Okanagan Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) stock assessment 2023

Abstract

The Fisheries Management Branch of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) requested that a limit reference point (LRP) consistent with the DFO Precautionary Approach (DFO 2009) be identified for the Okanagan Chinook stock management unit (Integrated Fisheries Management Plan [IFMP]) and for status against this reference point be assessed. Despite a LRP previously not being formally defined for this stock, it was identified as requiring a rebuilding plan, which was recently developed (approved April 2024), based on its depressed state. The rebuilding plan identified an interim LRP, which will be formally reviewed here. The objective of this process is to assess the status of Okanagan Chinook Salmon and review the interim LRP identified in the Rebuilding Plan. This Science Response Report results from the regional peer review on April 29–May 3, 2024 on the Okanagan Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) Stock Assessment in 2024.