2009 Salmon Returns

[Governor]

Hey Goose,

Only just saw your request for Cowichan numbers. Here's the last official DFO report on the fence and river info ...


This update is for 28 October.

This will be the final update of the Cowichan Chinook fence this year. I will put out an email with finalized numbers of Chinook escapement when the data has been reviewed and analyzed. We will look at the deadpitch data and video data to make adjustments to the fence counts, plus I'll provide final numbers on the Cowichan River Hatchery brood take and release, the Cowichan Tribes' Food, Social, and Ceremonial catch and the Commercial and Sport catches of coded-wire tagged Cowichan Chinook.

The Cowichan Chinook fence was removed from the water yesterday, two days earlier than planned. I made this decision based on a forecast of 2 inches of rain for today and tomorrow which would have made very dangerous conditions for the original date of tomorrow and a possibility of damaging the fence panels in higher flows. As it was the panels were going under water Monday morning despite constant cleaning of the leaf debris coming downstream.

The interim final fence counts are:
Chinook Adults - 175
Chinook Jacks - 195
Coho Adults - 3565
Coho Jacks - 941
Chum - 134
Pink - 71
Unknown - 91

The Unknown category are mostly Pink salmon. Over the next few weeks the video data will be reviewed to check species ID, counts and to categorize the unknowns. In the past this effort has not changed the visual count significantly.

There was a large push of Chum salmon over the last couple of days that isn't reflected in the fence count as they were able to leap over the submerged panels. Also, it's great to see a large return of Coho salmon this year.

The deadpitch crew have reported Chinook spawning activity and they have recovered their first Chinook carcass.


Note the comment on Coho - "large return" (3565 adults - is that large for Cowichan?) These are relative to the time the fence is removed. Usually by end of October only a few hundred have gone past the fence, but many more will come into the river over November and December. So the total number for 2009 should be much higher than normal.

If I get any more info I'll post it.

Gov

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[Governor]

Smiley 66

Some of the problem of the low 2009 adult Cowichan chinook returns could well be from interception in commercial harvest. I am sure Area G off NWVI, eventhough cut back due to the PST reductions, will have harvested a number of Cowichan chinook in their fishery again. It will be interesting when the SFAB get to see the data from the Coded Wire Tags returns.

Gov

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[Governor]

Smiley 66

Some of the problem of the low 2009 adult Cowichan chinook returns could well be from interception in commercial harvest. I am sure Area G off NWVI, eventhough cut back due to the PST reductions, will have harvested a number of Cowichan chinook in their fishery again. It will be interesting when the SFAB get to see the data from the Coded Wire Tags returns.

Gov

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[Governor]

There is an important Victoria SFAB Meeting on Wednesday Nov 4th
@ 7:00 PM in the Orchid Room of the Sandman Hotel on Douglas Street

Details on this site located at

Important Meetings, Derbys and SFBC Get Togethers
Victoria Area SFAB Mtg - Wed 4th Nov @ 7:00PM

or this link gets you there

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13730

This fall's terribly low adult Cowichan chinook return is on the agenda as one of the topics for discussion. Anglers Welcome -Please Plan to Attend

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[chris73]

You bet!

Is there gonna be hatchery staff giving return information, e.g. Sooke, San Juan, Nitnat, Goldstream, Cowichan etc.?

 

[Governor]

Chris73

We should have all the latest hatchery numbers from the area to report.

Gov

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[Barbender]

What I dont understand is these meetings are held every year which I attend. People put in their suggestions, ideas, complaints etc, and there is all this talk of change yet nothing ever gets done and nothing changes. I read somewhere that the run on the Cowichan River used to be reported in the NY Times in the early days because it had so many fish. Now it is a ghost of its formal self

 

[Fishalot]

Originally posted by alley cat

As of the 19th of October here is the Cowichan Round Table report.
Chinook 166 , 174 jacks
All streams flowing into the Georgia Straits basin are recording alarmingly low chinook returns.
Coho 1526 , jacks 825
Pinks 155 , many thousands milling around the deep sea dock , the rains have pulsed some in the last few days.
Hatchery had 500 chinook and 50 jacks , they returned 300 above Skutz Falls for brood stock.
Cowichan Tribes guardians and other community volunteers seized 7 illegal nets 5 were apparently native and 2 were non native.
Chum are starting to enter the system now.
This is the report I have from the CFRT Meeting.

AL
[/quote

Like the other 2 nets werent natives... With numbers like that its time for the Government to start handing out harsher fines to anyone trying to poach.

 

[drhook]

SFAB has seen the numbers and you're right, it is due to commercial interception! It came up at the last SFAB meeting in Nanaimo. DFO admitted that 20 Cowichan fish were caught in the Area G troll before it was shut down. Normally in the past few years it was shut down when 7 Cowichan fish were caught!
There simply is not enough fish for commercial harvesting! The fleet should be cut to half it size... and then the next day cut in half again and maybe, just maybe, we have a chance of saving whats left of the pacific salmon.

quote:Originally posted by Governor

Smiley 66

Some of the problem of the low 2009 adult Cowichan chinook returns could well be from interception in commercial harvest. I am sure Area G off NWVI, eventhough cut back due to the PST reductions, will have harvested a number of Cowichan chinook in their fishery again. It will be interesting when the SFAB get to see the data from the Coded Wire Tags returns.

