BC Fisheries News Watch August 26 to August 30, 2013
News: Commercial fishing opened in Howe Sound
DFO conducting three-day catch with an eye toward future possibilities
The goal of the three-day opening was to assess the strength of the pink salmon run travelling to the Squamish River... It's an historic event, Redekopp noted. The last time commercial boats dipped their nets into the sound's water was in 1962.
http://www.squamishchief.com/article/20130823/SQUAMISH0101/130829974/-1/squamish01/commercial-fishing-opened-in-howe-sound
News: DFO targets salmon poachers on Fraser River
CBC News, Posted: Aug 23, 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/08/23/bc-salmon-poaching-fraser-river.html
• http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/dfo-seizes-boats-nets-in-investigation-of-salmon-poaching-1.599904
• http://bc.ctvnews.ca/salmon-poaching-investigation-boats-seized-on-fraser-river-1.1425135
• http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/08/23/fraser-river-salmon_n_3807923.html
News: Sockeye salmon poaching rampant on the Fraser, DFO claims
By Zoe McKnight, Vancouver Sun August 23, 2013
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Sockeye+salmon+poaching+rampant+Fraser+claims/8827283/story.html
News: Salmon shutdown perplexes aboriginal fisherman
Peter JAMES, Prince George Citizen, August 25, 2013
Despite catching 20 to 30 salmon every time he went out on the Fraser River so far this season, Robert Gagnon had to bring his nets in for the last time this season on Thursday morning.
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20130823/PRINCEGEORGE0101/308239991/-1/princegeorge01/salmon-shutdown-perplexes-aboriginal-fisherman
News: Conservationists see pink lining to summer salmon season
Luke Brocki, 24 hours Vancouver, Sunday, August 25, 2013
Poor sockeye returns are just one side of the story on the Fraser River this summer, according to the Pacific Salmon Foundation. The conservation non-profit threw its third Pink Salmon Festival at Kits Point this weekend, to celebrate the taste and plenty of a smaller, cheaper and lesser-known Pacific salmon species.
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2013/08/25/conservationists-see-pink-lining-to-summer-salmon-season
Web/ Youtube: Quinsam Salmon Run 2013
Sean Smith, August 25, 2013
The Annual Salmon Run is in full swing an over 250,000 Pink Salmon have already been counted through the gate at the Quinsam River hatchery. It is a spectacular site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T62OzfACzQY
News: Poached salmon: illegal fishing on the Fraser
DFO nets dozens of poachers as fishing ban continues
Christina Toth, Abbotford Times/ With Files From The Vancouver Sun, August 27, 2013
http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/news/poached-salmon-illegal-fishing-on-the-fraser-1.602274
News: Sockeye poaching crackdown
Cornelia Naylor / The Chilliwack Times, August 27, 2013
http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/news/sockeye-poaching-crackdown-1.602277
News: Dry summer may be keeping salmon away
Robert Barron / Nanaimo Daily News, August 27, 2013
http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/business/dry-summer-may-be-keeping-salmon-away-1.602528
News: Sechelt Creek salmon returns
Coast Reporter, Christine Wood Photos - Aug. 21, 2013
http://www.coastreporter.net/apps/pbcs.dll/tngallery?Site=GW&Date=20130826&Category=SECHELT&ArtNo=826009999&Ref=PH
News: Chilko River sockeye salmon run strong as ever
By Monica Lamb-Yorski - Williams Lake Tribune, Published: August 27, 2012
Tlet’inqox (Anaham Lake) Chief Joe Alphonse describes the 2012 Chilko River sockeye salmon run as strong as ever.
“We always get a good run. There will be reports coming in that there are missing salmon in the Fraser River, but that won’t be true for our Chilko Lake run. It’s the last healthy run left on the Fraser River and every year we get over a million fish,” Alphonse say...DFO has been working with the University of British Columbia and Carleton University to study the sockeye salmon in the Fraser River for a number of different scenarios.
