Strongholds for Pacific salmon: A proactive conservation strategy for ecosystem health, food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience

Abstract

Nested within the linked global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change are threats to cultural and ecological keystones such as Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp., a group of species with widespread ecological, cultural, and economic value. Wild salmon can rally public support for ecosystem protection and link place-based conservation efforts to global biodiversity and climate benefits. Realizing these benefits depends on leveraging broad support for salmon conservation to advance forward-looking approaches that safeguard food security, biodiversity, and climate resilience. Here we provide insights from the multidecadal implementation of a proactive wild salmon ecosystem conservation strategy at the scale of the North Pacific Rim. This approach is a necessary complement to policies focused on preventing species extinction after populations and habitats are degraded and it provides globally significant contributions to biodiversity and climate targets including recent 30 × 30 goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.