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[Steelhawk]

This local river used to have tons of Coho from the Expo year of 86. Coho fishery had been boosted to impress tourists. Back then, you could pick up your 4 coho after work in a good tide. I had hit trains of coho blowing by Nude Rock area for 2 hours non-stop. C&R was the norm. What has happened to this favourite river of the Vancouverites? There used to be long lines of fishermen in the river during the runs, and there were many, many boats fishing the river mouth and along the West Vancouver shoreline. It reflected a spectacle of the Canadian way of life for visiting tourists.

This is THE RIVER tourists enchanted with the stories of Canadaian salmon actually get to see them jumping up the fish ladders, and witnessing Canadian fishermen catching salmon in the river. Nothing better reflects the glorious salmon fishery of the Province than tourists snapping pictures of Canadian fishermen carrying out those silver beauties or fighting them in the river, so people of the world will want to come over to visit. Why can't tourism BC & fishery see the benefits of enhancing a 'tourist' river in the city?

Why would fishery let such an important show-case river go down the drain? If they are using resources in stocking trouts non-stop all over the place, why can't they enhance this favourite local river closest to the major population center of BC?  The Americans stock millions & millions of smolts in their rivers. If we can only afford to do one river, can't fishery just enhance this special river to give fishermen reason to believe in the so called 'fishing in the city' initiative, and to let tourists see we do have a vibrant salmon fishery. 

We already heard from foreign friends mentioning about the closure of our once plentiful sockeyes. The media did a good job to broadcast the bad news. When they come over for vacation, the empty or sparsely occupied fish ladders of the Cap will only confirm to them that the famed Canadian salmon fishery is indeed history or near dead. Too bad the 2010 Winter Olympics is in winter, otherwise government should really use this opportunity to enhance the Cap coho again. The winter steelhead fishery in the Cap is so dismal. I guess they better keep quiet from the Olympics tourists. 

So what can be done about this? Any ideas? How can we press the government to do something?

[BNF861]

I have heard this question asked before. Not just in regards to the capilano but other hatchery enhanced rivers such as the vedder. If stocks are low, why not bump up the hatchery numbers to supplement the runs. The answer i heard, from dfo, was that it contradicts the wild salmon policy in bc . I don't understand why they cannot up the hatchery numbers and close retention to all wild fish, but from what i understood it all comes down to protecting the wild fish first and things in the policy hold them back from doing that.

[chris gadsden]

It is mainly a Federal Government funding issues but there is some in FOC that think hatcheries are not the answer but maybe they say that so the government does not have to restore the funding SEP had a few years ago.

About all one can do is to lobby your elected officials but unfortunately in so many cases I have found it seems to fall on deaf ears. Just because I say this one should not give up as many including myself continue to work on numerous fishing and related environmental issues but it gets frustrating at times.

[jetboatjim]

Chris nailed it pretty good.......but can I suggest to join a group, drift fishers,local fish and game clubs, Steelhead society,WSC , ect ....there are many groups that are and have been working on these problems for many years. make your voice heard.

I constantly hear "yeah I'll join but what do I get?"............FISH , hopefully! the groups I belong to put the moneys raised into the "brick and mortar projects" in other words the money goes back to the fish....period. but you wont see the stuff posted all over the net, you must get involved.

sadly I think the fisheries will never be the way they were, for me it started in the early 80's, I did get to fish the expo years.

[kosanin kosher salt]

seriously not cool , one lonely coho in the fish ladders today . no tourist buses  or  elementary school buses in the parking lot   , nobody to witness the one brave  blueback .  13 years ago  when i was in grade two  my class took a feild trip to the cap in may i still remeber those ladders were stacked maybe  a thousand  or more , too bad i didnt fish then.

[Steelhawk]

Protecting wild fish is a good policy. It should apply to rivers where there are wild stocks in existence. The Cap has been damed for eons of years. Where is the wild stock to protect?  It is a hatchery river bar none. Without the hatchery, there would be no fish much to fish with.  As such, it should be enhanced in a major way, so visitors can have a personal experience to witness a vibrant salmon fishery right close to the city, and local fishermen will have a local salmon river to practice what they call 'fishing in the city'. 

[salmon river]

Chris nailed it pretty good.......but can I suggest to join a group, drift fishers,local fish and game clubs, Steelhead society,WSC , ect ....there are many groups that are and have been working on these problems for many years. make your voice heard.

The problem with that is there are so many groups and the fact governments rarely listen unless you are a big money interest like fish farming or run of the river.

