B.C. sockeye dwindling
By Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Friday, August 10, 2007
If you're planning to put some fresh, wild British Columbia sockeye on the barbecue this summer, you'd better act quickly.
Lower Mainland seafood retailers said on Friday that their supply of the prized salmon is dwindling as north coast fisheries wind down - and the decline of this year's Fraser River sockeye run is so acute that it cannot withstand a commercial harvest.
On Friday, the Pacific Salmon Commission said the Fraser sockeye migration continues to be far lower than expected - 1.2 million summer-migrating sockeye versus a preseason projection of 3.3 million - and recommends the Fraser remain closed to commercial fishing.
The B.C. Salmon Marketing Council plans a major push later this month to promote other salmon species, notably pink and chum salmon which are apparently not experiencing the same population decline as their higher-grade cousins.
Scientists with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are attributing this year's Fraser sockeye crash, which has shut down the commercial fishery and curtailed recreational angling and aboriginal food fishing, to poor ocean survival.
Seafood shops around the region would usually be offering fresh Fraser sockeye by now, but they've been relying on supplies coming from commercial fisheries on the Skeena and Nass river systems.
As those fisheries draw to a close, some shops plan to switch to other species, while others will shift to frozen fish.
"The other options are pinks and chums but I don't sell those species," said Malcolm McMillan, who operates Inlet Seafoods at Port Moody's Newport Village.
McMillan was one of the first B.C. retailers to stop selling farmed salmon on the premise that it is not an environmentally sustainable product.
But he said a salmon's pedigree is not the only determinant.
"Pinks and chums are just not good enough for me. They are lower end stuff. Although they are wild, I'd rather get into a frozen sockeye or spring than sell a fresh pink."
He also sells fresh chinook - but the supply of those fish is also in decline.
The standard market price for for fresh sockeye is $10 a pound and without an infusion of Fraser fish, that's where the price will stay.
"I think it's been a tough year for local fishermen, but on the retail end I think the only thing that's been affected is the price point - and it hasn't dropped this year," said Dave Moorehead of Longliner Seafoods at Granville Island.
Kosta Zogaris, operator of Lonsdale Quay's Salmon Shop, is still clinging to hope that the sockeye runs are simply migrating much later than usual, but says he'll switch to fresh chum and pink if that's what the fishermen are bringing in.
"I think it's a good opportunity for people to start appreciating other fish," Zogaris said. "Pinks are awesome on the barbecue and they are undervalued."
Salmon Marketing Council general manager Grant Snell notes that some of B.C.'s top dining establishments, including award-winning C Restaurant, list pink salmon on the menu.
"I don't want the minimize the impact when something like this happens," Snell said. "It's devastating to the people in the industry that were relying on it, the fishermen, the processors and retailers who may specialize in the sockeye. But the good news to the consumer is that they will still be able to go to the store and get a wild salmon."
First nations up and down the Fraser drainage, meanwhile, are struggling through the worst year on record for their food fishery.
"
It's the first year in history when the aboriginal food fishery is in danger of being shut down," said Ernie Crey, senior advisor to the Sto:lo Tribal Council.
He said the impact is "really profound" on small aboriginal communities that rely each summer on Fraser sockeye as an inexpensive source of food.However, conservationist Craig Orr of Watershed Watch said the problem is so acute this year that even an aboriginal food fishery is unwise.
"The continued low returns of summer sockeye remain extremely alarming. Any fishing will only exacerbate conservation concerns," Orr said.ssimpson@png.canwest.com© Vancouver Sun
So they still have openings, I guess the Sockeye aren't in danger of extintion, or is this there "last supper"
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