Shared on FB, reposting here.
This Friday’s flashback photo is a welcoming sight which we’ve always taken for granted until it’s not here. I took this photograph several years ago when the Fraser River chum salmon return was a bit better than what we are experiencing this year.
I have been getting numerous messages asking the same thing - How do we avoid catching chum salmon while targeting other salmon species. The answer is that you cannot avoid it completely, but you can certainly minimize encounters by adjusting fishing techniques, avoiding certain setups and moving away from waters where you are likely to catch chum salmon. This means avoid float fishing with a jig which chum salmon love, don’t fish through waters where chum salmon can be seen schooling up.
Currently, recreational fishing for chum salmon is closed in all tributaries of the Lower Fraser River. This includes the practice of catching and releasing. Would you get in trouble if you are seen landing a chum salmon and releasing it? No. Would you get in trouble if you are seen catching and releasing chum salmon repeatedly without making an effort to move or adjust your technique or setup so you are not intentionally targeting them? Yes. The purpose of this current closure is to reduce the amount of incidental by-catches and the mortality associated with it so as many chum salmon can spawn successfully as possible.
The Fraser River chum salmon return is expected to be low this year (median estimate is around 481,000 fish). The escapement requirement, which is the number of spawning adults needed for the recruitment of the stock, is 800,000 fish. Because this number will not be met, all recreational and commercial fishing for chum salmon is closed.
Then there is the big elephant in the room, what about those gill nets in the Lower Fraser River? The current IFMP (Integrated Fisheries Management Plans) allow some First Nation FSC (food, social and ceremonial) harvest when the return is up to 500,000 fish. Less than 10% of the return is allocated to this harvest. This year, that allocation is 42,000 fish. That said, the harvest will most likely be much lower than this target for two reasons - The reduced fishing times due to the Interior Fraser steelhead conservation window, and the obviously low return of chum salmon.
This past week, I and my colleagues in the Sport Fishing Advisory Committee have been communicating with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, expressing some of our concerns regarding this inconsistency. If the number of adult fish required for spawning is 800,000, and only close to 50% of that required number is expected to show up, then conservation is indeed a concern. Why are we emphasizing so much on the fact that every fish counts so mortality in catch and release is an issue, but on the other hand allocating 10% of the 50% of the required spawners for harvest, with no clear reasonings other than that the IFMP says so?
If you have been following these posts, I have been vocally supporting sustainable harvest in all sectors, particularly the priority of First Nation fisheries, but we must put conservation ahead of all of us during years of low returns. Prior to this fishing closure when catch and release was still allowed, I have had a lengthy discussion with others whether we should be producing an episode on chum salmon catch and release fishing this season. In the end, we chose not to do so because that would have simply encouraged others to do the same, putting more pressure on the few fish we are seeing. Realistically, the amount of chum salmon harvested in these FSC fisheries will unlikely to be very much, but this inconsistency in management approaches is not a sound solution.
Lastly, there is also the lucrative market of chum salmon. The demand for chum salmon and their roe is higher than ever. Anyone who has tried to purchase some would know how ridiculously expensive it is now. With fishing closures and limited FSC fisheries which cannot be sold, the sale of chum salmon by individuals will pop up at places like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist in the coming weeks. I encourage all of you to report these sales by phoning the ORR line at 1-800-465-4336.
Now, before anyone comments that there is no hope for these fish and the decline will simply continue, this simply is not true. Historically, chum salmon populations, like other species in the Pacific, have fluctuated due to many environmental reasons. Yes, fishing is a factor, but it is not the sole factor. When returns are low, we need to conserve or stop our harvests, but that alone is not going to make the populations rebound. Good freshwater and estuary habitats would increase the survival of juveniles, giving them a fin up once they reach the Pacific Ocean. If 7 or 8 out of 10 juveniles survive instead of 2 or 3 out of 10, then we would see a significant difference in return numbers several years later.
Anyway, this is your Friday afternoon rambling. Have a great weekend!
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Topic: Chum Salmon Closure and how the Commercial Chum Fishery has affected things. (Read 7015 times)