Our Vision
The Fraser River Salmon Table Society is a dynamic partnership with founding members who belong to Fraser River First Nations, Conservation organizations, the sport fishing community, and the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board.
The Society operates in a transparent, inclusive and collaborative manner to foster the rebuilding of salmon fisheries and their eco-systems in the Fraser Watershed including all tributaries and salmon spawning and rearing streams.
Through ongoing dialogue, supported with learning from science as well as traditional and local knowledge systems, the Society creates a shared agenda, identifies issues, determines each stakeholder’s respective interests and creates mutually beneficial resolutions.
This builds cultural understanding, conserves salmon resources and habitat and ensures the sustainability of fishing opportunity for future generations.
Principles That Guide Us The Fraser River Salmon Table Society will make decisions by consensus, rather than by a majority vote. Recognizing the fiduciary relationship of the First Nations people in law and in principle, the Society will operate according the following principles.
1. Accountability: Members of the Society are accountable both to their constituencies and to the Salmon Table process.
2. Transparency: The more members are prepared to be transparent with one another about their needs, interests and intentions, the greater degree of success the Salmon Table Society will have in its endeavours.
3. Mutual respect: During discussions, people may feel a wide range of emotions about “the other”, but these emotions must never erode the fundamental respect that we accord to all human beings.
4. Timeliness: As well as agreeing to negotiate issues in a timely way, it is important for members of the Society to schedule their discussion at mutually agreeable times. Clear timelines for activating any outcomes or promises made resulting from negotiations are critical.
5. Inclusive: Everyone who has a stake in the outcomes of the Fraser River Salmon Table should have an influence in its process. How that influence is best exercised, whether in person or by some other means, may need to be negotiated by Society members.
6. Interest-driven: Parties perceive new possibilities when positions are disassembled into their originating parts. These parts are the diverse needs and interests of the parties. When uncovered, they offer possibilities for successful resolution of issues such as identifying interests, activities and projects that support resolution of past differences over the longer term.
7. Create value: The collaborative strategies of the members of the Society advance the notion that during this new era, all stakeholders can think together about ways to create value for everyone, including but not limited to, flexible approaches to allocation and a shift to coordinated area-based management.
8. Meeting accessibility: Ensure that the Salmon Table meeting locations are sufficiently varied with structured schedules to ensure fair access to all participants throughout the watershed.
Mission
Recognizing that the maintenance of biodiversity is fundamental to the long term health of the Fraser River and acknowledging their responsibilities for the management and stewardship of Fraser River salmon, founding members from the Fraser River First Nations, Conservation organizations, the sport fishing community, and the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board (the Parties) came together to create The Fraser River Salmon Table Society. Members of this Society recognize the importance of working together to define good salmon management and to identify and achieve common objectives. The Society recognizes that First Nations within the Fraser Watershed assert aboriginal title and rights. These title and rights now being defined must be acknowledged and reconciled in a just and fair manner.
The mission of the Fraser River Salmon Table Society is to foster mutual respect and increased understanding of individual interests among various fisheries and rights-holders in order to achieve reduced conflict, better decision-making, effective harvest management, improved health of salmon stocks and greater economic opportunity for all. Plans and activities must be adaptable and able to respond to external pressures and changing social values.
Our Goals
1. Maintain a forum for dialogue and interest-based negotiations among the Parties in order toresolve differences, conflict, and issues through a spirit of mutual recognition, respect, and reconciliation.
2. Use the best available science to facilitate the development and implementation of practical integrated and collaborative fisheries management models and policies. Guided by these policies, all decision-making will protect, conserve and promote the health of Fraser River salmon stocks and ensure that all People in the Fraser Watershed are able to benefit from sustainable fishing opportunities. Any project that will proceed with the agreement of the Parties, will be respectful of the interests of all stakeholders and will support Fisheries and Oceans Canada in upholding the Honour of the Crown.
And further...
Specifically, the Society will develop a working definition of “Conservation” and fisheries harvest plans that provide for the priority of First Nations Food Social and Ceremonial (FSC) fisheries as well as lead orderly and peaceful Fraser River salmon fisheries that respect all stakeholders’ responsibilities and interests.
Organization
The Fraser River Salmon Table Society carries on its operations primarily in the Fraser Watershed including all tributaries and salmon spawning and rearing streams. It is governed by a duly constituted Board of Directors which holds meetings throughout the Fraser River watershed and sponsors open, public meetings in conjunction with its business meetings.
1. Transparency: The more members are prepared to be transparent with one another about their needs, interests and intentions, the greater degree of success the Salmon Table Society will have in its endeavors.
2. Mutual respect: During discussions, people may feel a wide range of emotions about “the other”, but these emotions must never erode the fundamental respect that we accord to all human beings.
3. Timeliness: As well as agreeing to negotiate issues in a timely way, it is important for members of the Society to schedule their discussion at mutually agreeable times. Clear timelines for activating any outcomes or promises made resulting from negotiations are critical.
4. Inclusive: Everyone who has a stake in the outcomes of the Fraser River Salmon Table should have an influence in its process. How that influence is best exercised, whether in person or by some other means, may need to be negotiated by Society members.
5. Interest-driven: Parties perceive new possibilities when positions are disassembled into their originating parts. These parts are the diverse needs and interests of the parties. When uncovered, they offer possibilities for successful resolution of issues such as identifying interests, activities and projects that support resolution of past differences over the longer term.
6. Create value: The collaborative strategies of the members of the Society advance the notion that during this new era, all stakeholders can think together about ways to create value for everyone, including but not limited to, flexible approaches to allocation and a shift to coordinated area-based management.
7. Meeting accessibility: Ensure that the Salmon Table meeting locations are sufficiently varied with structured schedules to ensure fair access to all participants throughout the watershed.
© 2009 Fraser Salmon Table
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