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[bigblue]

http://www.gofishbc.com/whofunded.htm

And no, Chilliwack River is not the only river that has a hatchery steelhead program.

Thanks for the info Rodney.
Now I know where our license fee is going to.

[Bently]

This is for the Vedder/Chilliwack.  Would it be 10, 20, 30?  I assume some of you have information on this.

Take a guess, just like the DFO does. 

[Fish or cut bait.]

And what about other streams like Capilano, Seymor, Chehalis, Satve, Cheakamus, Squmish etc…??

Capilano/Seymour: increasing the amount of hatchery fish for such a small section of fishable water would only add pressure and stress to such a fragile run and dilute the gene pool of any, if any, wild stock left.
I mean really... How many fishers can the Cap accomodate safely.

Stave: 2 fish limit if I'm not mistaken,  what does that say.

And as for the others:
I think preserving the wild stock is more important than turning these rivers into trout ponds (though that day may come)

As for the Vedder I'm not so sure that the fish you catch are wild just because they have an adipose fin,  they are simply unclipped, next generation, hatchery.
It gets complicated and I can't articulate as well as I wish but there is a bigger picture than just adding more fish so you can catch more.

Want it to change or improve?  Then get involved with a hatchery or something and at least you'll see and hopefully appreciate the efforts put forth on your behalf for your enjoyment.

The feeding rivers in great leaks in east coast areas are producing far more steelhead (hatch & wild) and are not comparable in this regard to BC rivers.

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7674161/

[bigblue]

Capilano/Seymour: increasing the amount of hatchery fish for such a small section of fishable water would only add pressure and stress to such a fragile run and dilute the gene pool of any, if any, wild stock left.
I mean really... How many fishers can the Cap accomodate safely.

If Capilano Hatchery can release 600,000 coho smolts, 600,000 spring smolts, what is the rationale for limiting steelhead smolt release at 15,000?
If the river can support 600,000 coho smolts released per year, is there any proof that it can only support 15,000 steelhead smolts?
I am not a biologist, but it seems far fetched that a same river can accomodate 40 times more of one species than another from the same family of Salmoninae.
With regard to steelhead fishing on the Cap, it can support more anglers than present as there are very few people fishing nowadays.
Go see for yourself on weekends.

[bkk]

If Capilano Hatchery can release 600,000 coho smolts, 600,000 spring smolts, what is the rationale for limiting steelhead smolt release at 15,000?
If the river can support 600,000 coho smolts released per year, is there any proof that it can only support 15,000 steelhead smolts?
I am not a biologist, but it seems far fetched that a same river can accommodate 40 times more of one species than another from the same family of Salmoninae.
With regard to steelhead fishing on the Cap, it can support more anglers than present as there are very few people fishing nowadays.
Go see for yourself on weekends.

A rivers capacity to support juveniles is kind of irrelevant when it comes to smolt releases from a hatchery as these releases are not tied to the rearing capacity of the river. These smolts are held at the hatchery until they are ready to migrate to the ocean. In theory, these fish should leave for the ocean very quickly once they have been released as that is what fish do once there "smolted". The correct term for a smolt is a juvenile salmonid that has silvered up and has changed physiology to allow the fish to migrate from the fresh water environment to the marine environment. A lot of people get confused when they talk about smolts. All of the coho and chinook held at hatcheries right now are not smolts but pre-smolts. They will not be smolts until April - May - June.

 The rational for only 15 000 stellhead smolts is multi faceted. At Capilano they only have so much space and steelhead smolts take up lots of space and water since the target fish size at release is 80 grams vrs.  20 gr. for a coho and 6 - 7 grams for a chinook. More steelhead means less other fish. Another issue at Capilano is water, specifically warm spring or groundwater. In a nutshell, they do not have much of it and most of what they have , they use for chinook rearing. With the current water temperature regime, it's very hard to get the fish up to size in only 1 year. A 2 year program is very expensive. The last thing is money as in the Province isn't paying for a Provincal fish. DFO ends up paying for these fish out of a static or declining budget. There haveing a hard time maintaining the status quo just to pay for existing programs so it's very unlikely they would want to pay for a expanded steelhead program.

Hope this helps.

[Dave]

A rivers capacity to support juveniles is kind of irrelevant when it comes to smolt releases from a hatchery as these releases are not tied to the rearing capacity of the river. These smolts are held at the hatchery until they are ready to migrate to the ocean. In theory, these fish should leave for the ocean very quickly once they have been released as that is what fish do once there "smolted". The correct term for a smolt is a juvenile salmonid that has silvered up and has changed physiology to allow the fish to migrate from the fresh water environment to the marine environment. A lot of people get confused when they talk about smolts. All of the coho and chinook held at hatcheries right now are not smolts but pre-smolts. They will not be smolts until April - May - June.

 The rational for only 15 000 stellhead smolts is multi faceted. At Capilano they only have so much space and steelhead smolts take up lots of space and water since the target fish size at release is 80 grams vrs.  20 gr. for a coho and 6 - 7 grams for a chinook. More steelhead means less other fish. Another issue at Capilano is water, specifically warm spring or groundwater. In a nutshell, they do not have much of it and most of what they have , they use for chinook rearing. With the current water temperature regime, it's very hard to get the fish up to size in only 1 year. A 2 year program is very expensive. The last thing is money as in the Province isn't paying for a Provincal fish. DFO ends up paying for these fish out of a static or declining budget. There haveing a hard time maintaining the status quo just to pay for existing programs so it's very unlikely they would want to pay for a expanded steelhead program.
Hope this helps.

Good post Brian.   Have you considered switching over to Communications??
My guess is steelhead programs will be the first to be cut at DFO hatcheries if serious budget constraints are put in place.

[bkk]

Communications! That's a good one. I'm much too direct for that! I will tell you what though. I'm coming down for a couple of days of fish chasing and I thought that you guys at the morning coffee "Table of Knowledge" can buy me a cup. Your right, this communication thing is much easier than I thought

[Dave]

Your right, this communication thing is much easier than I thought

But so lacking in DFO policy today!  Good to see some of you young(er) guys speaking up and informing the public on these issues.  Looking forward to seeing you ( as I recall you bring me luck...)

[mike123]

.

[chris gadsden]

Communications! That's a good one. I'm much too direct for that! I will tell you what though. I'm coming down for a couple of days of fish chasing and I thought that you guys at the morning coffee "Table of Knowledge" can buy me a cup. Your right, this communication thing is much easier than I thought

It's called "The Long Table"

[bigblue]

bkk, thanks for your insights on the steelhead issue.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the DFO will not reduce it's steelhead program at the Cap and that the trucking off wild smolts from above the dam to lower river will be successful in establishing a viable population for the future.

[Fish or cut bait.]

I wasn't trying to make anyone mad and BKK explained things pretty good BUT lets look at the big picture:

there are rivers smaller than the stave where the daily quota is 2 so river size and ability to accommodate large #'s of anglers have nothing to do with it. Plus I think they only stock 20,000 steelhead per year, I could be wrong on that # though?  

They're stocked fish meant to be caught not left to spawn: they'll just restock.

If Capilano Hatchery can release 600,000 coho smolts, 600,000 spring smolts,

Most of these are caught by the anglers fishing the bay; a great source of revenue for the gas docks and local tackle shops and great enjoyment for those with boats or those fishing the shore.
The surplus of fish that makes it to the hatchery surviving the guantlet are sold off and sold in the stores.

Steelhead on the otherhand tend to be trophy fish (few and far between).

If I'm wrong please correct me

[Randofish]

Interesting read so far.But got a forecast joke

What does DFO and the weatherman have in common?

They can't forecast $%^&