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[chris gadsden]

Here is the long awaited news clip I filmed for Global TV a few years ago on the Harrison River from the 1990's with Dave as he looked for the reason sockeye salmon were dying. Not sure what the results were of the testing.

I laughed when I found this clip in my old VHS archives when, at the end of the story they talked about a large escape of Atlantic Salmon from their pens.

Oh Dave, you look a bit younger here too. The clip is here. https://youtu.be/K8ofXesgYDA

Thanks Dave for letting me cover the story that day, may put up the raw tape one day too.

[Dave]

That brings back memories   I hope you post the longer version as I think it would interest many readers.

[chris gadsden]

That brings back memories   I hope you post the longer version as I think it would interest many readers.

I hope I have it as I would have sent the original to Global and sometimes they did not send the tapes back but I think I made a copy first as I believe I gave you a copy too.

[Novabonker]

That was quite the mane Dave. Although the way you're running your thumb up and down that knife handle makes me nervous......

[Dave]

Was definitely a bad hair day  
The knife was for cutting the head to remove otoliths; it was scalpels that made me bleed many times ..

[shuswapsteve]

But Harrison River Sockeye don't experience prespawn mortality, Dave.  Alex won't be happy with this.

When and whereabouts on the Harrison were you capturing these Sockeye, Dave? If it was first week of October they probably were mostly Weaver.

[Dave]

Honestly don't remember the date Steve but was more late August- early September I think.  Perhaps Chris remembers? We were seining downstream of Weaver Creek, in the spot still used by the Chehalis band for it's sampling programs.  If I recall the concern was we didn't know what stock this was that was dying; earlier I had been collecting scale samples from sport caught fish but the sample number was too small so the Chehalis band readily agreed to assist us in a proper sampling program.
It was determined the fish died from Parvicapsula minibicornis, the same parasite that killed hundreds of thousand of sockeye back in the 90's when for whatever reason late run sockeye entered the Fraser River weeks or even months earlier than normal.
Interestingly, the research on this parasite, especially where the fish became infected, led by Dr. Simon Jones from PBS, was halted when a certain grey haired activist forced DFO to switch focus and spend its time, money, and scientific expertise on a supposed sea lice problem near her home.

[Novabonker]

7 seconds in it says March 99, so I'm betting 98.So Steve - you wanna go for lunch sometime?

[shuswapsteve]

Fraser Sockeye are not spawning in March. Nice weather for March also.

[Novabonker]

7 seconds in it says March 99, so I'm betting 98.[/b]So Steve - you wanna go for lunch sometime?

Get up to speed Steve

[shuswapsteve]

Oh..so you thought it was March 1998? That's hilarious.   

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Anyway, back at the farm, I supposed those could have been Harrison arrivals also as they can start showing up in July, Dave. Looks like the Chinook tagsite at the parking lot.

[Dave]

Anyway, back at the farm, I supposed those could have been Harrison arrivals also as they can start showing up in July, Dave. Looks like the Chinook tagsite at the parking lot.

You nailed the site; too bad my memory has failed me a bit as to the date but as you know I was pretty busy back then Fish were dying throughout the watershed and I was tasked with obtaining samples of them. We often dump on FN for their fishing practices (me included) but I have to say they were instrumental, and a tremendous help to the sampling programs I was involved with during those years of high pre spawning mortalities.
 

[Novabonker]

Oh..so you thought it was March 1998? That's hilarious.   

Richard D. Cranium Comprehension post of the year award! Try stopping at 7 seconds in.....and check the date displayed on the screen. Since even a simpleton like myself knows the sockeye run in the summer, my superior comprehension skills suggest summer/fall 98. I typed this really slow so you can catch on!

[chris gadsden]

The short clip of the floating sockeye was Global's file tape, not part of the video I filmed. I will try to find the exact date of when I shot the story.

[shuswapsteve]

Richard D. Cranium Comprehension post of the year award! Try stopping at 7 seconds in.....and check the date displayed on the screen. Since even a simpleton like myself knows the sockeye run in the summer, my superior comprehension skills suggest summer/fall 98. I typed this really slow so you can catch on!

Yeah rriiiight, that's what you meant...lol. Your superior comprehension skills?  What about your superior communications skills...lol?  What happened to those skills?  Why didn't you just say Fall of 1998?  Maybe when you typed so slow you were thinking about Super Bowl commercials and not about how ambiguous your response was.  I knew the date was wrong already (the media does make errors) because I have actually been there when those Sockeye migrate in, spawn and die.  I actually watched these carcasses floating downstream from Harrison Lake in the October.  Better luck next time.