In certain areas of the coast, especially the Strait of Georgia and JDF, juvenille chinook survival is THE issue we should be concerned about if WE (collectively) want there to be healthy, diverse, sustainable chinook populations..... as well as the corresponding chinook fisheries to go along with them. If we are losing around 50% of juvenile chinook from the time they reach the estuary to the time they leave the Strait (which new technology is showing is true) this is a big problem. As has been discussed a lot, the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project is pointing to many issues (seal predation rates being at the top) that are causing such a huge % of juvenile chinook to die. While mortality from rec fishing and catching juveniles is probably not a significant % of the loss it certainly is some % and thanks to
@Fishtofino for acknowledging it.
Simply increasing the number of hatchery fish will not solve this problem. In the SOG/JDF/Puget Sound areas the number of fry leaving rivers/streams/hatcheries is at/near an all time high. Producing baby chinook is not the main issue. The issue is these baby chinook at now dying at a much high rate than they did just 20 years ago. Hopefully some definitive answers to this issue will come shortly and be presented to DFO and others to act on. The rec fishing sector is not to blame for this change in juvenile chinook survival. However, the rec sector is also not immune from having effects on salmon and we need to speak honestly about what is happening or else we (rec sector) start to lose our credibility.