefficient document retrieval.
7. Partners	Moderate	There is a risk that SEP loses leverage with key partners and clients.

 

3.1 Relevance

Key Findings:

• There are indications of public support for SEP activities in the Pacific region.

Indications are that there is public support for the SEP to focus on environmental stewardship by volunteer groups, habitat protection and restoration, education and the development of remote communities through the economic benefits provided by the hatcheries. Most key external informants were of the opinion that the use of social mechanisms such as stewardship, education, and outreach were important to make possible the societal adjustments for resource conservation. Moreover, it was thought that enhancement achieved through ecological means, such as habitat restoration, were a more responsible approach to sustaining the resource.

3.2 Success

Key findings:

· The SEP program has had success in meeting hatchery production targets, providing community outreach and education, and raising public awareness of conservation and protection of salmon habitat.

3.2.1 Successes

Public Awareness, Community outreach, partnering, education and habitat restoration

· Public Awareness, community outreach, partnering and education outcomes were viewed as the SEP’s most successful program activities. SEP has been successful through its collaborative efforts and volunteer recognition in establishing 10,000 regular volunteers as full time members of numerous organizations (streamkeepers, habitat societies, etc.). These volunteers are involved in leading activities such as supporting salmon conservation, providing awareness activities and undertaking stewardship work. A further 10,000 - 20,000 are occasional volunteers who regularly participate by providing support to the activities of these other organizations. It was remarked by stakeholders that these dedicated volunteers seem to suffer burn out to a lesser degree than those involved in other charitable ventures. However, as greater reliance is placed on volunteers as a result of economic pressures and limited program budgets, it is uncertain if this level of engagement can be sustained.

· Respondents indicated that SEP had perhaps become a “victim of its own success” particularly through some of the educational outreach activities which resulted in increased public awareness, elevating salmon’s profile to almost iconic status. Public awareness and the sensitivity which British Columbians ascribed to Salmon have made it difficult for SEP management to make sound program decisions such as rationalizing the use of facilities.

· The majority of internal and external respondents agreed that the SEP is contributing successfully to the achievement of habitat restoration through community partner projects. From the Environmental Non-Government Organizations’ perspective, SEP is seen as meeting the community involvement objectives through the many schools and hatcheries involved (CEDP and PIP).

· It should be noted that a SEP’s successes are being recognized outside Canada. The State of Washington has undertaken to replicate SEP’s educational model.

3.2.2 Opportunities for Improvement

A few key informants advocated the need for project evaluations to be conducted as SEP’s outputs/outcomes are based on projections which have been affected by reduced monitoring. It should be noted that monitoring and stock assessment, principally a responsibility of the Science sector, has been reduced or cut over the years and this has left the program to, at best, estimate the success of enhancement activities (i.e., hatcheries and resource restoration).

3.2.3 Unintended Outcomes

An unintended long term outcome was the shift from an approach that assumed that hatchery produced fish would simply add to the overall production and compensate for reductions in salmon stocks caused by human and other impacts, to an approach that is centered on the conservation, sustainability and integrity of salmon populations.

The SEP has a demonstrated success in garnering public support for the protection, stewardship, and rebuilding of salmon and their habitat. Evidence suggests that the SEP is seen as a showcase program for the federal government in the Pacific region. It was indicated that because the SEP has had such a successful grassroots approach to delivering the program, the community and volunteers strongly identified with SEP, almost as an autonomous entity, as opposed to seeing it as a component of DFO.

3.3 Cost Effectiveness

3.3.1 Design and Delivery

Since 2000, the DFO area management model led to a decentralization of the department’s services into five geographical areas covering British Columbia and the Yukon. For community oriented SEP activities (i.e., community capacity development, habitat restoration and stewardship) it was felt by some that the model worked well in that it allowed for better integration between the various program components, such as fish production and fish habitat. However, this model may have challenged the SEP’s ability to align, coordinate and optimize its activities and some thought that it hampered the Program’s ability to employ consistent standards, share physical assets and equipment and coordinate outputs which may have affected major hatcheries. Further, some felt that changes or improvements to the design and delivery approach were necessary while others that SEP continued to be cost effective.

Goals established 30 years ago for the SEP, namely fish production to double salmon catch, were viewed by some as somewhat outdated, and it was suggested that the funding model perhaps did not reflect, nor was aligned with the current SEP objectives of conservation-based fish production, community capacity development, public stewardship and habitat conservation.

Funding and Operational Flexibility

The second reason the SEP lacks funding flexibility is the result of an unexpected outcome of the public education efforts of the program. Both DFO staff and stakeholders explained that the SEP, through its education, outreach and awareness efforts, has built up significant empathy within the general population to “save the Pacific salmon”. This empathy however produces much public pressure in terms of lobbying to stop the closures or reform of facilities or other projects whenever DFO tries to re-orient the program. Some key informants suggested that a more effective communication strategy would be useful to remedy this situation.

Value Added

SEP’s contribution to Salmon Enhancement for Commercial and Recreational Fisheries was recognized and tied to DFO objectives. Key informants also felt that the SEP was providing value by contributing to the “public good”, environmental integrity and sustainable development. This was highlighted by the level of public support the Program receives across British Columbia. As a result of SEP activities in Public Awareness, Education and Outreach, Pacific salmon has become an almost iconic species and closely identified to the cultural identity of the province. Informants also suggest that the SEP program had instilled deeper values such as environmental awareness for which it was not possible to place a dollar value. Further, indications were that SEP contributes to establishing a positive image of DFO in the Pacific region.