Collaborative Management

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 Fraser Salmon Collaborative Management Agreement was ratified and signed by 61 Fraser First Nations (80% of FSMC Signatory Nations) in July 2019, following a decade of meetings, workshops, and negotiations with First Nations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and legal advisors.

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 the DFO 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.

FSMB - Fraser Salmon Management Board

The 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) are 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 2025/26 annual workplan

Archived FSMB annual reports & communications

JTC- 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.

Technical memos for ongoing FSMB fishery management priorities

2025 Additional Option for Fraser Sockeye Escapement Plan

2025 Fraser Chinook Summer 52 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

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 opportunities to host regional assemblies and advance the development of First Nations positions and recommendations for special projects and positions on co-governance negotiations and decisions.

Register for 2026 Forums

Review 2026 Forum Agendas and Shared Information

Joint Technical Working Group

Archived Forum Information