wildmanyeah
Crew Member
From FWR
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=43075.msg407241#msg407241
I had a long conversation on the phone yesterday with Steve Hamilton, the president of Spruce City Wildlife Association in Prince George, because I wanted to be educated on the situation of the Upper Fraser River chinook salmon by someone who is directly involved with them.
While we here on the coast continue to talk about, and sometimes bicker over, harvest allocations, selective fisheries, angling opportunities, all of us need to sit back and look at what is going on 1,000km inland from the "battle ground".
For over a decade now, we have been talking about the decline of Upper Fraser River chinook and sockeye salmon, but just exactly how bad is it?
With an abundant return of summer chinook salmon in the Lower Fraser River, it is so easy to forget what we are quickly losing in this province.
So here is what's going on. Steve and his team of volunteers at Spruce City Wildlife Association, which was founded in 1970, with the support from Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, have been operating a small community salmon hatchery in the past several years to enhance chinook salmon returning to the tributaries of the Upper Fraser River. The word "small" might be bit of an exaggeration. Its operation is limited by the lack of fundings and the few fish they are able to find.
To date, they have collected 6 female and 10 male spawners this season. The team has spent over 500 hours looking for fish in tributaries such as the Nechako River. These Upper Fraser River tributaries are not little creeks, but their length and width are comparable to Lower Fraser River tributaries like the Chilliwack/Vedder River system. Each tributary's spawning habitat can easily accommodate tens of thousands of chinook salmon, but currently only a few dozens return to each. Some populations are now determined to be functional extinct, meaning that the populations have lost so much genetic diversity and cannot recruit themselves. This is a tragedy which majority of British Columbians are unaware of, and we are going to change that here.
Steve talked about how the hatchery is currently funded by private donors. Beside raising 25,000 eggs until the fish are ready to be released, the hatchery also runs an educational program which has put over 12,000 students through in the past three years so they can stay connected to these iconic species. Money is needed to cover overhead expenses, from keeping water flowing for the eggs, to having lights on at the facility. If you have enjoyed salmon fishing in this province, please consider a donation to the association because the recovery of these Upper Fraser River salmon populations is everyone's responsibility, regardless which sector you are in. Please go to the following link for making a donation:
http://www.scwa.bc.ca/donations
On a side note, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has not provided funds to support this program, despite of being the only salmon hatchery north of Kamloops and the urgency of recovering Upper Fraser River chinook salmon. It is beyond baffling why this department has chosen to ignore these options as part of the recovery beside fishing closures. Once again, we still have a lot of work to do
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=43075.msg407241#msg407241
I had a long conversation on the phone yesterday with Steve Hamilton, the president of Spruce City Wildlife Association in Prince George, because I wanted to be educated on the situation of the Upper Fraser River chinook salmon by someone who is directly involved with them.
While we here on the coast continue to talk about, and sometimes bicker over, harvest allocations, selective fisheries, angling opportunities, all of us need to sit back and look at what is going on 1,000km inland from the "battle ground".
For over a decade now, we have been talking about the decline of Upper Fraser River chinook and sockeye salmon, but just exactly how bad is it?
With an abundant return of summer chinook salmon in the Lower Fraser River, it is so easy to forget what we are quickly losing in this province.
So here is what's going on. Steve and his team of volunteers at Spruce City Wildlife Association, which was founded in 1970, with the support from Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, have been operating a small community salmon hatchery in the past several years to enhance chinook salmon returning to the tributaries of the Upper Fraser River. The word "small" might be bit of an exaggeration. Its operation is limited by the lack of fundings and the few fish they are able to find.
To date, they have collected 6 female and 10 male spawners this season. The team has spent over 500 hours looking for fish in tributaries such as the Nechako River. These Upper Fraser River tributaries are not little creeks, but their length and width are comparable to Lower Fraser River tributaries like the Chilliwack/Vedder River system. Each tributary's spawning habitat can easily accommodate tens of thousands of chinook salmon, but currently only a few dozens return to each. Some populations are now determined to be functional extinct, meaning that the populations have lost so much genetic diversity and cannot recruit themselves. This is a tragedy which majority of British Columbians are unaware of, and we are going to change that here.
Steve talked about how the hatchery is currently funded by private donors. Beside raising 25,000 eggs until the fish are ready to be released, the hatchery also runs an educational program which has put over 12,000 students through in the past three years so they can stay connected to these iconic species. Money is needed to cover overhead expenses, from keeping water flowing for the eggs, to having lights on at the facility. If you have enjoyed salmon fishing in this province, please consider a donation to the association because the recovery of these Upper Fraser River salmon populations is everyone's responsibility, regardless which sector you are in. Please go to the following link for making a donation:
http://www.scwa.bc.ca/donations
On a side note, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has not provided funds to support this program, despite of being the only salmon hatchery north of Kamloops and the urgency of recovering Upper Fraser River chinook salmon. It is beyond baffling why this department has chosen to ignore these options as part of the recovery beside fishing closures. Once again, we still have a lot of work to do
