Chilliwack River steelhead anglers, please be aware of this upcoming change of regulation for chinook salmon in the Chilliwack River.
http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/xnet/content/fns/index.cfm?pg=view_notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=96490&ID=recreationalEffective 00:01 January 1, 2007:
Retention of chinook is not permitted on the Chilliwack River downstream from Slesse Creek, including that portion of the Sumas River from the Barrow Town Pump Station downstream to boundary signs near the confluence with the Fraser River.
This action is intended to protect early returning wild Chilliwack Chinook. The chinook fishery will re-open as scheduled on July 1, 2007.Notes:
Barbless hooks are required when fishing for salmon in tidal and non-tidal waters of British Columbia. This includes all species of fish in the Fraser River.
Sport anglers are encouraged to participate in the voluntary Salmon Sport Head Recovery program by labelling and submitting heads from adipose fin-clipped chinook and coho salmon. Recovery of coded-wire tags provides critical information for coast-wide stock assessment. Contact the Salmon Sport Head Recovery Program at (866) 483-9994 for further information.
Did you witness suspicious fishing activity or a violation? If so, please call the Fisheries and Ocean Canada 24-hour toll free Observe, Record, Report line at (800) 465-4336.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:Contact the appropriate local DFO office or the 24 hour recorded information line, call toll free at (866) 431-FISH.
Here is also some background information on the winter indigenous chinook salmon for anyone who is interested. The information was provided by the hatchery via email.
We have been looking for these indigenous Chinook in recent years including this year and for the last four years. We have used river swimming as the method to locate them in order to try and capture brood stock. This fall Brood 2006 was a bust, with a couple possible sightings, but no pairs. In 2005 we collected 1 female's worth of eggs and 3 males, which yielded 3,762 smolts to release. 2004 and 2003 were a bust. In 2002 we collected 3 females, 2 of which were spawned out, 2 males and 1 jack, which yielded 6,805 smolts to release. Going away back, our first attempts at capturing indigenous Chinook began in 1981. The results were that 2 females were spawned, which yielded a 4,972 smolts to release. In 1982, 3 female were spawned which yielded 10, 972 smolts to release. Further to this and at the start of the hatchery program it was planned and we introduce Pitt River Summer Chinook and Harrison Fall Chinook, both white flesh. Pitt Chinook never materialized in adult returns, but the later returning Harrison Chinook did survive well as most of you know to this day, but they are not self sustaining and it is for this reason that there is continuous hatchery intervention. It was also decided in 1985 we try Upper Fraser Red Chinook of various stocks, which were all summer run and to continue with Pitt Summer Whites to replace the indigenous Chilliwack Chinook. Over subsequent years it was proven that upper Fraser Red stocks met with limited success and the Pitt stock were dropped. For over twenty years now a modest hatchery Summer Red Chinook sport fishery has developed which is basically a terminal fishery as few have shown up in the marine fisheries. We continue to produce these reds to mitigate for the almost extirpated indigenous Chinook. It was only in the last few years since we got the restoration channels online (FRBC, Fisheries Renewal and Resource Restoration) in the mid to upper reaches of the Chilliwack River that fishery and restoration staff basically stumbled across the rare indigenous Chinook again. In the interim (1983 to 2001) while we patiently waited for the results of our out of watershed transplant efforts we felt there were not the numbers of indigenous Chinook to pursue for the effort it took. The thinking has changed and conservation enhancement is preferred to out of watershed stock introductions commonly know as transplant stocks. This does not mean that we will not continue to work with the summer and fall transplant Chinook stocks we enjoy fishing for now. We hope that in the near future and with your help there will be new opportunities to revive the original red Chinook.
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Topic: Chilliwack River Chinook Salmon Closure, January 1st - June 30th (Read 2104 times)