Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon News Watch – August 1 to August 8, 2014

August 8, 2014

A recap of Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon News Items we found of interest the of August 1 to August 8, 2014

Wild Salmon News this Week:

Quinsam River overflowing with salmon
Global BC, August 8, 2014
An early abundance of pink salmon on the Quinsam River is causing a fishing tourist boom in Campbell River. Linda Aylesworth reports.
http://globalnews.ca/video/1500716/quinsam-river-overflowing-with-salmon

First tyee of tournament caught in Campbell River
Neil Cameron / Campbell River Courier Islander, August 7, 2014
 
Pink salmon – small but special
by Ralph Shaw - Comox Valley Record, posted Aug 7, 2014
We are currently in the middle of a large run of pink salmon in many of the systems in the Strait of Georgia.
 
Concerns raised over low chinook returns
Scott McKenzie / Alberni Valley Times, August 7, 2014
There is an issue at Robertson Creek Hatchery or in the Somass River that is responsible for the low run of Chinook returns to the Alberni Valley Inlet, says Area 23 Salmon Harvest Committee representative Bob Cole..."Our problem is site specific not ocean survival," Cole said. "Something happened here at Robertson Creek or in the Somass system that knocked the heck out of the 6.5 million released smolts."
 
Salmon dying due to severe drought of Vancouver Island river
By Amy Judd,  Global News, Aug. 5, 2014
VANCOUVER – The Cowichan River on Vancouver Island is experiencing its worst drought ever...The salmon are dying as the water is too low and too warm for the fish to survive. There are plans to truck them upriver, but if no significant amount of rain falls in the next several weeks, the river may dry up by fall.
 
Salmon numbers running for a record
by Steve Kidd - Penticton Western News, Aug 5, 2014
Sockeye salmon have been returning in good numbers over the last few years, but the 2014 spawning running is shaping up to beat every record in the books. Early predictions had the run at about 380,000 spawners, but by early August, more than 613,000 had passed over Bonneville Dam in Oregon.
 
Salmon arriving as usual
Recordnet, August 6, 2014
When will they ever learn that Mother Nature is in charge? Despite predictions of dire consequences to Chinook salmon because of a three-year drought, of which 85 percent emanate from the Sacramento River, it appears someone forgot to tell the fish.
Fraser River Sockeye Salmon
 
B.C. sockeye run off to good start, great to eat! (with video)
By Nick Eagland, The Province August 6, 2014
The sockeye have only just arrived at the mouth of the mighty Fraser River and they’re already what’s for dinner. Numbers recorded in the first few days since commercial sockeye salmon fisheries opened over the weekend suggest the season is shaping up “exceptionally well.”
 
Langley MPs’ eyes open on fishery test voyage
Langley MP Mark Warawa went out with Fisheries on the Fraser River.
Member of Parliament Mark Warawa took a float down the Fraser River last week. And though the sun was shining and the temperature was warm, the purpose of the trip was all business. The Langley MP was along for the ride on a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) boat Thursday out testing the river’s fish stock. Warawa was joined on his trip by neighbouring Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows-Mission MP Randy Kamp....“The chinook returns look good and we’re very optimistic about the sockeye returns too,” said Kamp, who is also the parliamentary secretary to the minister of fisheries and oceans. “Salmon is an iconic species here in B.C.,” said Kamp. “It’s really important we make sure it’s available for future generations.”
 
Commercial boats ready to chase sockeye in Fraser
by Phil Melnychuk - Maple Ridge News, posted Aug 7, 2014
... it's almost time for the commercial fishermen. But they'll have to wait one more weekend...he does expect the 300 or so commercial gillnetting boats to be on the river from Steveston to Mission for several weeks.
 
Sockeye estimates still uncertain as run approaches
Warm temperatures and low river discharge could put an expected large migration in peril as season opens up to recreational fishers.
Richmond News, August 5, 2014
 
Sockeye retention opens today in Campbell River waters
Jeremy Maynard / Campbell River Courier Islander, August 1, 2014
 
Sockeye salmon season begins with limited openings
CBC, August 1, 2014
 
Okanagan sockeye run busts records
Yakima Herald, August 3, 2014
BREWSTER — Good luck in ocean conditions for the past several years is stoking a bonanza fishing season for Pacific salmon.
Polley Mine Coverage
 
  • Potential impacts on the #Frasersockeye salmon as a result of tailings deposit into Quesnel Lake are not known at this time. #MountPolley
  • DFO will be closely monitoring the salmon run as it approaches the Quesnel system over the coming days. #MountPolley
B.C. sockeye salmon return in doubt after Quesnel spill
Fish will be swimming through the toxic debris field in two weeks
By Denise Ryan, Vancouver Sun August 6, 2014
This was supposed to be the year of a rebound, a great return for B.C. sockeye salmon. A turnaround. Now, at least for sockeye in the Quesnel waterways, that great return is in doubt.
 
Estimated 1.5 million sockeye bound for fouled Quesnel Lake
by Jeff Nagel - BC Local News, Aug 5, 2014
An estimated 1.5 million migrating Fraser River sockeye salmon are destined for Quesnel Lake, which has now been contaminated by the Mount Polley mine tailings pond spill.
 
Fraser sockeye could be impacted by mining spill
by Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress, Aug 5, 2014
A huge spill of mining waste that hit northern B.C. waterways on Monday could impact the big return of sockeye heading up the Fraser River.

Impact of tailings pond disaster on salmon run could be significant
By Justin McElroy,  Global News , August 5, 2014
...Another question is the impact this will have on the sockeye salmon run, expected to be heavy this year. “You’re talking about Hazeltine Creek, Quesnel Lake, Quesnel River, then the Fraser. Clearly that’s a major salmon system,” said Mark Angelo, the founder of World Rivers Day.
 
Mount Polley mine spill threatens B.C. sockeye salmon run
Department of Fisheries and Oceans bans salmon fishing in Cariboo and Quesnel rivers
By Bal Brach, CBC News Posted: Aug 06, 2014
 
First Nations fear the worst for B.C.’s salmon population
Sunny Dhillon, VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail,  Aug. 06 2014
The exact effect of the Mount Polley spill on B.C. salmon is not yet known, but with the sockeye just entering the Fraser River – and more than one million fish heading directly for the region hit by the mining waste – First Nations and conservation groups are fearing the worst.
Alaska Salmon Ranching – Pink Salmon
 
Alaska fishers not tickled about the pink
Posted by Alaska Salmon Ranching on Wednesday, August 6, 2014
...As this graph clearly illustrates, many regions including Alaska, pump out billions of pink salmon for human consumption every year: ...What do you think? While it is certainly exciting that we are harvesting more salmon than ever, is there now too many ranched salmon swimming in the North Pacific?
 
Whether they like it or not, anglers catch plenty of pink salmon
Clarion, Posted: August 6, 2014
Randy Dayton landed 33 pink salmon in an hour and a half as he flipped for red salmon at Centennial Park in Soldotna.
 
Pinks impossible not to catch
Clarion, Posted: August 6, 2014 -
...“Pinks are so numerous it makes catching other species almost impossible,” Pawluk said.

Reference Links

Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon News Watch – July 28 to August 1, 2014

Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon News Watch – July 14 to July 18, 2014
http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/pacific-northwest-wild-salmon-news-watch-%E2%80%93-july-14-july-18-2014

Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon News Watch – July 4 to July 11, 2014
http://www.farmfreshsalmon.org/pacific-northwest-wild-salmon-news-watch-%E2%80%93-july-4-july-11-2014