Establishing the Salish Sea Strategy

Ocean water with islands

    What is the Salish Sea?

    The Salish Sea is one of the world’s largest inland seas, spanning the international waters between Campbell River, British Columbia and Olympia, Washington State. The Salish Sea includes major cities like Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle, and has become a vital route for international, national and local trade. It is home to Indigenous Peoples, coastal communities, and endangered species like the Southern Resident killer whale. The Salish Sea is culturally significant for Indigenous Peoples, providing food, medicine and travel for generations. It is named after the Coast Salish peoples, who were some of the region's first inhabitants.

    What is the Salish Sea Strategy?

    Within these waters, there are hundreds of actions being taken to protect the environment and support economic activity, involving various levels of governments, Indigenous and coastal communities, environmental organizations, and industry. The goal of the Salish Sea Strategy is to establish a shared level of understanding, to inform economic and environmental planning and decision-making. By building a community of participation and collaboration, together we can protect these waters, and support economic prosperity.

    Protecting the Salish Sea while supporting economic prosperity

    The Salish Sea Strategy, part of the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), is a five-year project to increase collaboration and support existing work on protecting the waters, transportation, and supply chain initiatives in the Salish Sea. It will accomplish this by:

    • Establishing long-term ways to bring people together and share information, including Indigenous engagement processes, a joint planning committee, and advisory groups.
    • Fostering collaboration on shared interests, goals, and projects.
    • Building an inventory tool that captures relevant activities within the Salish Sea to support analysis, improve effectiveness of existing work, and inform priorities for those operating in the region.
    • Analysing shared research to determine the best way forward that balances the environmental impacts with economic benefits.
    • Delivering symposiums to showcase existing oceans protection and marine transportation-related work and foster connections across participants.

    About the 2024 Salish Sea Symposium

    The 2024 Salish Sea Symposium was held virtually and in-person on January 23-24, 2024, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The theme was “building on our past, advancing our future."

    How to get involved

    To learn more about the initiative and to stay updated on symposiums, contact PACSalishSeaStrategy-strategieDeLaMerDesSalish@tc.gc.ca

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