The 1993 Salmon Catch for BC's

: Vol. 6No. 31993 The 1993 salmon catch for B.C.'s commercial fleet Of the nearly 30 million salmon caught in British Columbia's commercial fisheries, over 13 millio were Fraser . 1 -;z, River socK:eye. The previous high was a 12. 5 million catch, making 1993 a new record catch in Canada. (Total figures for all species of Fraser River salmon were not available at the time of writing). Overall, 16 million sockeye were caught in B.C. waters this year four million more than expected. T he Fraser River still tops the list as a great salmon producer, with figures from the INSIDE 1993 salmon season showing outstanding numbers of Fraser River Fishing history sockeye in the commercial_ 9atc es. The Japanese visitors Pacific Salmon ~ Jjommission's 1n-season Sockeye success estimate of the total sockeye run size is 22.6 million, the largest since Fraser River 1913. stories Fisheries Pech es l+I l+I and Oceans et Oceans Cana da Catches of other "In terms of species painted a varied spawning escapements," picture: says Dave Schutz, salmon coordinator with DFO, • of the three million "each species varies, and coho forecast for it's a little too early too tell commercial harvest, on some. However, sockeye only 1.8 million ended spawning escapements on up in the fleets' catches; all the big sockeye producing rivers, with the • pink salmon catches exception of Rivers Inlet, totalled 8.8 million of were very satisfactory. the 25 million catch And although pink forecast, salmon catches were - disappointing, spawning • the expected .6 million escapements for the major chinook were caught, stocks were satisfactory." Information on coho, • expectations for chum and chinook chum salmon were spawning escapements low, and harvests were still incomplete at approached the two the time of writing. million forecast, Catches: Who gets what and Fraser River salmon how many. Deciding the catch To grasp the significance of the Fraser's salmon populations, it is worth looking at allocations-the a small piece of the river's history. Hells Gate is a narrow gorge in the Fraser River percentage of salmon Canyon, about 210 km from the river's mouth. Even in its natural state, this was always allowed for harvest in each area and for a particular a difficult passage for migrating salmon. Then in the early 1900s environmental damage stakeholder-is a complex threatened the survival of the great salmon runs and the issue became a national and business. First, escapement goals must be international concern. determined in order to From 1911to1913 huge amounts of rock were dumped in the river during railroad ensure conservation requirements are met construction. In 1914, a major rock slide put nearly 80,000 cubic metres ofgranite into specific numbers of fish the Fraser at Hells Gate, increasing water velocity and turbulence to such an extent that must be allowed to escape all fisheries in order to sockeye were unable to reach their spawning streams. The runs faced extinction. spawn. West coast salmon Today, 80 years later, and after decades of rebuilding efforts and environmental fisheries are divided into different areas: the Fraser protection, the sockeye are thriving. River, and the North, Records show that more Fraser River sockeye were caught by Canadians this year Central and South Coasts. than even before the Hells Gate catastrophe. (American catches in those early years The B.C. commercial fleet includes gillnet, purse usually exceeded Canadian harvests). seine and troll vessels: the Pacific TIDINGS, P. 2 inside trollers fish the Johnstone Strait and Other highlights for sockeye and pink: Strait of Georgia areas and the outside trollers Pink Salmon in the North Coast area: fish the west coast of Vancouver Island and Gillnet Goal: 28% Actual Catch: 21% north to the Queen Seine Goal: 72% Actual Catch: 79% Charlottes. This year, catch Sockeye in Barkley Sound (near Port Alberni): allocation goals and actual results were relatively Gillnet Goal: 40% Actual Catch: 42% close for most fisheries. Seine Goal: 60% Actual Catch: 58% The big story was in the pink catch and the Pink Salmon bound for the Fraser and other southern rivers: high sockeye catch. In the north coast Gillnet Goal: 9% Actual Catch: 8.8% area around the Nass and Seine Goal: 58% Actual Catch: 61.6% ,,,..