Chinook bycatch by BC trawlers

A

Augie

Member
Just saw this story on Global. Makes my blood boil. There probably won’t be any consequences or anyone held responsible though. With everything we go through to avoid catching these fish it’s crazy that this isn’t being regulated more. Thoughts?

globalnews.ca

Thousands of Chinook salmon caught accidentally by B.C. trawlers: Report - BC | Globalnews.ca

DFO's report suggests over 20,000 Chinook were likely thrown overboard, while 3,700 may have been tossed onto land, according to Pacific Wild.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
 
It is not good to see. There is some info missing. I would like to know the size of the salmon and the amount of target fish caught. Remember all fisheries have by catch even the rec fishery. 20000 chinook is bad and they should strive for better but I would like more context . Did that salmon represent 1% or .0001 % by catch.

Think of the days we catch 15 shakers for every keeper and there are 20 other boats around..,....... stuff to think about.
 
The genesis of this is the SFAB asked DFO to implement new rules requiring all by-catch to be landed (as they do in other jurisdictions) and then to track/report those numbers so the Salmon Management team at DFO was informed and the Ground Fish Management team could plan better fisheries.

More importantly, the SFAB asked DFO to complete genetic stock identification to help determine patterns of where encounters of Chinook stocks of concerns took place in these fisheries. NOT to stop the trawl fishery, but rather to provide DFO with the capabilities to identify where these stocks are encountered and then plan fisheries to AVOID encounter hot spots. The idea being if the recreational and FN's are being asked to find ways to selectively harvest to avoid encounters of stocks of concern, why aren't the Trawl fleet doing the same.

To put it in perspective for the WCVI the recreational encounters of Chinook stocks of concern in Areas 123 - 127 is less than 1% of chinook encountered - a few hundred fish. We implemented non-retention from April to mid July to avoid these few fish to support recovery of this stock. On the other hand, the trawl fleet is fishing these same areas catching chinook by-catch and we had no idea how many chinook stocks of concern are even in the mix. Don't you think we need to know that data, and plan fisheries that avoid these stocks to the best of our capabilities.

So this is a good development that hopefully leads to increased capabilities for designing sustainable trawl fisheries that avoid these stocks of concern.
 
Ya.. the whales.. saw this last night on the news and of course they spin the whales in to it...
 
Hardy Guy said:
It is not good to see. There is some info missing. I would like to know the size of the salmon and the amount of target fish caught. Remember all fisheries have by catch even the rec fishery. 20000 chinook is bad and they should strive for better but I would like more context . Did that salmon represent 1% or .0001 % by catch.

Think of the days we catch 15 shakers for every keeper and there are 20 other boats around..,....... stuff to think about.
Click to expand...
I am sure there is more up to date data but this is what i have in my files.

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Yup that was the older data that DFO provided to SFAB before implementing the requirements to land and not dump salmon bycatch. What stuck out in the international data was Canada only reported an annual estimate and not actual numbers, whereas US trawl fisheries reported detailed data by area and salmon species...which got some of us thinking....Hmmmm why are Canada's reported catches so low compared to those south of us? And they aren't. Asking around, back in the day when DFO actually had fisheries officers on the water they could observe bycatch hotspots and make on-water and in-season adjustments - in today's world of remote and virtual monitoring that so far hasn't to my knowledge been happening with the exception of small community fisheries that I'm familiar with. Maybe its going on in the broader trawl fishery, but I'm not aware of it.

Knowing where/when bycatch happens will now allow Canada to design more sustainable fisheries - there's nothing wrong with sustainable fisheries be they commercial, recreational or FN.
 
okgnfishing said:
wow. i just read this news after work today. crazy to think that is around 2500 peoples yearly limit of chinook salmon gone to waste.
Click to expand...
What frosts me more is ENGO's spinning that the trawl fishery has to stop. All that needs to happen is better fishery planning to avoid bycatch. Stopping directed fisheries that reduce salmon predators can't end well either! Balance is the key, and the ENGO's don't seem to get it.
 
Looks like they are catching the most chinook during the hake fished in late summer. Not surprising as the fishery is large and happening where the salmon are migrating. Looks like some are caught during pollock fishery in area 12 also which happens in migration time. Also not surprising both of these fisheries uses mid water gear.Let's hope they can get the numbers down. The cry to close everything by the ENGOs does get tiring.
 
Doing a little more digging, found estimates of Fraser Chinook bycatch. These numbers are only for the period where DFO implemented enhanced monitoring and DNA stock composition (Sept 26 to Dec 31, 2022)- so the likely total numbers are higher. Nevertheless, what likely can be learned is the timing and location of Fraser 5/2 and 4/2 stocks in these fisheries to allow fishery managers to better plan ways to avoid them while allowing sustainable fisheries to take place in appropriate areas and times. I still expect the ENGO's to light their hair on fire, rather than look at the data as a tool to plan better fisheries.

Sept 26 - Dec 31, 2022:
5/2 Spring run = 48
5/2 Summer run = 11
4/2 Spring = 11
 
Don't get me wrong , by catch needs to be reduced to the lowest amount possible. The question comes up with what is an acceptable amount of by catch when catching huge amounts of other species ? The by catch of halibut is big in Alaska but the targeted catch of pollock alone is around 1.3 million metric tons and then there is all of the other fish species caught. The BC hake and pollock fisheries are also large. That being said reducing all by catch is the responsible thing to do.
 
Well when the rec fishery is shut down pretty much coast wide for months over a few early Fraser river chinook. Then I guess the answer is any by catch of Thoes stocks is to much.

20k chinook is also quite a bit in itself. That would amount to a good amount of the commercial troll tac. I’m sure they troll feet would like to have 20k more pieces.

Don’t they also have to buy yellow eye, rockfish ,lingcod and halibut tac to cover off Thoes by catch species
 
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Hardy Guy said:
Don't get me wrong , by catch needs to be reduced to the lowest amount possible. The question comes up with what is an acceptable amount of by catch when catching huge amounts of other species ? The by catch of halibut is big in Alaska but the targeted catch of pollock alone is around 1.3 million metric tons and then there is all of the other fish species caught. The BC hake and pollock fisheries are also large. That being said reducing all by catch is the responsible thing to do.
Click to expand...
which also brings in the question... How many Juvenile salmonids does 1 million tons of Hake eat ? There is no easy answer on this issue. There was a time that DFO shot Mergansers while creekwalking. Then someone did a study and found that the Mergansers were also keeping the bullhead population in check. Removing the Mergansers allowed the Bullhead population to spike and they feed on... You guessed it... Salmon eggs and juvenile salmon.

CR Greg
 
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