First forecasts are for sockeye rebound
Despite rosy outlook for Fraser, analysts temper their optimism after past few seasons
Robert Matas
July 13, 2010
Globe and Mail
It’s early yet, but the first forecast of the season indicates that sockeye salmon will return this summer in healthy numbers to British Columbia’s Fraser River.
About 11.4 million sockeye are expected to swim up the river this summer, analysts at the Pacific Salmon Commission say. Around two-thirds of those – more than seven million – will be heading to the fabled Adams River spawning grounds in south central B.C., about 60 kilometres east of Kamloops.
The forecast indicates salmon will be available for aboriginal, sport and commercial fisheries in August without compromising the sustainability of the runs.
“It would be a good run size, not a great run, but it would be decent fishing for everyone,” said Phil Eidsvik, a commercial fisherman and outspoken member of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition.
“But, and it is a big but, salmon forecasts have been notoriously inaccurate for some 15 years. So we will believe the fish is there when the fish show up in the river,” he said. “Nobody is going to be running out, buying new nets and boats, not until we see some fish show up.
Read the full story in the Globe and Mail
Related story:
- The Province; July 13, 2010; "Fraser River sockeye on the rebound: forecast"
Posted July 13th, 2010
