Harrison River sockeye may hold key to species’ survival

Robert Freeman
August 12, 2010
Chilliwack Progress

Something out in the ocean may ultimately lie behind the decline of sockeye salmon returning to the Fraser River, says SFU fish biologist John Reynolds.

But something in the Harrison River species of sockeye may hold the key to the future of the “iconic” fish that has come to symbolize B.C. and the mighty Fraser River, he said.

Reynolds is chair of a salmon research lab at SFU and sits on the advisory panel to the Cohen Commission looking into the decline of Fraser River sockeye.

Last year, when only 1.5 million sockeye returned to the Fraser, instead of the 10.5 million forecast, the Harrison River salmon run more than doubled.

“They just came storming back,” Reynolds told a Rotary Club meeting last Friday. “We don’t understand why.”

But scientists note the Harrison fish is “different” than most salmon species, with a two-year-life cycle rather than the usual four, and it goes straight to sea instead of spending a year maturing in freshwater lakes.

Read the full story in the Chilliwack Progress