The Fraser River Sockeye run once the legend of British Columbia history will not make much of an impression in 2007.
The Opinion 250 website has a report on the state of the Fraser River fishery and the word is worrisome. Climate change rather than over fishing is being blamed for a situation that may see this years returns to be the second or third worst since the 1950's and will severly curtail the livelihoods of fishermen and cannery workers along the coast.
While the Fraser run reaches a rather sad state this year, the Skeena run has been described as faring rather well with the four year cycle, with warmer water providing the Skeena fish with better growth, though there is trouble for the steelhead resource facing dwindling numbers with word out of Terrace that this season could be the worst return of Steelhead in recent memory.
Fraser Sockeye Run A Major Bust in 2007
Opinion 250 News
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Chief Biologist with the Pacific Salmon Commission, Michael Lapointe, says over harvesting of the Sockeye salmon on the Fraser River system is not the reason for their serious declines.
Lapointe says 2003 was the brood year for the four year sockeye which live in the Fraser system "We had 2 million sockeye enter the system that year which should have made for a decent return. "
The Stellako and Stewart Run are a different matter says Lapointe "We have been watching a long term decline in this sockeye fishery. Both runs in the Stewart River the early and summer run sockeye have been on a steady decline. At one time the sockeye fishery on these systems was contributing about $70 million a year to the economy."
As it now stands, Lapointe says this won't be lowest sockeye return ever to the Fraser system, "but it certainly could be the second or third lowest return of sockeye in the history of counting going back to the fifties."
And it isn't just the Sockeye.
Lapointe says, the Coho have also taken a major hit. "We are seeing a return here of about .05% out of 1,000 fish, that’s five out of a thousand that went to sea."
The demise of the fishery on the Fraser is, according to Lapointe, perhaps tied to climate change. "The Fraser River salmon fishery is located at the southern extremity of their natural occurrence and other than a few places in Washington State and the Okanagan they are located the furthest south of their limits. It is unfortunate , for example the Skeena and other systems to the north have faired very well. In some cases the warming of the ocean waters has benefited the sockeye, the warmer temperatures up north have given them more feed and they have enjoyed better growth."
The Skeena, he added, isn’t hit as hard by the four year cycle as the Fraser because there are a lot of five year fish returning and so the collapse of one year doesn’t necessarily affect them as much.
Talking about the huge decline in Steelhead, the lead biologist says that is also a concern "We have tried to implement some measures to prevent a major take of the fish during the sockeye migration, but it always is a problem and the Steelhead don’t win out." Reports from Terrace indicate that this will be one of the worst returns of Steelhead in recent memory.
Items on the Fraser River fishery from other sources:
The Abbottsford News- ‘Hope is fading’ for sockeye run, native bands worried
Vancouver Province- Sockeye collapse could have grave implications
The Opinion 250 website has a report on the state of the Fraser River fishery and the word is worrisome. Climate change rather than over fishing is being blamed for a situation that may see this years returns to be the second or third worst since the 1950's and will severly curtail the livelihoods of fishermen and cannery workers along the coast.
While the Fraser run reaches a rather sad state this year, the Skeena run has been described as faring rather well with the four year cycle, with warmer water providing the Skeena fish with better growth, though there is trouble for the steelhead resource facing dwindling numbers with word out of Terrace that this season could be the worst return of Steelhead in recent memory.
Fraser Sockeye Run A Major Bust in 2007
Opinion 250 News
Monday, August 13, 2007
The Chief Biologist with the Pacific Salmon Commission, Michael Lapointe, says over harvesting of the Sockeye salmon on the Fraser River system is not the reason for their serious declines.
Lapointe says 2003 was the brood year for the four year sockeye which live in the Fraser system "We had 2 million sockeye enter the system that year which should have made for a decent return. "
The Stellako and Stewart Run are a different matter says Lapointe "We have been watching a long term decline in this sockeye fishery. Both runs in the Stewart River the early and summer run sockeye have been on a steady decline. At one time the sockeye fishery on these systems was contributing about $70 million a year to the economy."
As it now stands, Lapointe says this won't be lowest sockeye return ever to the Fraser system, "but it certainly could be the second or third lowest return of sockeye in the history of counting going back to the fifties."
And it isn't just the Sockeye.
Lapointe says, the Coho have also taken a major hit. "We are seeing a return here of about .05% out of 1,000 fish, that’s five out of a thousand that went to sea."
The demise of the fishery on the Fraser is, according to Lapointe, perhaps tied to climate change. "The Fraser River salmon fishery is located at the southern extremity of their natural occurrence and other than a few places in Washington State and the Okanagan they are located the furthest south of their limits. It is unfortunate , for example the Skeena and other systems to the north have faired very well. In some cases the warming of the ocean waters has benefited the sockeye, the warmer temperatures up north have given them more feed and they have enjoyed better growth."
The Skeena, he added, isn’t hit as hard by the four year cycle as the Fraser because there are a lot of five year fish returning and so the collapse of one year doesn’t necessarily affect them as much.
Talking about the huge decline in Steelhead, the lead biologist says that is also a concern "We have tried to implement some measures to prevent a major take of the fish during the sockeye migration, but it always is a problem and the Steelhead don’t win out." Reports from Terrace indicate that this will be one of the worst returns of Steelhead in recent memory.
Items on the Fraser River fishery from other sources:
The Abbottsford News- ‘Hope is fading’ for sockeye run, native bands worried
Vancouver Province- Sockeye collapse could have grave implications
No comments:
Post a Comment