Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: troutbreath on April 13, 2008, 09:46:25 PM
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Fraser sockeye fishery threatened
Drastically low fish numbers may mean closure of run for second year
Carla Wilson
Canwest News Service
Saturday, April 12, 2008
VICTORIA - Commercial and recreational fishermen may be shut out of this year's Fraser River sockeye salmon run because projections point to plummeting numbers.
Well-below-average numbers are predicted for sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River, Jeff Grout, Fisheries and Oceans Canada's region resource manager for salmon, said Friday.
Grout is expecting 1.9 million to 2.9 million sockeye to return to spawn, considerably lower than the historical average of 4.4 million for the low year in the sockeye run's four-year cycle.
"There is certainly the possibility there won't be an opportunity there for a sockeye fishery for the commercial and recreational harvesters," he said.
Low numbers last year also prompted fisheries officials to prohibit commercial and recreational fishing for Fraser sockeye.
Concerns over these salmon come as a total closure of commercial and sport chinook salmon fisheries off California and most of Oregon was announced Thursday by the Seattle-based Pacific Fishery Management Council.
"This is a disaster for West Coast salmon fisheries, under any standard," council chairman Don Hansen said.
The decision follows what the council called an "unprecedented collapse" of Sacramento River fall chinook and the poor state of coho salmon from Oregon and Washington State.
In B.C., fisheries managers will be monitoring the Fraser River run through test fisheries, which provide ongoing information on numbers of returning salmon. The first Fraser sockeye usually show up by late June or early July, peaking in early August, Grout said.
The Fisheries Department is expecting returns will be adequate to sustain the population, he said. The department anticipates there will be an opportunity for first nations to harvest Fraser sockeye for food, social and ceremonial purposes, he added.
Commercial fishermen typically catch Fraser sockeye as they head home through Johnstone Strait and in the river itself.
Irvin Figg, president of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union-CAW, said he was prepared for the possibility of a closure, and that even when it is open, there's little money to be made in the low year of the sockeyes' four-cycle.
"We expected this to be a poor yea," he said.
Marilyn Murphy, executive director of the Sport Fishing Institute of B.C., said, "I'm on the edge of my seat," waiting for word on Fraser sockeye.
In recent years, it has become more difficult to predict numbers of returning salmon and ocean survival has changed, Murphy said.
The more southern the distribution of salmon, the more challenges they have, Murphy said, adding that salmon stocks returning to northern waters are generally in better shape.
However, while there are areas of concern for this year's returns of salmon along B.C.'s coast, she was optimistic that recreational fishermen will have some good opportunities this year, especially near hatcheries.
Craig Orr, executive director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, said the reasons for the low Fraser sockeye returns are not clear and urged B.C. to protect groundwater around salmon rivers and streams.
Forecasts are often higher than the actual returns, he said from Terrace.
"We could be looking at extremely low numbers. ... It is not a bright day for B.C."
First nations members are concerned about whether there will be enough salmon for their uses, Orr said.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
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I like how they said recreational harvesters and not recreational fishermen ;D . I guess they are finally clueing in to what it actually is.
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Thats why you should practice harvest and release. 8)
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I like how they said recreational harvesters and not recreational fishermen ;D . I guess they are finally clueing in to what it actually is.
I wouldn't miss it. ;D ;D ;D
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someone who would miss it would be Birdman :'(
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Nice to see everyone comment on the truly important parts of this article ::)
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Nice to see everyone comment on the truly important parts of this article ::)
Your thoughts. ;D ;D
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If there are not enough fish to keep any then absolutely,for the sake of the preservation of the species then closing the fishery is the right thing.It would be nice to see the grim reality of this recognized by all.To say food social and ceremonial purposes flies in face of the delgamutdecision that put conservation ahead of all other purposes es.No fish.No ceremonies.I can well remember the feds excuse for allowing sales of these fish."it is happening anyway so why not hast legalize it?"Not an anti native rant as Mason other law abiding natives are being tarred by the same brush because a handful of poachers in the Fraser valley have been raping the resource that belongs to everyone for decades.
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No fish = no fishing. Simple Math but how can we fight these idiots who allow gravel to be dug up and taken out of the river in the middle of the spawning beds. More protests like what happened at ROR meetings are coming. Poor results of Springs down south are a precursor to what is going to happen here this year.Any one heard any more about the $60.00 charge to fish sturgeon.
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1 vote here for shutting it down entirely, FN, commercial, everything....springs and socks for sure and coho as well if returns are low. Time to see who can take the best underwater photos of fish swimming upriver....
sadly if ocean temps are to blame closures might not mean a thing. Still, if its bleak, I'd rather not take part.
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"The Fisheries Department is expecting returns will be adequate to sustain the population"
This is simple - once we have enough sockeye to sustain the population, next on the priority chart is FN.
If there are any fish left over then we can consider a commercial/recreational opening.
They are specifically saying that there won't be enough fish left over for a commercial/recreational opening.
I will leave the argument over FN selling sockeye to those more inclined.
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My inside sources told me in confidence (that means keep your mouth shut until Joe public finds out), to expect a 2008 closure last Sept.
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Nice to see everyone comment on the truly important parts of this article ::)
Your thoughts. ;D ;D
My thoughts?
Close the river to salmon fishing for two full cycles. If the fish come back, it means we need to work on managing the in-river fishery better. If they don't... We're screwed anyway :(
I know people fought to have the river open but what's really, truly important is that we don't end up having to tell our grandchildren what a Fraser River salmon run WAS, instead of them seeing it first hand.
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anyone fish in alaska for socks? rivers I mean...
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Nice to see everyone comment on the truly important parts of this article ::)
Your thoughts. ;D ;D
My thoughts?
Close the river to salmon fishing for two full cycles. If the fish come back, it means we need to work on managing the in-river fishery better. If they don't... We're screwed anyway :(
I know people fought to have the river open but what's really, truly important is that we don't end up having to tell our grandchildren what a Fraser River salmon run WAS, instead of them seeing it first hand.
I wish more people thought like you DS. People love to talk like conservationists until they are asked to hang up the rods.
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anyone fish in alaska for socks? rivers I mean...
I recall reading that residents are allowed some number of sockeye per person per year. They have a dip net fishery that takes place. I think that's on the Kenai.
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anyone fish in alaska for socks? rivers I mean...
I recall reading that residents are allowed some number of sockeye per person per year. They have a dip net fishery that takes place. I think that's on the Kenai.
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=4091.0