Collaborative Management

Have Your Nation's Voice Heard at the Fraser Salmon Recovery Table

The Fraser Salmon CMA commits Canada and FSMC signatory Nations to a renewed relationship for the governance, management, and conservation of Fraser salmon based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, partnership, and transformative change.

Collaborative Management Agreement (CMA)

The purpose of the Fraser Salmon CMA is to create, promote, and support government-to-government, nation-to-nation structures for the collaborative governance, management, and conservation of Fraser salmon. The CMA provides guiding principles, roles, and processes for the Executive, Fraser Salmon Management Board, and Joint Technical Committee to support Fisheries and Oceans Canada and FSMC (the Parties) in their respective decision-making authorities, responsibilities, laws, and jurisdictions as they relate to Fraser Salmon. The CMA provides a framework for government-to-government decision-making by the Parties at the “Migratory Route Scale” on prioritized salmon fishery management concerns identified in the FSMB work plan.

Collaborative Management Structure

Executive

The Executive’s role is to find solutions and make consensus decisions that support collaborative governance, management, and conservation of Fraser salmon. The executive provides the FSMB with direction and mandates for their work and undertakes dispute resolution when consensus-based recommendations and decisions cannot reached by the FSMB.

FSMC President

Associate Regional Director General

Fraser Salmon Management Board

The Fraser Salmon Management Board (FSMB) role is to make consensus decisions and recommendations to the Parties on the agreed-upon Fraser Salmon governance, fishery management, and conservation concerns. The Board screens issues to identify whether 1) they span the migratory route scale, and 2) they are issues of common concern to the Parties. They provide operational direction and oversight to the Joint Technical Committee, develop and distribute government-to-government information related to Fraser salmon, and develop and advance stakeholder processes to gather advice and recommendations for the governance, management, and conservation of Fraser salmon. They produce joint engagements and communications for distribution to First Nations, stakeholders, and the public.

FSMB Terms of Reference

FSMB 2025/26 Annual Workplan

Archived FSMB annual reports & communications

Scroll to View All 5 FSMC Representatives

Tony Roberts Jr. - FSMC Marine & Approach

Ken Malloway - FSMC Lower Fraser

Pat Matthew - FSMC Mid Fraser

Thomas Alexis - FSMC Upper Fraser

Aidan Fisher - FSMC JTC Co-Chair

Marcel Shepert, Independent Chair

Scroll to View All 5 DFO Representatives

Steve Gotch, DFO

Jeff Grout, DFO

Al Magnan, DFO

Duncan Stephen, DFO

Brittany Jenewein, DFO JTC Co-Chair

Joint Technical Committee

The Joint Technical Committee’s (JTC) role is to collaboratively review and analyze fisheries data, western science, and Indigenous knowledge to provide the FSMB with technical information and recommendations relevant to its work plan. The JTC drafts technical memos, management actions, and communications materials for the FSMB. Refer to the following list of technical memos for information pertaining to FSMB fishery management priorities.

Technical memos for ongoing FSMB fishery management priorities:

2025 Additional Option for Fraser Sockeye Escapement Plan

2025 Fraser Chinook Summer 5(2) Information Package

2024 Review of 2019-2022 Chinook Fisheries Mortality Index (FMI) Results

2024 Fraser Chinook Run Reconstruction Review

2024 Review of Fraser Chinook In-season Run Size Estimation (scoping exercise)

2024 Review of Mark-Selective Fisheries

Chair/Co-Chair Aidan Fisher

FSMC Mid Fraser

Shamus Curtis

FSMC Upper Fraser

Nicole Fredrickson,
FSMC Island & Marine Approach

Michael Staley
FSMC Lower Fraser

Marc Labelle

FSMC Mid Fraser

Chair/Co-Chair Brittany Jenewein, DFO

Madeline Thomson, DFO

Anna Potapova, DFO

Kaitlyn Dionne, DFO

Maxime Veilleux, DFO

Collaborative Management Process

Meetings & Forums

The Fraser Salmon CMA process is dependent on an agreed-upon annual work plan by the Parties, which is advanced through a series of monthly FSMB meetings, bi-monthly JTC meetings, Fraser Forums, and monthly FSMC Main Table meetings.

The FSMB, with support from the JTC, works to reach consensus decisions and recommendations for the management and conservation of Fraser salmon. Tasks and engagements are aligned with DFO’s Integrated Fisheries Management Plan (IFMP) process and are intended to culminate during Fraser Forums.

Fraser Forums are a series of three DFO and First Nations gatherings hosted by the Fraser Salmon Management Council. The purpose of Fraser Forums is to bring Fraser First Nations together with DFO stock assessment biologists, resource managers, senior decision-makers, and FSMB members to share perspectives on the past season, consider pre-season plans for the next fishing season, and review feedback provided by First Nations and stakeholders on DFO’s proposed IFMP. The FSMC also utilizes Fraser Forums as an opportunity to host regional assemblies to advance the development of First Nations positions and recommendations for special projects and positions on co-governance negotiations and decisions.

Register for 2026 Forums Here

Review 2026 Forum Agendas and Shared Information

Archived Forum Information

Joint Technical Working Group

The Joint Technical Working Group (JTWG) is a Tier 2 technical group that reviews and discusses/debates technical information and data related to Fraser River salmon management on its own merits. The JTWG was formed to review the species and/or stock specific basis data, assumptions, and theories that were used or will be used to assess existing or proposed fishery plans and management decisions; and provide an assessment of the plans and management actions as they relate to DFO and First Nations objectives. The JTWG is not a consultation body. Conclusions arrived at from those discussions may then be provided to First Nations and DFO who may in turn use the information when discussing fishery management issues on a bi-lateral basis.

The JTWG Meets throughout the Year, generally in coordination with FSMC's Annual Forums.

Purpose: To foster greater transparency and understanding between First Nations and DFO with respect to technical issues associated with Fraser River salmon management.

Direction: The JTWG receives guidance from the Forum Planning Committee of the FSMB and the Forum Agenda development is done by consensus/agreement of JTWG participants. The JTWG reports to the Forum on Conservation and Harvest Planning, and sub-watershed First Nations fisheries processes, as appropriate. Individual participants of the JTWG also report back to their respective organizations.

Structure: There are no designated/appointed representatives. Instead, individual participants receive direction from their respective organizations to participate. There is no designated funding for technical participants to engage in these meetings, aside from regular operational budgets from their respective organization.

2025 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE JTWG