The worst thing that ever happened to the Capilano was that dam but we humans need water so the river will never be what it was at one time.

[chris gadsden]

Chris nailed it pretty good.......but can I suggest to join a group, drift fishers,local fish and game clubs, Steelhead society,WSC , ect ....there are many groups that are and have been working on these problems for many years. make your voice heard.

The problem with that is there are so many groups and the fact governments rarely listen unless you are a big money interest like fish farming or run of the river.

The worst thing that ever happened to the Capilano was that dam but we humans need water so the river will never be what it was at one time.

Yes you are correct there is so many groups with some working on their own agenda. As I have said a few times if we could every get all the groups concerned about our fish and the environment together we would be a force to reckon with. One things however that I have noticed over the years is some groups that depend on government funding will not go against government policy as they know funding could be denied. I and a couple of others in our area at one time had a wee bit of influence with our present Provincial government but as soon as we became part of challenging them re gravel removal on the Fraser River we were quickly shuffled off to the side lines.

[buck]

One of the problems over the last 10 years or so been the low return rates for coho. In the Mid eighties coho returns back to the Chilliwack River were 10+ %. Returns of late have been .5 to 1 %.
Until such time as ocean conditions improve returns will certainly be on the low side. 

[chris gadsden]

One of the problems over the last 10 years or so been the low return rates for coho. In the Mid eighties coho returns back to the Chilliwack River were 10+ %. Returns of late have been .5 to 1 %.
Until such time as ocean conditions improve returns will certainly be on the low side. 

Maybe the fish farm's lice got some of them too.

[EZ_Rolling]

I took a trip down to the mouth of the river last night .... did not see any fish other than a couple smolts swim past on their way to the ocean but what I did see was 4 seals bobbing around just in the space between the two low bridges.

[Davis]

Sadly, this is just another example of the decline of our fisheries.There is no money and no incentive for the government to take action.We need to take action,demostrations,protests,raise money, get our message out, be heard!To heck with the tourists,we want to enjoy the great fishing we once had throughout the eighties.Is that all we have left our memories of what once was!People lets band together and make this happen!

[Fish Assassin]

Let me get this right: the feds want to protect the wild stock while at the same time they allow fish farms with their sea lice problems.

[mykisscrazy]

So, why should DFO enhance the Capilano? The problem lies with the dam, and the reservoir behind it that supplies a good deal of the lower mainland with drinking water. If anyone should be enhancing it, shouldn't it be the GVRD?
The days before the dam, was there an early run of coho, and if there was, how large was it?

Then if a group does enhance it like crazy - who's to say how many will get past the shopping cart weir downstream?

At the moment there is a trial going on to repopulate the upper river above the dam, for now the smolts will be trucked down around it, and the adults are too trucked over. I believe the GVRD is responsible for this.

Yes, most Urban streams need enhancing, but to keep on saying DFO is not doing enough is a little tiring.

For your information this was released the other day

CANADA’S ECONOMIC ACTION PLAN
Creating Jobs and Benefitting Science - Government of Canada invests in upgrading federal salmon hatcheries in British Columbia
May 22, 2009


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

North Vancouver, B.C. – The Honourable Randy Kamp, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced $8 million in funding, over the next two years, to modernize 33 facilities and hatcheries in the Salmonid Enhancement Program in British Columbia.

The funding is part of a $250 million commitment in Canada’s Economic Action Plan designed to accelerate investment, over the next two years, to modernize federal facilities across the country. The funding, announced in Budget 2009, is one of the many job-creating investments in the Economic Action Plan.

“This funding will enhance the efficient operations of these facilities,” said Mr. Kamp. “Important improvements to salmon hatcheries and spawning channels will be addressed throughout BC and the program will provide much needed economic stimulus as well. Our Government recognizes the importance of this program to the economy of this region and we are proud to support it."

The $8 million for the Salmonid Enhancement Program includes $5.4 million for 19 salmon hatcheries and spawning channels to refurbish their water supply and delivery systems, a critical component for hatchery operations. Twenty-six SEP facilities will receive a total of $2.6 million to repair and upgrade buildings.

The Salmonid Enhancement Program, part of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, operates 23 salmon hatcheries and spawning channels, 21 community hatcheries through contracts with First Nations and community groups and involves more than 10,000 volunteers in community and education programs.

To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

[Johnny_5]

It would be nice if they would dump in as many fish as possible into the Cap, its not like they would go to waste.