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[troutbreath]

Not as many sockeye showing up as expected

Sockeye so far aren't coming in as large numbers as biologists expected.
File


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By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News


Published: July 22, 2009 10:12 AM


Doubts are beginning to surface as to whether the Fraser River salmon run will be as big and bountiful as predicted this summer.

The first measuring stick of fishing season – the early Stuart sockeye run – has been downgraded to an estimated 110,000 returning fish from a pre-season forecast of 165,000.

"It's lower than we expected," said Pacific Salmon Commission chief biologist Mike Lapointe.

That may be a bad sign for the bulk of the sockeye run still expected.

Biologists had forecast up to 10.6 million sockeye would return to the Fraser system this summer, followed by 17 million pink salmon.

That's not huge by historic standards, but it would be a big improvement from the last two years, when less than two million sockeye returned and commercial fishing boats stayed tied up in dock.

Most sockeye are still in the ocean and Lapointe said it's too early to estimate how many are heading this way.

But test fishing catches so far haven't been big enough to generate the predicted numbers of sockeye.

"It could be late, it's hard to say," Lapointe said.

Large amounts of food, including tiny shrimp-like krill, have now appeared in Georgia Strait, and have also attracted large numbers of shark-like dogfish.

That could mean Fraser-bound sockeye are distracted right now.

"They could be feasting on some krill somewhere and taking a last supper before they head up the river," Lapointe said.

No commercial fisheries have been allowed so far, but some aboriginal fishing for food, social and ceremonial purposes has begun.





On the bright side there's all those Krill fed Mudsharks close by, begging to be dipped in beer batter and fried up.

[goblin59]

I read from the meeting yesterday that the numbers have started to pick up in the last couple of days.

[RossP]

Have faith they will show up.

[VAGAbond]

The latest edition of Strait Talk, the newsletter of the Georgia Strait Alliance, reports on fish farms in Okisollo Channel between Quadra and Sonora Island. It has apparently been established that a high percentage of Fraser Sockeye smolts traverse this channel that has a number of large fish farms.    The smolts have been observed with a high load of lice.   We might be getting closer to knowing why the returns keep trending down.

[lude98r]

I wonder when these fish farms that seem to produce most of  the sea lice that obviously have a negative effect on the smolts will have to change their ways of producing fish. Why do I have to read these reports over and over again and there seems to be nothing done about the problem. Do years of declining numbers not bring any attention to the problems. Sorry for my venting.

[troutbreath]

More bad news in today's paper



Sockeye salmon numbers crash as bust replaces anticipated bounty on B.C. coast
 
Pacific Salmon Commission cuts estimates of spawning salmon almost in half
 
By David Karp, VANCOUVER SUNJuly 27, 2009
 
What was supposed to be a bountiful year for the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery -- the height of the four-year cycle -- is beginning to look like a bust.

Returns are so low for early Stuart sockeye, the first run of the season, that the Pacific Salmon Commission has lowered its estimate by 48 per cent.

Instead of the 165,000 projected before the season started, the commission now expects 85,000, after just 83,484 fish had shown up as of Friday.

The commission has also downgraded its pre-season projection of 739,000 early summer sockeye by 64 per cent to 264,000.

But the big question is what will happen to the summer sockeye, which are supposed to make up 83 per cent of the 10.5 million salmon the Pacific Salmon Commission had predicted would make their way up the Fraser River this year.

The summer sockeye run so far has been "well below expectations," said a fishery notice released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Friday.

The summer sockeye are supposed to make their way to the Fraser River between now and the end of August. So far, just 7,160 have shown up, but it's still early.

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada report is not optimistic, noting: "Fraser River water temperatures are forecast to reach approximately 21 C by Aug. 1. Water temperatures exceeding 20 C may cause high en route mortality of Fraser River sockeye."

As a result of the low returns, the sockeye fishery on the Fraser River has been closed until further notice, raising concerns that first nations may not be able to catch enough for their food fishery.

"Most Indians who live in the Fraser watershed are low-income or poor," said Ernie Crey, an adviser to the Sto:lo Tribal Council. "The fishery is their principal source of dietary protein."

First nations have first priority on the sockeye fishery. It is opened to commercial fishing and sport fishing only if there are enough fish. In June, federal salmon resource manager Jeff Grout said all three groups were expected to be able to participate in this year's fishery.

Last year's sockeye salmon catch was 1.7 million fish, Fisheries and Oceans Canada salmon team leader Paul Ryall said last September. That was well below the average return of 4.4 million fish.