- Skeena rivers, gillnet Outside Troll Goal: 29% Actual Catch: 24.2% fishers were allocated 76 Inside Troll Goal: 4% Actual Catch: 5.5% ~/< per cent of the sockeye for the net fisheries; they caught 69 per cent. Seine fishers were allocated 24 per cent and caught 31 per cent. On the south coast, Fraser River sockeye dominate the management planning. Allocation plans Dave Schutz, salmon Preliminary estimates of catch targets would be are multi-year. Initial coordinator with DFO. catches show gillnet fishers met. domestic allocations are getting 723,000 sockeye Added Ian Todd, determined from pre Changes in over their allocation, seine Executive Secretary of the fishers 225,000 under, the Pacific Salmon season run forecasts, schedule and primarily based on stock outside troll fleet 494,000 Commission, "the large assessment studies, less routing mark under and the inside troll catches made by purse escapement requirements fleet 13,000 sockeye over seiners in the first two and the international 1993 their allocation. weeks of August were sharing of the catch as migratwn Dave Schutz says taken from what proved on negotiated with the United that after very large hindsight, to be the leading States. Updates on catch catches on the west coast of edge of the much greater allocation are determined Although 1993 set the Queen Charlotte numbers that were during the in-season new records for sockeye Islands and in Johnstone eventually to come through salmon runs. catches, unusual patterns Strait, the number of the Strait. By August 1 7 "DFO works together of migration, uncertainties sockeye escaping to the even though the seine fleet with the Fraser River about the run size and Fraser River stayed low for had exceeded its pre Panel .of the Pacific Salmon difficulties in adjusting over a week, so low, in fact, season allocation by about Commission to achieve allocations made it a as to raise doubts about 600,000 sockeye and the Canadian domestic challenging year for whether spawning troll fleet by about 300,000, allocation targets for fishers, processors and escapement, aboriginal large numbers of sockeye Fraser River stocks," says fisheries managers. and Fraser River gillnet were still to come." Pacific TIDINGS, P. 3 Cutural exchange Normally, the ''What it amounts majority iiiiiiiiiiii.iill between '!!ilt=~~~l~ to is that even in banner ofsockeye :::; years, the best laid SEP and returning to plans for fisheries the Fraser managers can be thrown and other off by a change in J:fuianese southern Nature's script," says s on rivers, Schutz. ''No matter how migrate down exact our science or museum the west coast of record run and high excellent our management Vancouver Island and diversion rate, we were becomes, we are still through Juan de Fuca looking at the biggest run dealing with creatures of Strait. A smaller number ever to come through the wild. Salmon are migrate around the Johnstone Strait," says unpredictable and will northern tip of the island Todd. ''We had no previous remain that way." • and down Johnstone history of such large 'refirst cultural Strait. This year the numbers in the Strait and information exchange migration pattern was had real difficulty putting between DFO's Capilano different; sockeye numbers to it. This River Hatchery and migrating through affected the timeliness of Japan's Shibetsu Salmon Johnstone Strait came in the run-size updates." Museum brought Japanese numbers greater than ever It also resulted in students, teachers and seen before-over 16 closures of fisheries in salmon museum staff to million-compared to a Johnstone Strait at a time Vancouver this summer to previous high of under when the abundance of learn more about salmon. eight million. sockeye seemed to be at its One year ago, the "Because of the peak. Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) signed a joint Proclamation of Friendship, Cooperation and Affiliation with the Shibetsu Salmon Museum of Hokkaido, Japan. The agreement signified the twinning of the Shibetsu Salmon Museum with the Capilano River Hatchery. These two facilities face each other across the Pacific Ocean and share the same goals of protecting the salmon resource and educating the public. The cooperation between these "sister facilities" and exchanges between students and Fishing boats tie up awng the Fraser River. those concerned with Continued on page 5 Pacific TIDINGS, P. 4 FRASER FOCUS ..............................................................1993 Insights on a life-and-death journey transmitters indicating how much must have enough energy stored in energy the sockeye used as they body tissues when they enter the S ockeye salmon swimmllig swam the 30-km gauntlet from Yale river or they won't make it to their through the swift, churning waters to Hells Gate. The signals relay spawning areas and reproduce,'' says of the Fraser Canyon are being information on muscle activity which Diewert. closely tracked in an effort to ensure is used to measure energy "One of our goals is to prevent these valuable fish complete their expenditure. deaths t ough energy depletion. long, arduous migration to spawning Energy use is a critical issue The evidence indicates it may be a grounds. for the project scientists, DFO's Ron leading cause of natural, pre The work is part of the Fraser Diewert and Scott Hinch of the spawning death," adds Hinch. River Action Plan, a six-year Green University ofB.C.'s Westwater Consider the early Stuart River Plan initiative that aims, to clean up Research Centre.

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