Hope soars for new sockeye record as big cycle returns to B.C.’s Fraser River (with video)
Sockeye smashed all expectations in the river in 2010. Out on the ocean, there are early signs of big sockeye returns again
By Rob Shaw, Vancouver SunJuly 26, 2014
VICTORIA — When Mike Kelly hits the pristine waters off northern Vancouver Island, the veteran fisherman is thrilled with what he sees. “I’m seeing a tonne of sockeye,” said Kelly, the owner of Tides and Tales fishing charters out of Port Hardy. “Every day I’ve been out in the last week, where I go we can see the sockeye jumping.”
It’s the kind of news that has B.C.’s fishing industry buzzing with anticipation as it prepares for what some say could be a monster salmon season.
Already, there are reports of better-than-expected runs of coho and chinook. The halibut year has been excellent too, fishermen say. But all eyes are on sockeye — B.C.’s most valuable salmon species, and one of the most exciting to catch.
The province had a historic run in 2010, with 30 million sockeye returning to the Fraser River. The huge numbers surprised and overwhelmed some in the industry.
The four-year maturity cycle means this summer could be a repeat. No one will know for sure for another couple of weeks, when the federal government will decide what kind of fishing is allowed on the Fraser. Even experts admit predicting salmon runs is a bit of a guessing game.
But Kelly said from what he sees he’s confident it will be a record year.
“We’re at the top end of the Island, so all those fish, as they make their way to the Fraser, go past us,” he said. “We’re seeing them out there now. It’s widespread and phenomenal.”
It all adds up to an “exceptional” year so far, Kelly said.
That’s good news for B.C.’s $2.2-billion fishing and aquaculture industry, which employs around 14,000 people. Many of those small businesses, like Kelly’s, ride out the annual ups and downs as best they can.
Kelly, a 40-year-old former commercial fisherman, spent more than $30,000 on a new boat just before the 2008 recession.
The economic downturn curtailed discretionary spending and scared off corporate clients of his charter fishing business, mainly from the United States. That dovetailed with the 2009 collapse of the Fraser River sockeye fishery. The one-two punch devastated many recreational and commercial fishing businesses.
“If it wasn’t for my repeat clientele, I would have been in real trouble,” said Kelly, who started his own charter business in 2003 and also has a young family. “It was my repeat clients that kept me afloat.” Especially those with cash from Alberta’s oilpatch, he said.
“The recession tapered off the amount of fun spending people would do, and they tended to watch their pennies a bit more,” Kelly said. “You can track how our business is going to go based on how the stock market is doing.”
Fresh and saltwater recreational fishing adds $1.2 billion to B.C.’s economy annually, with $936 million from ocean-based fishing.
A healthy fishing season has a big spinoff effect on money spent for things like moorage, boats, tackle, bait, hotels and fuel, said Owen Bird, executive director of the Sport Fishing Institute of B.C.
Read more:
http://www.vancouversun.com/busines...+with+video/10064056/story.html#ixzz38bzuyuSI