In what is the Fraser River’s first open fishery in four years, a federal government body expects this year’s sockeye salmon run to be the largest since 1913.
The Pacific Salmon Commission, which is a joint Canada-U.S. body that monitors the run, said in a release Tuesday that studies of the river suggest this year’s return will be slightly more than 25 million fish.
That compares with last year’s run in which only 1.5 million sockeye returned following commission estimates of up to 10 million fish.
Addressing the commission forecast, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea said in a release that several fishery openings for Fraser River sockeye have already occurred in 2010 and more are planned.
She said that all sectors, including commercial, recreational and First Nations, have had a chance to harvest Fraser River sockeye.
The federal government’s Cohen commission is currently investigating the drastic declines the sockeye run experienced in previous years.
And while this year's run is cause for optimism, there has been the usual confrontation and tension between different stakeholders in the industry.
In an interview with BIV last week, Delta-Richmond East MP John Cummins took jabs at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for being whimsical and unpredictable about when it allows fishermen on the water (See “Fraser’s first open fishery in four years promises to generate more industry friction” – issue 1086; August 17-23, 2010).
DFO interior region area director Barry Rosenberger said overestimations in the past few years occurred because return estimates were based on more than 50 years worth of data.
This year it used data from only the past four to eight years.