Gov

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[alley cat]

Fishalot thats a dumb statement ! , go and talk to the people who patrol the river , and Oh yeah by the way they aren't all FN , the 3
I know were WASP and they found the 2 non native nets , almost got the white poachers except they buggered off in a truck before they could break out of the bush and get the licence number.
Your predjudice is showing !

AL

 

[Rum Buddies]

quote: DFO admitted that 20 Cowichan fish

Maybe I'm not understanding, but I don't see how taking 20 fish from the run can cause the collapse?

From the meetings in duncan over the last few years, I thought the main issue was the smolts were going up the straight of georgia then disappearing? As in never making it to adults?

http://www.fishingvancouverisland.org - Win an 8-Hour WCVI Charter!

 

[SerengetiGuide]

quote:Originally posted by Poppa Swiss

quote: DFO admitted that 20 Cowichan fish

Maybe I'm not understanding, but I don't see how taking 20 fish from the run can cause the collapse?

From the meetings in duncan over the last few years, I thought the main issue was the smolts were going up the straight of georgia then disappearing? As in never making it to adults?

http://www.fishingvancouverisland.org - Win an 8-Hour WCVI Charter!

I believe he was being sarcastic.

www.serengetifishingcharters.com

*NEW VIDEO*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlEzuNC59ck

 

[Governor]

DrHook probably got Coded Wire Tags and actual Cowichan chinook salmon muddled up. I too heard there were a bunch of Cowichan CWTs in the Area G catch too. 20 coded wire tags represents a lot more actual fish when DFO use a computer model to extrapolate (hundreds of fish).

The Cowichan are being plagued by a whoole lot of problems ... Hatchery smolts dying off at an alarming rate greater than 99% in 3 months from release, poor ocean survival, mortality in fiseries, high mortality due to predators and spear fishing in the river to name but a few..

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[drhook]

That's exactly what I meant to say in my post 'Governer'. My bad, I didn't say it well.
20 Cowichan fish with coded wire tags represents a much larger number of Cowichan fish taken. I don't know what the extrapolation figure is that DFO uses but it must represent a large number if they cut the trollers off at 7 in previous years.

 

[chris73]

I'd be surprised if more than 1 in a 100 get a wire tag. Taking that you could assume 20 CWT translate to approx. 2000 fish taken. That is 400% of what made it finally back to the river.

 

[Governor]

x2

God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton

 

[Charter Tofino]

Ouch... That is a huge impact.Just right place at right time to intercept?

Ps anyone have numbers for the qualicums? or know where to find them?

 

[Cuba Libre]

Kelly-- this is the latest I have. If you need more info, email me.
Bryan

quote:b. Qualicum River Systems Report; Les Clint
-Coho are becoming a serious issue for both Qualicum systems;
-Chinook are good with escapements being met and 4,000 ESSR fish were made available for Qualicum 1st Nation from Big Qualicum and 1400 from Little Q.
-Nile Creek pink returns seem to be approximately 25,000; which also is an amazing return for the Nile.
-Question asked re what is happening with the Chum Working group. (Unable to re-act fast enough to initiate incubation modifications and extra funding)
-DNA sampling is taking place but no data back yet. Baseline DNA required for 3 stocks; collection in progress; analysis expensive and time consuming.
Action; Area 14 SFAC Chair will write a letter to Stock Assessment enquiring; what and when, or if, we can see the results of the DNA sampling of the mixed stock Commercial fishery taking place in Area 14 as well as the Johnstone Strait Commercial fisheries.
i) Big Qualicum River:
-Coho dismal at best with only 2,000 in River and expectations for maybe another 1,000 (large percentage of these fish were hatchery marked.
-3,000 chum which is very poor. Oct.30 update total to fence estimate 4500 (still poor)
-Our hope is that the chum are not being caught in the continuing area H chum opening
-Something is happening as the same numbers of Chum are being released out of the hatchery through the years.
-DNA sampling is supposed to be happening this year in the commercial fishery to see if these fish are being caught in the commercial fishery.
-Last few years Coho have been less than desired minimum escapement
-Pinks were at 17,000 which is best in many years.
ii) Little Qualicum River:
-about 121 Coho total counted at the channel and incidental with the Chinook brood
-Oct 30th total Chum estimate now 22,000
Little Qualicum does not enhance Coho but number have decreased to an average of less than 800 or 1000 over the last years.
Les had the chance to query the Little Q full time staff to get a more accurate estimate of number handled so far and annual average number since the Oct 29 meeting

20ft Alumaweld Intruder

 

[chris73]

Thanks CL. I badly wanted some info on the Q's. But the results are weird at best: chinook seem good for both systems - that leaves the Cowichan and Goldstream chinooks the only two ECVI systems with really terrible chinooks returns while all the other ECVI systems had good or ok chinook returns. But in turn Coho is good or excellent for most systems across the BC coast except for mid/southern ECVI systems. What do we make out of that?

 

[Rum Buddies]

quote:that leaves the Cowichan and Goldstream chinooks the only two ECVI systems with really terrible chinooks returns while all the other ECVI systems

Could it be that these fish travel home on the outside of the island while the other's come down the inside?

I know Cowichan comes from the outside but I'm just speculating on the others, don't know their migration route?

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