B.C. sockeye more than just fish
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Updated: November 12, 2009 1:45 PM
This past week, two of my mentors posted articles in the popular press, each at opposite ends of the spectrum on the missing sockeye salmon debate.
Both drew attention to valid points.
The over-abundance of pink salmon which returned to our Fraser River and its tributaries was the result of an experiment to see what would happen if these two-year fish, as smolts, were enabled to pass fallowed fish farms.
And the potential danger of breeding out genetic diversity by over populating spawning beds with hatchery raised salmon. Somewhere in the bell curve between these two poles is the answer.
Unfortunately, here in B.C., we appear to be applying two wrongs in an attempt to make things righ: closing hatcheries while increasing open -net pen salmon farms.
One glaring question arises. Why was our Harrison River sockeye run over prediction, like the returns in Alaska and Washington states?
Three cheers for Prime Minister Stephen Harper for calling for a full judicial inquiry into the missing Fraser and Skeena River sockeye, through our own Vancouver Crown Justice Bruce Cohen.
This all boils down to the best news I have heard on the sockeye salmon front in 11 years. They are not just fish. They are an integral part of our B.C. heritage and culture.
The Report
Fishing on our Lower Mainland lakes is fair.
For better success, concentrate on the warmer, northeast sections of your favorite lake.
The Fraser River is good for spring, coho, cutthroat and chum. The Stave River is fair to good for cutthroat, chum, rainbow, coho and spring, and the Thompson is good for rainbow and steelhead.
