Democratizing data to support the implementation of Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy

Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy (WSP) highlights the importance of biodiversity conservation for supporting the resilience of Pacific salmon. Two decades after its introduction, the WSP remains largely unimplemented. Monitoring and assessing the status of salmon Conservation Units and their habitats is the WSP’s foundation, enabling timely, evidence-based responses to prevent biodiversity loss. With federal progress on monitoring and assessment lagging, the Pacific Salmon Foundation created a streamlined and transparent approach. We outline our work to democratize salmon data by integrating disparate sources and publicly sharing frequently updated status assessments through the Pacific Salmon Explorer, an online data visualization tool. Further advancing the objectives of the WSP will require the federal government to prioritize sharing rapid biological status assessments, applying the precautionary approach to data-deficient Conservation Units, and integrating habitat assessments into salmon management to support biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Additionally, efforts to improve data stewardship and accessibility and establish stronger government accountability to ensure transparent, consistent, and effective conservation actions are essential to meaningful and sustained progress.