Hunters for BC Introduces the Pacific Salmon Slam

Hunters for BC/Anglers for BC are excited to introduce the Pacific Salmon Slam. 

The Pacific Salmon Slam is a new challenge for recreational anglers across British Columbia. Participants are invited to catch all five species of Pacific salmon native to B.C. waters, submit their catches, and earn a limited-edition challenge coin in recognition of their achievement.

Beyond the physical reward, anglers can also unlock digital badges, track their progress, and share their accomplishments with friends and fellow anglers across social media.

This challenge achieves a few things while creating a fun challenge for recreational anglers:

  1. It proves the value of recreational angling in British Columbia
  2. It combats the recent changes to the Salmon Allocation Policy
  3. It raises funds for conservation work in British Columbia

The Value of Recreational Angling in British Columbia  

According to a 2024 study by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Salmon tidal and freshwater recreational fishing contributes $244M (GDP) to the provincial economy, with a total employment and income contribution of 2,475 and $164M, respectively.

According to a private valuation by BCWF, Licensed angling generates $1.3B in annual revenue, $643M in GDP, and 9,100 jobs 

Regardless of the actual value, we know recreational anglers generate a lot of revenue directly through license and stamp fees and indirectly through support of tackle shops, lodging, travel and tourism. Recreational angling is important to British Columbia and visitors travelling to participate in the fishery. Salmon represent a resource worth protecting, if for nothing else, economic prosperity.

Annual Recreation Licenses

While we can outline the recreational value of this resource, we are finding it difficult to maintain access to it. Changes to the Salmon Allocation Policy demonstrate that we can lose access to the resource and the license fees that support the resource. 

Combatting Changes to the Salmon Allocation Policy

There are a few proposed changes to the Salmon Allocation Policy that have us scratching our heads. We outlined these in an open letter regarding the Salmon Allocation Policy on February 24th, 2026. Here are our concerns: 

First, salmon must continue to be recognized as a Common Property Resource belonging to all Canadians. The Public Right to Fish should remain clearly articulated within the Salmon Allocation Policy. Removing this language would have significant consequences.

Limiting public access directly reduces conservation funding. If Canadians lose access to the resource, there is little incentive to purchase freshwater and saltwater licences and species conservation stamps. Currently, approximately 300,000 British Columbians hold a saltwater licence, and 280,000 hold a freshwater licence. Licensed anglers generate roughly $20 million annually in licence revenue, with nearly $15 million dedicated specifically to fish conservation, restoration, and enhancement in British Columbia.

In addition to financial contributions, licensed anglers provide thousands of volunteer hours each year in support of salmon enhancement. Reduced access would inevitably diminish this volunteer commitment. Hatchery volunteers, in particular, may shift their efforts toward resources to which they retain access. The proposed policy changes risk undermining both the financial and volunteer support that have long sustained salmon conservation efforts.

Second, recreational sector priority access to Chinook and Coho should continue after conservation requirements and First Nations Food, Social and Ceremonial (FSC) and Rights-Based Commercial (IRB) fisheries have been met, and before allocations to the broader commercial sector.

Reallocating access from the public fishery to the commercial sector introduces unnecessary risk to the resource. Even under limited openings, licensed anglers contribute substantially more funding to conservation than commercial harvesters, while accounting for only approximately 12% of the total salmon harvest. Removing priority access to Chinook and Coho from the recreational sector, while increasing commercial access, would disproportionately affect both conservation funding and long-term stewardship of the resource.

We fully recognize and support First Nations’ constitutionally protected rights to fish for Food, Social and Ceremonial purposes and through Rights-Based commercial fisheries. Any necessary adjustments to the allocation policy need to come from the commercial sector, rather than the public allocation.

Canadians expect that common property resources will be managed fairly and equitably. Maintaining public access is essential to sustaining both confidence in the allocation system and the conservation framework that supports it.

Raising Funds for Important Salmon Projects in British Columbia

The Pacific Salmon Slam was created to raise funds for salmon conservation and stewardship projects throughout British Columbia while increasing the recreational value of salmon fishing in the province. It demonstrates that recreational anglers are willing to invest a little more when they know their contributions directly support salmon and their habitat, rather than being deposited into a Consolidated Revenue Fund, as is the case with tidal fishing licence fees.

Our commitment is to direct 80% of all Pacific Salmon Slam authorization revenue back into on-the-ground conservation and stewardship projects across British Columbia. The remaining 20% will be reinvested into growing the program, enhancing the participant experience, and developing future angling challenges.

Beginning after the program’s first year, the Pacific Salmon Slam website will feature an annual report highlighting the conservation projects funded through the program, ensuring participants can see the impact of their contributions.

From One Angler to Another: Thank You.

If you have read this far, you don’t require a financial statement to prove the value of Salmon.

For anglers, salmon are worth more than economic prosperity, and they represent a value that isn’t found on a financial statement. Their intrinsic value is received when the line tightens up, and you find yourself in the remote vastness of BC’s coastal reaches. It’s measured in meals shared, traditions passed from one generation to the next, and the responsibility we all share to leave these fisheries better than we found them.

Every annual fishing licence purchased helps support the future of recreational fishing. By participating in the Pacific Salmon Slam, you’re choosing to do even more. Each Slam authorization helps fund real conservation work: restoring habitat, improving fish passage, supporting research, and giving wild Pacific salmon a better chance to thrive in British Columbia.

Thank you for being part of the tradition. Thank you for helping protect the resource.

We’ll see you on the water.

Tight lines,
Evan Holmgren,
Recreational Angler