DFO working on salmon plan, as numbers continue to decline

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it’s working to save wild salmon, as sockeye stocks continue to decline.

The department has acted on 64 of 75 recommendations made five years ago by a commission that investigated the collapse of sockeye salmon stocks on the Fraser River, it said Thursday.

But returns remain lower than expected this year, in part due to “The Blob,” a large area of warm water that grew in the Pacific Ocean between 2013 and 2016, affecting food chains.

Jennifer Nener, director of salmon management, said Fraser River returns have been lower than forecast for the past couple of years.

Only about 1.5 million sockeye have returned to the Fraser this year, compared with the 4.4 million forecast. As a result, fishing has been limited, with a total harvest of less than 100,000.

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Amy Smart – Times Colonist – September 28, 2017.