Our Criteria
SkeenaWild Certificate of Sustainability for Salmon Products Harvested in the Skeena Watershed
The SkeenaWild Certificate of Sustainability is founded on the following principles:
1. Resilient, diverse and productive salmon and steelhead stocks are fundamental to a sustainable fishery
2. Fisheries should target stock specific harvest opportunities while avoiding impacts on non-target stocks and species
3. Fisheries should attempt to maximize social, cultural and economic value to First Nation communities in the Watershed
4. Fisheries must recognize the social, cultural and economic value of salmon to all communities and interests in the Watershed
5. Fisheries must have sufficient monitoring, validation and regulatory controls to ensure that they meet all international, national and provincial guidelines and regulations for the production of sustainable seafood products.
For a salmon product to be awarded the SkeenaWild Certificate of Sustainability it must come from a fishery that adheres to high standards in respect to the following guidelines:
1. The fishery contributes to the rebuilding and maintenance of biodiversity (Principle 1)
2. The fishery acknowledges and extends special consideration to those stocks that are naturally unproductive, at low levels of abundance or particularly vulnerable to habitat or environmental change (Principle 1)
3. The fishery recognizes the value of salmon in local, watershed and North Pacific ecosystems (Principle 1)
4. The fishery focuses on identifying stock specific harvest opportunities within the context of enhancing the resilience of salmon and steelhead stocks in the watershed (principle 2)
5. The fishery makes every practical effort to reduce or eliminate the harvest of non-target stocks or species (Principle 2)
6. The fishery is appropriately licensed by DFO (Principle 5)
7. The product is harvested, processed and marketed in accordance with all international, domestic and provincial laws and regulations. (Principle 5)
8. All fish caught in the fishery are enumerated and tracked through a “chain of custody” from harvest to sale
9. The fishery is monitored and enforced – including the counting of all fish caught and encountered to ensure compliance with all regulations and guidelines (Principles 2 and 5)
10. The harvest, processing and marketing of the product should – wherever possible -contribute to First Nation communities in the Watershed (Principle 3)
11. There has been an attempt to maximize the social and economic “value” of the product (Principle 3 and 4)
12. The product has undergone secondary processing beyond fresh H&G (Principle 3, 4 and 5)
13. Ex-fisherman price increased over alternative uses (Principles 3, 4 and 5)
Some of the above guidelines will have simple “yes” or “No” answers. Others will require “measures” of performance.