Federal fisheries experts are painting a devastating picture of the challenges facing Pacific salmon and point to climate change as the main culprit. Spawning sockeye salmon, a species of pacific salmon, are seen making their way up the Adams River in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park near Chase, B.C., Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

By The Canadian Press

B.C., federal governments announce $106.5 million investment for new fisheries fund

Aug 20, 2026 | 2:51 PM

VICTORIA — The British Columbia and federal governments have announced a joint investment of $106.5 million over five years to help restore salmon habitat and to support the province’s fish and seafood sectors.

The governments say in a joint news release that the money will be allocated through the new British Columbia Fisheries Fund.

The fund aims to support the conservation and recovery of wild Pacific salmon, which the release says are “woven into the economy and the culture of coastal and Indigenous communities.”

The governments say it will build on the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund, which was launched in 2019 and has invested in 170 projects related to the development of new technologies in salmon recovery and conservation.

They say reaching new markets is now essential to becoming resilient and sustainable.

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It means those applying for the new funding must be innovative with new products or technologies, should adopt or install new processes or equipment that improve productivity, or find ways to reduce the impact of trade barriers, while supporting the growth of value of B.C. seafood products.

Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson and Randene Neill, B.C.’s minister of water, land and resource stewardship, met in Victoria on Thursday ahead of the announcement, where they attended the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers’ Annual Meeting.

“There is room in it for harvesters and scientists to work together, which matters as conditions in the water keep changing,” Thompson says of the fund.

“The program also helps fund the equipment and the technology that harvesters and processors need. Finding new markets is a new priority in this fish fund renewal, and that reflects the reality of the industry in this present moment,” she says in the news release.

Sixty per cent of the funding will come from the federal government, while the remaining 40 per cent will be provided by B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

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B.C., federal governments announce $106.5 million investment for new fisheries fund

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