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[troutbreath]

Salmon inquiry to probe polluters, poachers

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen heads the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River.
cohencommission.ca

By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News
Published: June 09, 2010 5:00 PM
Updated: June 09, 2010 5:04 PM
Justice Bruce Cohen will cast a wide net in his search for the reasons for the disappearance of millions of Fraser River sockeye salmon.

The head of the federal judicial inquiry into the sockeye decline has released a discussion paper spelling out the issues and possible causes he intends to investigate.

The long list emphasizes ecosystem threats within the watershed.

Pollution from pulp mills, sewage treatment plants, other industries, urban traffic and agriculture is to be examined.

Logging is also to be scrutinized because of the potential impacts on river water.

The paper specifically notes the intensive logging underway to salvage timber killed by mountain pine beetles.

"Infested forests have higher water tables, faster snow melt, higher spring floods, more flash flooding and erosion," the paper notes.

Habitat impacts from gravel mining and river dredging as well as log booms in the Fraser estuary would also be considered.

The paper also lists residential growth, port development, pesticide and fertilizer runoff, as well as the threat of various parasites and diseases that can infect salmon.

Existing and proposed independent power projects – and even the 60-year-old Kemano hydroelectric station – would be scrutinized for habitat effects.

Salmon farms, including the effects on sockeye of sea lice, farm waste, escaped Atlantic salmon and possible disease spread would also be examined, along with the possible risk reduction by shifting to closed pens or land-based fish farms.

Climate change effects are to be evaluated. Warmer winters mean less mountain snow and reduced summer river flows, the paper notes.

Overfishing is to be examined – from authorized fisheries as well as the impact of poachers and sockeye caught unintentionally by commercial, sport or aboriginal fishers targeting other species – along with the adequacy of enforcement.

The commission will also try to gauge how much sockeye is devoured by predators like seals, sea lions, killer whales and Humbolt squid.

The management of the fishery by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), its organizational structure, funding, budgeting and allocation of resources tops the paper's list of areas to explore.

The hearings would also look at DFO's run size forecasts, counting methods and related issues behind the huge discrepancy between expected numbers of salmon and how many have actually returned in recent years.

Last year, a projected run of 10.6 million sockeye ended up yielding just 1.37 million.

"Since the early 1990s, there has been a steady and profound decline," according to the discussion paper.

Preliminary hearings begin June 15, where stakeholders may propose more avenues for inquiry and debate what priority each should be given.

Evidentiary hearings are to be begin Sept. 7, focusing on DFO's management of the fishery.

The commission sits at the Federal Court in downtown Vancouver, but promises to hold public forums in several coastal and Fraser River communities.

 

[chris gadsden]

Salmon inquiry to focus on Fisheries Department's structure, fish farm effects

 

By: Sunny Dhillon, The Canadian Press

 

Winnipeg Free Press

 

9/06/2010 5:34 PM

 VANCOUVER - A federal commission examining the collapse of sockeye salmon stocks in B.C.'s Fraser River will focus on everything from the organizational structure at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the possible effects of salmon farming.

 The commission of inquiry, headed by B.C. Supreme Court Judge Bruce Cohen, released a discussion paper Wednesday outlining its areas of interest.

 Ottawa ordered the inquiry last year after just one-tenth of an estimated 10.5 million sockeye returned to the Fraser River, forcing the closure of commercial and aboriginal food fisheries.

 The 22-page discussion paper says the commission will consider DFO's national and regional leadership, allocation of departmental resources and relationship with the province of B.C., as well as First Nations.

 The paper refers to issues involving fish biology and ecosystems and says research projects on areas such as fish farms, water pollution, urbanization and climate change will be contracted out separately to experts.

 Aquaculture has long been a hot-button issue in B.C., with some conservationists arguing sea lice from farmed salmon spreads to wild stocks.

 "The commission intends to examine whether there is a linkage between salmon farm operations and Fraser River sockeye survival, including reductions of sockeye smolt survival from sea lice exposure, impacts of farm wastes on seabed and ocean habitat quality, effects of Atlantic salmon escapes on Fraser River sockeye, as well as any potential for the spreading of disease," the paper says.

 The commission will also look at salmon farm management methods that could reduce potential risk to Fraser River sockeye, including the use of land-based systems.

 Three days of hearings will be held in Vancouver starting next Tuesday, and will allow participants the opportunity to suggest what other areas the commission should consider.

 Cohen must submit an interim report by August 1 on any previous examinations, investigations or reports that he considers relevant to the commission.

 Evidentiary hearings will begin in September.

 The commission will touch on a variety of other issues, including salmon harvesting locations and regulations by aboriginal, commercial and recreational fishermen.

 Salmon forecasting methods, habitat analysis and water pollution are also on the agenda.

 "Contaminants originating from pulp mills, sewage treatment plants, and non-point sources are present in the Fraser River in measurable concentrations," the paper says.

 "These contaminants can act synergistically to impact fry, smolts or adults, and environmental variables (e.g., temperature) can modify their toxicity."

 In addition to possible diseases and predators, the commission will also look at logging and hydro practices on the river.

 "There are numerous independent power projects (IPPs) in the Fraser watershed located adjacent to salmon habitats, and others are proposed," the paper says.

 Twenty people and groups, including the B.C. and federal governments, First Nations, environmental organizations and fisheries unions have been granted permission to call and question witnesses at the inquiry.

 Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the inquiry in the House of Commons last November.

 "We are very concerned about the low and falling returns of sockeye salmon in British Columbia," he said at the time.

 Although last year's startling stocks decline elevated the issue to national prominence, the discussion paper says sockeye numbers have been falling for some time.

 "Since the early 1990s, there has been a steady and profound decline, and now the ratio of returning progeny per spawner is well below the replacement level."

 

[VAGAbond]

Do I detect that this enquiry is off the rails already?   Polluters, poachers, habitat destruction are all good subjects  but the problem at hand is a run of fish that went to sea in good numbers as large healthy fish and never came back.   High seas poachers are OK to investigate  if that is a possibility but lets not waste time on in-river poaching of returning fish.   That is another problem that has no bearing on sockeye runs that never return.

[andychan]

Do I detect that this enquiry is off the rails already?   Polluters, poachers, habitat destruction are all good subjects  but the problem at hand is a run of fish that went to sea in good numbers as large healthy fish and never came back.   High seas poachers are OK to investigate  if that is a possibility but lets not waste time on in-river poaching of returning fish.   That is another problem that has no bearing on sockeye runs that never return.

speaking of rails; what did bc rail or whatever rail get charged with for killing all the fish cheakamus?