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  • Review Article
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Pacific salmon and cumulative injustices in Canada and the USA

Nature Reviews Biodiversity (2026)Cite this article

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Abstract

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and their roles in the ecosystems, cultures and economies of the Pacific Northwest face a convergence of threats, most of which began or intensified during the onset of settler colonialism in North America. This Review discusses how these threats to wild Pacific salmon and their ecosystems cause inequities for the Indigenous Peoples who rely on them. We consider four previously identified forms of equity (recognitional, procedural, distributional and contextual) and introduce an additional form of equity (epistemic) specific to the injustices perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge systems. We highlight how cumulative effects of factors driven by colonial mismanagement, including, among others, mixed-stock marine fisheries, climate change, invasive species, land use, pollution and aquaculture are affecting wild Pacific salmon populations, while resulting in cumulative injustices for Indigenous communities who have stewarded salmon for millennia (the Salmon Peoples). We identify opportunities for transformative justice through the governance of salmon and their ecosystems, to realize equitable conservation practices that honour ecological integrity and social justice.

Key points

  • Colonial salmon management has produced layered inequities affecting Indigenous Salmon Peoples across the home range of Pacific salmon.

  • Mixed-stock marine fisheries continue to undermine Indigenous fishing rights, food security and governance by intercepting salmon before they return to their natal streams, despite policies that ostensibly prioritize Indigenous access.

  • Hydroelectric dams and migration barriers have severed salmon from their critical spawning habitats, leading to the loss of culturally and spiritually important fishing sites and practices for Salmon Peoples, while producing vast economic gains for non-Indigenous people.

  • Habitat degradation driven by urbanization, industrialization, forestry, agriculture and mining has led to extensive declines in salmon populations, often without Indigenous consent or benefit, compounding historical and ongoing dispossession.

  • Climate change and range shifts are reshaping salmon distributions in ways that threaten both long-held relationships with local species and the adaptive capacity of Indigenous food systems, exacerbating existing inequities.

  • These inequities create cumulative injustices that compound over time and space, harming salmon, Indigenous Peoples and ecosystems; addressing them demands transformative justice grounded in healing and accountability.

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Fig. 1: Timeline of legal decisions and legislation for pertinent fisheries of Canada and the USA.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.
Fig. 2: Compounding environmental injustices for Pacific salmon and Salmon Peoples.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge collaborative insights from J. B. Smith and thank R. Lauzon and B. Redford for thoughtful reviews and guidance.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Sara E. Cannon, Jared W. H. Connoy.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Sara E. Cannon, Jared W. H. Connoy & Andrea J. Reid

  2. Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

    Jared W. H. Connoy

  3. Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Janessa Esquible

  4. School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    Lawrence Ignace

  5. Salmon Watersheds Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Jonathan W. Moore

  6. School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Nigel C. Sainsbury

Authors
  1. Sara E. Cannon
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  2. Jared W. H. Connoy
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  4. Lawrence Ignace
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Contributions

S.E.C. and J.W.H.C. led the writing with all authors substantially contributing, including to the discussion of content, writing and review/editing of the manuscript prior to submission. All figures were prepared by J.W.H.C. with input from the co-authors.

Positionality Statement

The authors share a deep care for Pacific salmon and the communities and ecosystems they sustain, and come to this work from diverse positionalities: some are Indigenous Salmon Peoples with inherent rights, responsibilities and knowledge systems tied to salmon stewardship; others are non-Indigenous scholars working in collaboration and solidarity. We are all situated in or affiliated with academic institutions, and recognize the power, privilege and limitations this entails, particularly in how knowledge is produced, validated and circulated. We recognize that our differing relationships to salmon, place and power shape how we engage with equity and justice, and we approach this work with humility, reciprocity and accountability. Throughout our co-authoring process, the words of Lhaq’temish poet Rena Priest in her poem These Abundant and Generous Homelands (Supplementary Information) helped to guide our thinking. We read and returned to her poem during key moments of discussion, and they shaped the writing that followed.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara E. Cannon.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Citation diversity statement

Despite our attention to citational justice, much of the literature informing this paper reflects perspectives of a privileged minority, often European-descended and socioeconomically affluent. As a result, some dimensions of equity might be underrepresented or overlooked. We have made deliberate efforts to counteract this; throughout this Review, we aim to advance citational justice by prioritizing and amplifying the voices, scholarship and knowledge systems of Indigenous authors. Still, we acknowledge that we have only scratched the surface of equity dimensions relevant to Pacific salmon and Indigenous Salmon Peoples.

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Peer review information

Nature Reviews Biodiversity thanks Jessica Blythe, who co-reviewed with Norie España; Megan Adams; and Rachel Hovel for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Glossary

Environmental racism

Any environmental policy, practice or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (whether intended or unintended) individuals, groups or communities on the basis of race or colour.

First Nations

First Nations are one of three Indigenous Peoples in Canada, alongside Métis and Inuit Peoples. This includes status First Nations individuals under Canada’s Indian Act, and non-status individuals.

Food, social and ceremonial fisheries

In Canada, fishing for food, social and ceremonial purposes is recognized as a constitutional right protected under Section 35 through the legal decision R v. Sparrow (1990). This right is collective in nature, meaning it belongs to Indigenous communities rather than individuals. Indigenous harvesters who are designated by their communities are allowed to catch fish to meet the needs of individuals and the broader community for food, social and ceremonial use, if the fish population size exceeds federally determined conservation requirements. These harvests are not intended for commercial sale and can occur at different times throughout the year, often outside commercial fishing seasons or designated areas.

Rights

Entitlements to perform (or not) certain actions, to be (or not) in certain states, or entitlements that others (not) perform certain actions or (not) be in certain states.

Selective fisheries

Fisheries in which the catch and/or harvest of a fishery has a different composition to that of the fish population, with minimal impacts on non-target species, in the geographic area of the fishery location.

Tribes

In this context, Tribes refers to Indigenous Peoples in the USA.

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Cannon, S.E., Connoy, J.W.H., Esquible, J. et al. Pacific salmon and cumulative injustices in Canada and the USA. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00153-1

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