Bye Bye Sox

[alhuger]

 

 

This is truly heartbreaking stuff:

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nation...article1249976/

 

One more kick in the backside to a watershed that's already hurting. The upside is (and I say this tongue in cheek) is that the nook fishery is on fire in the interior because of the lack of netting in the Fraser. Meat for everyone this winter.

 

al

[maxwell]

taht is so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i remeber as a kid on the quesnel being able too "walk across the river on there backs" i coudlnt even imagine going back now too see almost no fish swim under the bridge... freakin brutal!

[Lundvike]

That is just horrible for so many reasons. Besides the obvious loss in terms of the number of sockeye its going to make tough economic times even worse for all the commercial fisherman and for the natives who depend on these runs for food and a living. Time for the governments, provincial and federal, to open there eyes and regulate the fish farms.

[BBBrownie]

Terrible. This is being repeated up the coast and the frequency seems to be increasing. Skeena sockeye were projected at 2 million this year, and now the numbers are looking more like 800 000. Although the Skeena has no fish farms, there are farms immediately north and south that they still pass. Steelhead runs over BC are in the same predicament. Everyone is raving about the huge returns to the Skeena this year, yet it is still looking like about half of what the 80s and earlier saw. Cumulative effects are hammering away at the anadromous runs in BC. Logging and mining head waters is decreasing available spawning habitat, introducing toxins and heavy metals. The juveniles that are recruited head to the ocean where they run a gauntlet through fish farms teeming with sea lice and pathogens such as furunculosis. Then, when returning many runs hit nets. Nothing short of sweeping reforms in industrial practices (larger riparian buffers for logging, no mining headwaters on salmon streams and tribs, closed containment fish farms placed away from migratory routes, seining instead of gill netting) happen NOW then I believe fully that many salmon/steelhead runs will seize to exist very soon. Although I do realize that some runs, such as chinook, seem to be doing well on the frasier for example, I believe this is still a fraction of historical returns. Here is a good read:

http://www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org/Repo...layout_1pp_.pdf

 

Alexandra Morton is leading a charge for reforms to helo salmon, and she has been calling the collapses with surprising accuracy. I believe her group is called raincoast research, she is doing mnay good things so look into it if you are interested.

 

Riley

[theiceman2]

Probably the best thing that could happen to the Salmon fishery in BC. If this was a gradual decline over the years due to farming the general public would never notice. Maybe a good swift kick in the balls will get some attention and tighten up these regs on fish farms.

 

When will people learn that no animal can be kept in extreme overpopulation, nature has a way to clense overpopulated heards, and thats what si happening here because of the farms.

 

Chickens = Avian bird flu

Pigs = H1N1 Swine flu

Cows = Mad cow desieese (Ok not really but cows were not ment to eat other cows)

[SilverDoctor]

Truly saddens me. I fished the Quesnel area many times in my younger days and as Max said you could walk across the river on the fished backs. The really shocking this is the total disappearance. First thing I though of is someones has really efficient offshore fishing methods. Hope this don't now mean in hte governments eyes more salmon farms.

 

Sigh.... back to the letter writing.

[alhuger]

Truly saddens me. I fished the Quesnel area many times in my younger days and as Max said you could walk across the river on the fished backs. The really shocking this is the total disappearance. First thing I though of is someones has really efficient offshore fishing methods. Hope this don't now mean in hte governments eyes more salmon farms.

 

Sigh.... back to the letter writing.

 

I can only imagine what this means to the Adam's river late return. The other tribs in the Shuswap saw very little in the way of sockeye so far although the springs are thick given the lack of commercial netting in the Fraser. I suspect the Adam's will see a great spring return and a (more importantly) dismal sox return. Pity.

 

al

[alhuger]

seining instead of gill netting)

 

Why is seining a better option? It seems to indiscriminate and seems to be particularly nasty for shoreline migration. I know driftnets are not great either but at least they have that space between the surface the top of the net for fish in the upper end of the water column for swim through. Of course, I would prefer to see neither but that's not particularly realistic.

 

Although I do realize that some runs, such as chinook, seem to be doing well on the frasier for example, I believe this is still a fraction of historical returns. Here is a good read:

http://www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org/Repo...layout_1pp_.pdf

 

Alexandra Morton is leading a charge for reforms to helo salmon, and she has been calling the collapses with surprising accuracy. I believe her group is called raincoast research, she is doing mnay good things so look into it if you are interested.

 

Riley

 

I suspect part of the reasons the spring fishery is appearing to do well is the lack of netting for sockeye. You can see in the interior significant changes in the number of springs which come through the south thompson even when just limited slot openings are in effect. Total lack of commercial netting will make that delta even more stark I would think.

 

 

 

 

[BBBrownie]

Why is seining a better option? It seems to indiscriminate and seems to be particularly nasty for shoreline migration. I know driftnets are not great either but at least they have that space between the surface the top of the net for fish in the upper end of the water column for swim through. Of course, I would prefer to see neither but that's not particularly realistic.

 

Seine fishery is selective. At the skeena right now there is a pink seine fishery happening. They pull the purse seine around, then pull all the non-target species out of the center. Gill nets are left set for a specified time period, unless a fish has only been trapped a short period of time, they will die in the net, so gill nets are considered non-selective. I have caught a few steelhead with nasty net marks from gill nets (although at least they still made it). You are correct in regards to the depth and location selection with gill nets, but at least the purse seine is only corralling fish and is actively monitored, also there have been many DFO observers on board with Seining vessels lately to ensure non-target species are released. I also wish neither had to occur, but seines can be sustainable if properly managed.

