Low B.C. sockeye returns, fires, give Indigenous groups fishing priority: DFO | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Low B.C. sockeye returns, fires, give Indigenous groups fishing priority: DFO

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VANCOUVER - The Fisheries Department says low salmon returns to British Columbia's Fraser River mean Indigenous groups have priority access to the fish as conservation efforts are underway.

Jennifer Nener, director of salmon management for the Pacific region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says some Indigenous communities that were evacuated during wildfires in the Interior missed the opportunity to catch fish to sustain them through the winter.

Nener says the department held an 18-hour monitored fishery around the mouth of the Fraser River until Friday morning, allowing Indigenous groups to fish for pink and chum salmon and keep mortally wounded or injured sockeye while healthy sockeye had to be released.

She says the department forecast a low to moderate return of 4.5 million salmon but about 1.5 million fish are expected this year.

That compares with a historic low of about 850,000 fish last year and a high return of 20 million fish in 2014.

Nener says it's not known why there are fewer fish this year but warm ocean conditions resulting in a changing food supply for juvenile fish is being considered as a possible factor.

"One of the keys to protecting the future of salmon stocks is effective monitoring and enforcement to detect and deter illegal fishing activity by all user groups," she says, adding the public's co-operation is needed to support conservation efforts.

"Using a risk-based approach, DFO employs fishery officers around the province, where necessary, to respond to priority issues. Over the summer we will be continuing with active monitoring and enforcing all fishing activity using a variety of methods, including aerial, ocean, river, on-the-ground, night and undercover patrols."

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Indigenous groups could keep mortally wounded pink and chum salmon.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2017
The Canadian Press

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