Whereas the pacific wild salmon is an essential resource to British Columbia, contributing to the unique bio- and eco-diversity of the province;

And, whereas the pacific wild salmon is the backbone of the sport fishing industry which draws export dollars to the province through visitation of tourists seeking this unique BC experience;

And, whereas the BC sport fishing industry is a significant component of BC’s $9.5 billion tourism industry;

And, whereas the science is not as yet conclusive regarding the relationship of aquaculture located on the migratory routes of salmon to the viability of the salmon;

And, whereas time is of the essence to protect 2006 salmon runs,

The Council of Tourism Associations (COTA) expresses the following interests in the sustainability of wild salmon in British Columbia:

1. Interest in the on-going viability and growth of BC’s wild salmon stocks, and of the vibrant sport fishing and hospitality industries which are dependent on an adequate supply of salmon;
2. Interest in the conclusions of the Pacific Salmon Forum, created by the BC government in December of 2004 but which has yet to report out on a reliable and consistent set of scientific data regarding the root cause of declines of certain wild salmon off of the coast of BC;
3. Interest in ensuring that the accelerated depletion of runs of pink salmon in certain rivers in the Broughton Archipelago within the last decade does not continue to increase;
4. Interest in obtaining assurance that planned fish farm expansion in the North and Central coast, in the absence of definitive evidence from either the Government of BC or the Government of Canada that farming is not adversely affecting some salmon stocks, does not negatively affect salmon viability in those areas;
5. Interest in the fact that the aquaculture industry provides an important service in contributing to the world’s growing demand for fish protein and seafood products, thereby lessening the need for mass harvesting of wild salmon in BC.
6. Interest in convening industry-to-industry discussions to discuss potential precautionary actions that may be taken to assure the on-going viability of BC’s salmon stocks.

COTA therefore strongly recommends to the Government of BC, the Government of Canada as well as the tourism and aquaculture industries,

That for the 2006 runs, the respective parties, each and together, should take immediate precautionary action to protect the viability of the BC Wild Pacific Salmon.