“One of the things they’ve come up with is that the Chilko sockeye are like the Olympians of the sockeye in the Fraser River. They have the biggest hearts and can endure changes in temperature,” Rosenberger notes.
http://www.wltribune.com/news/167630805.html
News: Salmon ban keeps dock quiet
Yvonne Robertson / Richmond News, August 28, 2013
Warm water temperatures and low water levels are the driving forces behind low salmon numbers, according to Les Jantz at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). But environmentalists assert that contaminants from fish farms and the destruction of fish habitats are also reasons for dwindling stocks of Fraser River sockeye. Shutting down dozens of fish farms on the sockeye migration route, if found to be risky, was one of the recommendations included in Justice Bruce Cohen's report on the dwindling numbers last fall.
http://www.richmond-news.com/news/salmon-ban-keeps-dock-quiet-1.603932
News: No end in sight for pink salmon fishery
The pinks are especially plentiful at “Area 20” off the south side of Vancouver Island.
Seattle Times, Mark Yuasa, August 28, 2013
http://seattletimes.com/html/othersports/2021706405_fish29xml.html
News: Pink salmon bonanza
By Ralph Shaw - Comox Valley Record, Published: August 28, 2013
http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/sports/221532231.html
News: Fisheries and Oceans says Fraser River sockeye numbers up from 2009
Keven Drews, The Canadian Press | Aug 29, 2013
http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Fisheries+Oceans+says+Fraser+River+sockeye+numbers+from+2009/8850177/story.html
News: Conditions improve for returning sockeye, DFO says
New commercial and sport fishery openings for Fraser pink and chinook stocks
Kamloops Daily News, Mike Yourds, August 30, 2013
Two weeks ago, authorities were concerned that high water temperatures in the Fraser River would hammer returning stocks of sockeye salmon. That threat has now eased, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said on Thursday as it announced new commercial and sport fishery openings for Fraser pink and chinook stocks.
http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20130829/KAMLOOPS0101/130829813/-1/kamloops01/conditions-improve-for-returning-sockeye-dfo-says
News: Fraser salmon fishing resumes but not for sockeye
Richmond Review, Published: August 29, 2013
An improving run of sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River has prompted fishery managers to reopen fishing for other salmon species that had been closed to guard against any accidental bycatch of sockeye. Pacific Salmon Commission officials now estimate around four million sockeye are on track to return due to more fish arriving later than anticipated.
http://www.richmondreview.com/news/221720801.html
Reference Link: The August 29, 2013 Fraser River Panel Regulatory Announcement is now available on the Pacific Salmon Commission website at:
http://www.psc.org/NewsRel/2013/Announcement17.pdf
Archived News and announcements are also made available on the Pacific Salmon Commission website at: http://www.psc.org/news.htm
News: Record #salmon return reason to celebrate: Sechelt Indian Band
Coast Reporter, Christine Wood/Staff Writer, August 30, 2013
A creek that once saw a few hundred salmon come back to spawn is teeming with thousands of fish right now in a record return the Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) plans to celebrate next week.
“We’ve already seen 10,000 in Sechelt Creek and there are thousands more in the bay en route, so we think there are up around 16,000 salmon returning this year,” http://www.coastreporter.net/article/20130830/SECHELT0101/308309974/-1/sechelt/record-salmon-return-reason-to-celebrate
News: Fragile Quesnel River run moving through
August 28, 2013 , Christ’l Roshard, Lillooet News
... The St’at’imc Chiefs Council blames the current situation on inaction by the Harper government. While the Harper government struck the Cohen Commission in 2010, the chiefs contend that the federal government has not mandated the implementation of any of its 74 recommendations.
Chief Garry John says the continued reduction in returning salmon stocks is worrying and government’s response is frustrating. “The federal government hasn’t moved on at all on the Cohen Commission. He says logging in the watershed, mine tailings, municipal sewage that is improperly treated, pesticides and herbicides and nitrates from manure sprayed on fields in the Fraser Valley are all contributing to declining stocks. Combined with lower water levels and elevated temperatures, he says the salmon are in peril.
“We would like to see a chemical analysis of the water in the Fraser. Its possible that the pollutants in the Fraser River are actually contributing to the higher temperatures,” Chief John said.
http://www.lillooetnews.net/article/20130828/LILLOOET0101/308289999/-1/LILLOOET/fragile-quesnel-river-run-moving-through
News: Building beds for salmon on the Campbell River
By Paul Rudan - Campbell River Mirror, August 29, 2013
http://www.campbellrivermirror.com/community/221697971.html
