Fraser sockeye fishery opens

Darah Hansen
August 6, 2010
The Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times Colonist

British Columbia's commercial fishermen were out in Johnstone Strait off Vancouver Island Thursday to take advantage of the first significant Fraser River sockeye salmon opening in four years.

Seiners were approved to fish from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday. The opening continued today with gillnetters joining the commercial fleet in the same area.

Phil Eidsvik of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition said local fishermen are relieved to be back working.

"After ... years of no fishing, most guys know they have a big stack of bills to pay," he said.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials said returns this summer have so far been much better than expected.

That trend is expected to continue with seven to 11 million fish expected to return to the Fraser River by the end of the season, well above early forecasts of five to eight million.

The vast majority, 80 per cent, of the sockeye are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.

"At this stage this is a good fishery. Presumably things will continue to develop and we'll have other opportunities," said Barry Rosenberger, federal fisheries director for the B.C. Interior.

The sockeye fishery was last open to commercial fleets in 2006 when a total commercial catch of 3.7 million fish was approved.

A limited fishery opened in 2008 with only 17,000 sockeye caught.

The total allowed catch for the current two-day fishery is 150,000 fish.

Rosenberger said this year could yield a total catch of about three million fish, if runs continue to look strong.

Not everyone is happy about news of the sockeye opening.

Craig Orr of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society said it's too early to determine if the forecast number of fish returns is correct. 

Read related articles:

• Aldergrove Star; August 13, 2010; "Sockeye still coming in strong"
• Maple Ridge News; August 13, 2010; "The return of the sockeye"
• North Island Gazette; August 12, 2010; "Sockeye season is on"
• Peace Arch News; August 11, 2010; "Sockeye run a happy fish tale so far"
• The Royal City Record; August 11, 2010; "Sockeye fishery opens - Fisheries department say there are more fish in the sea this year"
• Chilliwack Progress; August 9, 2010; "First sockeye opening has them flocking to River"
• Nanaimo Daily News; August 9, 2010; "Island Fishermen hope to cash in on sockeye - As many as 11 million of the prized Fraser River run salmon are expected to return to spawning grounds this year"
• CBC News; August 7, 2010; "Salmon prices high despite strong sockeye run"
• The Province: August 6, 2010; "Sockeye return to the Fraser River, but fishers still stressed about 'what should be a great fishery every year'"
• BC Local News; August 4, 2010; "Sockeye rebound puts nets, rods in water"
• Westcoaster; August 3, 2010; "Sockeye Fishery Split"