The B.C. Wildlife Federation says salmon runs are being "pillaged" by poachers in 2022. These sockeyes were listed for sale in Boston Bar on Aug. 21, well before fishing opened.
Image Credit: CRAIGSLIST
September 11, 2022 - 7:00 AM
Poachers are catching sockeye in the Fraser River and selling them online before they can reach upriver spawning grounds.
The B.C. Wildlife Federation is raising the alarm on the illegal fish sales as Fraser River returns this fall are well-short of the 9.8 million fish forecast.
"This issue around illegal sales, poaching and unregulated sales... is getting worse every year," executive director Jesse Zeman said.
Freshly caught sockeye are being advertised on social media and online classifieds by poachers largely in the Lower Mainland, he said.
A search on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace reveals ads for sockeye from Chilliwack up to Boston Bar.
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They're advertised at $20 each on one Boston Bar listing.
While returns in other watersheds, like in the Okanagan, were well above what was forecast, Fraser River sockeye returns were counted at 5.5 million fish. A return of 9.8 million was expected this year.
Those salmon travel numerous waterways off the Fraser River as they swim into the Interior, some of them would have ended up in the Thompson and Shuswap regions.
Dried sockeye salmon are listed for sale in Chilliwack, where Zeman says most of the illegal sales are reported to be.
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"You don't see it in Kamloops because the fish don't show up," Zeman said.
Aside from the fish that are sold, others are kept too long without proper storage, rotting in containers or in the woods, he said.
READ MORE: Record sockeye numbers returning to the Okanagan
Fish that are sold on the black market have not been inspected and may not be properly stored, which can lead to food-borne illness.
“When you eat fish that haven’t been properly cooled and cared for there’s a very good chance you could get sick,” Zeman said.
In perhaps the most grotesque finding this year, he said hundreds were found recently rotting in four large containers at a Richmond harbour.
“The (wildlife federation) is seeing reports of dumping involving thousands, possibly tens of thousands of fish, which is a symptom of illegal sales on a massive scale,” Zeman said in a news release. “The fish have spoiled suggesting that there are far more fish on the black market than there are buyers.”
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The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has ongoing investigations into salmon poaching, but he said the size of the black market for poached salmon is just too much for the federal government to enforce.
"I've reported a number of illegal sales and they just don't have the capacity," Zeman said.
However, it's important to note that catching and selling the fish isn't the only thing that can land you in trouble with the law. Buying fish from an unlicensed seller can also land hefty fines and even jail time.
According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, both buying and selling illegal fish can cost you as much as $100,000 in fines and up to two years in jail.
Sockeye fisheries in the Fraser just opened for non-commercial anglers.
In the Lower Mainland, some areas opened for sockeye on Sept. 9, while the Thompson River opened Sept. 10. They each have two fish per day limits.
“Widespread poaching is harming us all as dwindling sockeye runs are being pillaged,” Zeman said. “Further, when an unknown number of fish are caught by poachers, we can’t sustainably manage the fishery.”
More information about recreational fishing limits, openings and closures can be found on this Government of Canada web page.
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