Think-tank takes closer look at salmon

Jennifer Moreau
December 23, 2009
Burnaby Now

More research and action is needed in the case of declining Fraser River sockeye stocks, according to a think-tank led by Burnaby academics.

"The think-tank was an incredible gathering of many of Canada's preeminent scientists. ... They really highlighted just how complex this topic is and how much we don't know," said Mark Angelo, chair of BCIT's Rivers Institute and one of four local academics on the think-tank's steering committee. "It's probably more about questions than answers."

The group of roughly 20 scientists met for two days in early December to discuss how to manage declining Fraser sockeye stocks.

In July, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was forecasting 10.6 million sockeye salmon would return to the Fraser this year - only 1.37 million came back. It was the lowest run in more than 50 years.

While no one knows exactly what happened, theories include disease and sea lice from fish farms, pollution and warming waters, which would affect available food for the fish and migratory patterns for their predators.

Read the full story on Burnaby Now

Read related story: December 10, 2009;  "Scientists call for more cautious salmon harvest"; The Globe and Mail

Read the "Statement from Think Tank of Scientists";  December 9, 2009; "Adapting to Change - Managing Fraser sockeye in the face of declining productivity and increasing uncertainty" 

Read background stories on the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye