Salish Sea Initiative

The Salish Sea Initiative (SSI) was one of eight accommodation measures developed in response to concerns raised by Indigenous groups during consultations on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX).

This accommodation measure is distinct from the Salish Sea Strategy, an initiative advanced under the Oceans Protection Plan.

Goals

1. Increase administrative, scientific, technical and monitoring capacity within Indigenous groups.
2. Support and empower Indigenous groups to undertake stewardship activities to increase knowledge and understanding of the cumulative effects of increased human activities on local marine ecosystems.
3. Collaboratively develop a governance structure for an arm’s-length fund that will support ongoing stewardship activities within Indigenous groups.

How it worked

Through SSI agreements, Fisheries and Oceans Canada provided $91M in grants and contributions funding between 2019 and 2025 to 33 eligible Indigenous groups along the marine shipping route in the Salish Sea.

This funding supported eligible groups to undertake stewardship activities and to monitor the cumulative effects of increased human activities in the local marine ecosystem.

The Government of Canada and eligible Indigenous groups successfully co-developed the $50M Indigenous Coastal Waters Stewardship Fund, which provides a long-term source of funds beyond the SSI sunset date of March 31, 2025. The Fund is administered at arm’s length from the Government of Canada and may support:

• capacity building
• monitoring
• research
• systems infrastructure and knowledge acquisition
• integration and sharing to inform adaptive management

For more information about the outcomes and work accomplished through the SSI, please visit: Sharing knowledge Salish Sea - Canada.ca.

Related initiatives

• Ocean Protection Plan’s Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping Initiative
• Coastal Environmental Baseline Program

Lead department: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)