Highlights from the President’s Report. SSBC Annual General Meeting – Nov 30th 2008
*As seen in presentations, Steelhead continue to face a overall decline across many popular watersheds. Habitat, water flow and high seas survival all continue to throw a curve ball to surviving stocks.
*The Steelhead doesn’t enjoy the limelight of other salmon species in the political arenas, and they continue to fall into the grey area of management priorities. Available funding for projects continues to be harder and harder to come by, with more agencies seeking it.
*The SSBC has continued to follow its moto of Wild rivers/wild fish with funding donations and volunteer labour in a variety of Steelhead benefiting projects.
Projects to improve habitat, steam productivity (via fertilizer placement in Statlu creek) water use measuring (Nicola/coldwater water meter and annual upkeep), bank stabilization projects in Squamish and Chilliwack.
Donations to several other organizations, such as Watershed watch, for their continued work against fish farms.
*participating in the Classified waters review with MoE. & Cheakamus spill recovery plan
*financial highlights….
* Moving forward to continue this work, its encouraging to see a renewed interest in the SSBC. Recent declines and closures have sparked many to get involved, to see where we can best apply our time and resources.
*Its important to note that as a volunteer organization, the SSBC needs commitment from individuals to participate in what is not a short term process. Overnight successes are few and far between, and new blood is welcome, but be prepared to settle in the trenches for a steady drawn out battle to advocate for Steelhead.
*defined battle lines have been drawn for sometime on the Thompson river, where all of the standard enemies of Steelhead exist, but they are also being drawn in new threats such as the Garibaldi development on Brohm creek, an important tributary of the Cheakamus river.
* A renewal of the SSBC is the north country, where Steelhead abundance is far better than rivers in the south, but where commercial interception and mixed stock fisheries continue to have an impact of summer-run stocks.
Financial presentations.