 

 

I suspect part of the reasons the spring fishery is appearing to do well is the lack of netting for sockeye. You can see in the interior significant changes in the number of springs which come through the south thompson even when just limited slot openings are in effect. Total lack of commercial netting will make that delta even more stark I would think.

On the SKeena right now there is a great steelhead run (40% increase over the 2000's) likely at least in part attributable to the sockeye gill net fishery being closed for the season so far. There are still a certain number of casualties that occur with the pink siening, but it is minor as the daily returns haven't decreased significantly.

 

[Bezz]

Maybe they are just late like everything else this year?

[Wolfie]

Maybe they are just late like everything else this year?

 

sure wish u are right m8...but I think it is wishful thinking...........Wolfie

 

[reevesr1]

I've never fished salmon, but I can imagine if one day I went back to Texas and all the redfish were gone, as they once nearly were. It would be devastating.

 

How could it happen all in one year/ I know the leading candidate is the lice from the farms, but could they truly wipe out an entire class? Haven't the farms been around for awhile now? Why are the other species not as affected? Are sockeye somehow more vulnerable? I ask this out of almost total ignorance.

 

 

[BBBrownie]

I don't know if there is any real answer yet- the odd thing is that sockeye have well developed scales by the time they enter the ocean because they spend up to two years in fresh water, so it is thought that they are less susceptible than something like pinkies that go straight to the ocean. Very sad, but Alexandra Morton captured like 350 of the smolts from this run in the discovery passage in 2007 and she found up to 22 lice on individual smolts, then predicted that the run may collapse judging by the load of lice. She also predicted the pink collapse in the broughton archipelago, so listen to Alex, she knows.

[tonyr]

we can not stop the fish farms or the commercial fishery. those people jobs and pay checks are why more important then the preservation of the natural wilderness. i think it is just a cycle we should just continue on and get paid.there is just why to many jobs at stake to change.

[jayjjones11]

we can not stop the fish farms or the commercial fishery. those people jobs and pay checks are why more important then the preservation of the natural wilderness. i think it is just a cycle we should just continue on and get paid.there is just why to many jobs at stake to change.

 

 

A ) Fish farms can be done close-containment

B ) Sport fishing & tourism generates far more money then what money is brought into the local economy from both commercial netting and salmon farming. Most of the salmon farms are owned by Europeans and have Europeans workers.

C ) What about the native populations that depend on the salmon for food

D ) What about the bears/eagles/osprey that depend on the fish for food as a tourist industry.

 

Without sockeye, these rivers will die. There are always more jobs and money, there are only so many rivers.

[reevesr1]

jj,

Tonyr is taking a little shot at me. Just let it alone!

[tonyr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbOnbrZxGWo..._embedded#t=233

[bigbowtrout]

And the other side.

 

 

Click here if the movie does not play.

[bigbowtrout]

I am not a big fan of the farms but is it the real reason for all the lice???

 

I think they don't help any but they are only on piece in this monster mess.

[SilverDoctor]

I am not a big fan of the farms but is it the real reason for all the lice???

 

I think they don't help any but they are only on piece in this monster mess.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but the research seems to point out that anywhere fish farming takes hold the sea lice follow and stocks of fry collapse. We certainly need research into this.

[bigbowtrout]

I would just like to see all the tests from each farm to see the number of Lice each produces and if there is a cover up? Seems the spin from the folk who run the farms is that they monitor each farm and they are governed by strict rules on how many lice each adult salmon can carry.

But who really is in charge of governing these fisheries? http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/w...88-aa20c962b071

 

[headscan]

I thought the fish farms and lice connection had already been fairly well established years ago.

 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...61002/20061002/

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...almon-lice.html

 

http://www.cfb.ie/fisheries_research/sea_lice/seatrout.htm

 

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2002/08/15170/9405

 

The consensus seems to be that while other things contribute to the depletion of the stocks (commercial fishing, pollution, etc.) that sea lice directly attributable to fish farms have been shown to cause the greatest impact. Like anything else, I'm sure the corporate spin doctors can deny and place blame elsewhere. People will believe what they want no matter what the science says.

[BBBrownie]

I think you hit it Headscan. There is an abundance of evidence to attribute the sea lice infestation to salmon farms - this has been long established. There is just so much spin doctoring and infiltration of public opinion that surrounds the salmon farming industry. It is nuts because I was looking at a fishing forum for BC that had a salmon farming discussion. There was suddenly a swamp of intense salmon farming proponents that the moderator discovered were coming from 2 IP addresses -2 people with multiple accounts trying to spread salmon farming rhetoric. Ridiculous. Even the BC government is way in on it. This is how the farms get around the idea of closed containment- it is much more expensive, the companies say it isn't cost effective, threaten to pull out, the governemnt caves in order to keep the industry and the money, even though the farms are mostly Norweigan, along with many of the workers. Kind of reminds me of the tar sands in Alberta..

[headscan]

Sadly, it seems like the federal gov't isn't going to do anything to help the sockeye any time soon if our moronic fisheries minister is any indication...

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Politic...15/SockeyeShea/