Vancouver Sun - Aug 15, 2020
“Overall, the situation is quite dire. The run is returning at low levels,” said Catherine Michielsens, chief of fisheries management science for the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Commission.
“We have now seen enough of the run already to not expect any major surprises in terms of numbers being very different.”
It was already known that survival rates for this year’s Fraser River sockeye stocks would be below average, Michielsens said from Vancouver. That’s because as juveniles, the fish experienced warmer-than-average river temperatures in the Fraser River. They also faced above-average discharge levels in the river, making it more difficult to reach the ocean, she said. In the ocean, poor environmental conditions affecting their prey in the northeast Pacific hurt their survival rates as well.
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“There’s a substantial decline in salmon productivity and that’s been occurring for quite a while. But this year, especially and similar to last year, marine survival has been very low,” Michielsens said.
Those who put the current collapse of salmon returns in the Fraser to some single cause take note!
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Topic: PSC Chief of Fisheries Management Science comments Fraser Sockeye dismal returns (Read 2142 times)