Fishing hopes high as salmon swim for shore
Chilko Lake, in the Chilcotin north of Whistler and west of Williams Lake, is home for close to half of the Fraser River sockeye salmon expected this summer.
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Updated: July 03, 2009 4:28 PM
Fishermen of all stripes are gearing up for what's predicted to be a big run of Fraser River salmon this summer.
If the forecasts are accurate as many as 10.6 million sockeye will head upriver – enough to provide ample fishing for commercial, sport and aboriginal sectors.
"It's shaping up to be a good year," said Pacific Salmon Commission chief biologist Mike Lapointe.
A run of 10 million sockeye is still not strong run by historic standards, but it would turn the page on two dismal years in which the commercial fleet has been sidelined and only aboriginal food fishing has been allowed.
"Obviously expectations are pretty high relative to where we've been the last few years," Lapointe said.
Last year saw just 1.7 million Fraser sockeye return and 2007 was even worse, with 1.5 million sockeye making it back.
Another bright spot is that the less lucrative pink salmon – which run every other year – will be back in force this summer.
"We're expecting 17 million pinks," Lapointe said.
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Up to 10.6 million sockeye salmon are expected to return to the Fraser River this year. |
Biologists like Lapointe are still cautious because recent years have seen healthy pre-season forecasts turn into a disappointing reality when the fish actually return.
Much will depend on how well Fraser salmon survived in the open Pacific, where warmer ocean temperatures have sometimes conspired to leave them struggling to find scarce depleted food sources and dodging predator fish that normally haunt more tropical waters.
Biologists will be closely watching to see how the Chilko Lake component of the Fraser sockeye run performs.
They're expected to deliver the bulk of the sockeye return.
Lapointe said some 77 million smolts hatched in the Chilko Lake system four years ago.
"Not only are there a lot of them, they're a decent size," he said. "But the marine survival is going to have a big impact on what we get back in the Chilko."
The first sockeye to arrive are the early Stuart run, which spawn in Stuart Lake, northwest of Prince George, and are expected to deliver 165,000 sockeye.
Early summer run sockeye are projected to yield another 739,000 before the main summer run delivers an expected 8.7 million, mainly from the Chilko and Quesnel Lake areas.
Another 900,000 sockeye are categorized as late summer run.
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