In October, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature went so far as to label B.C.'s sockeye salmon a threatened species.

dkarp@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

[Steelhawk]

How do fishery know this is going to be a bonus year even though historically this was? I mean, do they actually count the number of fish getting back to spawning grounds all over the Fraser watershed? If not, did they do sample test on sockeye smolts going out to the ocean? If not both, then how else they can predict a good bonus year knowing full well that the natives could have over-harvested the stock a few years ago with all their illegal nets?

Looks like this year's sport sockeye fishery will be toasted. I hope they will close the natives too or just allow very limited opening for F&S purpose. This group needs to know that they cannot just over-harvest year after year by side-stepping DFO's management planning and still expect consistent returns.

[Rodney]

do they actually count the number of fish getting back to spawning grounds all over the Fraser watershed? If not, did they do sample test on sockeye smolts going out to the ocean?

Yes and yes.

[chris gadsden]

How do fishery know this is going to be a bonus year even though historically this was? I mean, do they actually count the number of fish getting back to spawning grounds all over the Fraser watershed? If not, did they do sample test on sockeye smolts going out to the ocean? If not both, then how else they can predict a good bonus year knowing full well that the natives could have over-harvested the stock a few years ago with all their illegal nets?

Looks like this year's sport sockeye fishery will be toasted. I hope they will close the natives too or just allow very limited opening for F&S purpose. This group needs to know that they cannot just over-harvest year after year by side-stepping DFO's management planning and still expect consistent returns.

As most on this forum know I am no fan of this recreational harvest of sockeye and I have not bb for them for 7 or 8 years but in the whole scheme of thing the recreational sector takes a very small part of the pie.
However all the illegal net fishing because of the opportunity to sell these fish I believe has too big a impact. Besides there is no proper enumeration in some cases of these fish and I believe this may be causing a decrease in the number of fish reaching their natal streams. Mr. Crey that is talking in the article above should use his influence with F/N's to curb these activities so the people he mention who need the protein can get these fish instead of them being illegally sold.

This also would help preserve the fish for all users for the future as well as the animals and fauna that also rely on these fish. This is a very important thing in the year round cycle of our rivers, streams, animals such as bears, eagles, the forest and the offspring of this spawning salmon.

Something must be done quickly by all that wish to preserve this renewable resource for generations to come.

I should write a letter to the Vancouver Sun or Vancouver Province in response to MR. Crey's comments but I will let someone else do it this time.

[Fish Assassin]

DFO should accept a majority of the blame for turning an apparent blind eye to the illegal poaching going on.

[dereke]

  Hopefully with the apparent crash that is going on that this will FORCE things to change. We are inherently lazy until it almost too late. Unless we want a river without Sockeye

[Keener]

Just curious as I am new to this, I occasionally see natives sell sockeye off the road. Is this illegal and if so, how are they getting away with it? If I keep hearing that ever year the fish stocks are getting lower and lower, isn't this a clear cut sign that maybe things need to change?

[goblin59]

This is not the first year that DFO has been way off on their "guesstimates". They continue to use histroic cyclical data that is now innacurate because of higher ocean temperatures, less food in the ocean and coastline filled with sea lice producing fish farms. If they can't survive in the ocean then obviously less and less make it to their home streams. Rising ocean temperatures and less food are somewhat cyclical and there is little we can do about that, but in my opinion it's the fish farms that do the greatest damage.  

[Fish Assassin]

Just curious as I am new to this, I occasionally see natives sell sockeye off the road. Is this illegal and if so, how are they getting away with it? If I keep hearing that ever year the fish stocks are getting lower and lower, isn't this a clear cut sign that maybe things need to change?

It is illegal

[Steelhawk]

This is not the first year that DFO has been way off on their "guesstimates". They continue to use histroic cyclical data that is now innacurate because of higher ocean temperatures, less food in the ocean and coastline filled with sea lice producing fish farms. If they can't survive in the ocean then obviously less and less make it to their home streams. Rising ocean temperatures and less food are somewhat cyclical and there is little we can do about that, but in my opinion it's the fish farms that do the greatest damage.  

As much as I would agree with you, but this year the run in Port Alberni river/lake system is reported quite strong, causing the natives to dump unsold fish. So if the return to the Fraser is going to be a bust again, can we still blame the ocean conditions? That points to human intervention along the Fraser system and who else can massively take these fish illegally outside of DFO's management data?