Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is soliciting comments on a draft Pacific Region Cold-water Coral and Sponge Conservation Strategy. A copy is available at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/consultation/oceans/index-eng.htm.

The draft strategy is the product of comments and edits received during 2 previous multi-sector workshops held in 2006 and 2008. It describes the state of knowledge of cold-water corals and sponges on the Pacific Coast of Canada; discusses a variety of known impacts; identifies conservation management and research objectives and associated strategies and actions; and outlines gaps in information and issues where more work is needed.

Your information, input and feedback is important to the development of the final Strategy.

You are invited to provide feedback on the document by one or both of the following ways:

1. Written comments may be submitted electronically to Kate Ladell (Kate.Ladell@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) no later than 4:00pm February 24, 2010. Written comments can be provided in track changes directly in the document or as a summary of comments with reference to section, page number and line number to which your comments refer.
2. In-person comments may be provided through participation in a feedback session on March 3, 2010 at the Blue Horizon Hotel, Vancouver. Space is limited to one representative per organization. If you plan to attend, please work within your organization to identify your representative and RSVP by 4:00pm February 12, 2010 to Elan Park (Elan.Park@dfo-mpo.gc.ca or 604-666-5295). More detailed location and logistics information will be emailed to RSVPd participants prior ot the meeting date. Travel expenses are not available for attendance at this meeting.

Please note: The purpose of the March 3rd feedback session is to receive feedback from those who are unable to provide written comments or would like to present their feedback in person.

DFO Contact:
Kate Ladell, Program Development Manager
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200-401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3S4
Phone: 604-666-1089
Fax: 604-666-0417
Email: Kate.Ladell@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

An agenda for this meeting is now available.  The format will follow last year's session with an evening meet and greet session on January 20, 2010 from 6:00-9:00pm with an energetic panel discussion where we will review objectives of the meeting ahead and start the flow of ideas.

The following two days on January 21 and 22 from 8:30am-4:00pm will review progress on the work undertaken over the year arising out of last year's meeting and getting guidance and input from participants in moving these projects forward to completion. In this busy time of the year you are welcome to attend any portion of these meetings.

To register for Widening the Circle II please click on the following link http://www.createsurvey.com/c/76303-I647E1/

January 20, 2010, 6:00pm-9:00pm at SFU Harbour Centre - 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC

January 21 and 22, 8:30am-4:00pm at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC

For more information see the proceedings report from the first Widening the Circle meeting in December 2008.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is pleased to announce that the 2010 updated draft Recovery Strategy for the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) is now undergoing regional consultations. There will be an additional chance to comment during the national consultation period (hosted on the SARA registry) that will follow.

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is required to develop a recovery strategy and action plan for all threatened or endangered aquatic species listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and is seeking input. North Pacific right whales appear to represent an extreme example of the inability of whale stocks to recover from severe depletion. The last confirmed right whale sighting that may have either been in BC water, or just outside, was in 1970. As a result, there is very little known about the abundance and distribution of these baleen whales. The initial short-term objective is the confirmation of right whale presence in Pacific Canadian waters.

If you would like to know more about North Pacific right whales or if you would like to submit comments on the draft recovery strategy via the DFO Regional SARA Consultation webpage, please see http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/consultations/sara-lep/index-eng.htm. The draft recovery strategy will be available for comment until February 21, 2010. Alternatively, please use the contact details below to request a hardcopy, and one will be sent to you by mail.  For more information contact:

Robyn Kenyon
A/ SARA Marine Mammal Recovery Biologist
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200-401 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3S4
Tel: 604-666-4775
Fax: 604-666-3341
sara@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is seeking input ont he upcoming international negotiations to set up a new management arrangement for currently unregulated high seas fish stocks in the North Pacific.

Friday, January 15, 2010 1:00-3:00 PM
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU, downtown
515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC
Executive Meeting Room 370

For those unable to attend but would like to participate, a conference line has been set up.  Please call: 1 877-413-4792
Conference ID 7834062 #

See the following information for more details:

• Invitation Letter
• Agenda
• Presentation on the treaty (Power Point presentation)
• Introductory deck (Power Point presentation)

State of the Salmon is hosting an international conference titled Ecological Interactions between Wild and Hatchery Salmon in Portland Oregon, May 4-8, 2010. Click the above link for more details and information on how to register.

In recent years debate has heightened regarding hatcheries and their effect on freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems. Indeed a number of reviews highlight a critical gap in our understanding of the ecological relationships between wild and hatchery salmon. This conference represents the first international effort to convene a diverse group to explore the scale and magnitude of the ecological effects of hatcheries, identify gaps in our knowledge and develop research plans to resolve key issues. We expect participation by scientists, fishery and hatchery managers, conservation organizations, indigenous groups, industry representatives and decision makers. The conference will culminate in a panel discussion to develop a vision of working together to contain and manage ecological risk. We hope that this gathering will inspire collaboration among attendees and across jurisdictions to influence the future course of hatchery programs and produce a guiding set of principles for managing hatcheries to conserve wild salmon across the Pacific Rim.