As humorous as this cartoon is the reality is that there will be hungry bears upstream of this slide. This will make it very difficult for escapement enumeration as bears will likely snatch what salmon they can off the spawning grounds before they have a chance to spawn....or consume any carcass lying around after spawning making it even more difficult for sex ratio.
Rock slide in Fraser River, B.C., may hinder salmon passage
- Thread starter wildmanyeah
- Start date
GLG
Well-Known Member
Aug 19, 2019 Big Bar Landslide update.
• The Big Bar Landslide incident has a daily average of 100 personnel working at all worksites along the river and at the Incident Command Post. To mitigate fatigue, staff rotate once a prearranged deployment duration has been completed.
• Seining and fish wheel operations continue to capture large quantities of salmon for transport upstream. However, strong winds posing a threat to safety halted transportation and rock scaling operations yesterday afternoon. Salmon transportation numbers are lower than usual due to these powerful winds preventing helicopters from flying and transporting salmon upstream.
• The efforts, valuable insight and support from First Nation leaders and communities has played a vital role in this operation. First Nation communities along the Fraser River have voluntarily closed their fishery operations, which has enabled us to capture as many salmon as possible. This commitment is deserving of acknowledgment and recognition.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 1,247 Chinook: 282
Total to Date Sockeye: 15,772 Chinook: 5,095
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_19.pdf
• The Big Bar Landslide incident has a daily average of 100 personnel working at all worksites along the river and at the Incident Command Post. To mitigate fatigue, staff rotate once a prearranged deployment duration has been completed.
• Seining and fish wheel operations continue to capture large quantities of salmon for transport upstream. However, strong winds posing a threat to safety halted transportation and rock scaling operations yesterday afternoon. Salmon transportation numbers are lower than usual due to these powerful winds preventing helicopters from flying and transporting salmon upstream.
• The efforts, valuable insight and support from First Nation leaders and communities has played a vital role in this operation. First Nation communities along the Fraser River have voluntarily closed their fishery operations, which has enabled us to capture as many salmon as possible. This commitment is deserving of acknowledgment and recognition.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 1,247 Chinook: 282
Total to Date Sockeye: 15,772 Chinook: 5,095
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_19.pdf
GLG
Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2019 Big Bar Landslide update
• Helicopters continue to be successful in transporting salmon past the obstruction. Yesterday, a record number of 2,612 salmon were transported — the most in one day to date. The transport included 2,300 sockeye and 312 chinook, bringing the combined total to 23,479 so far.
• Beach seining specialists from the Gitxsan Watershed Authority, Secwepemc First Nation and St’at’imc First Nation have had great success capturing salmon for transport operations. Seining crews are also working to identify new seining areas daily.
• The incident is being managed by an innovative collaboration, government to government, between First Nations and federal and provincial governments.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 2,300 Chinook: 312
Total to Date Sockeye: 18,072 Chinook: 5,407
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_20.pdf
Update: Welcome to Team Skeena, seining specialists from Gitksan Watershed Authority who recently arrived at the landslide site, adding additional expertise to the Secwepemc and St’at’imc crews already on the ground.
• Helicopters continue to be successful in transporting salmon past the obstruction. Yesterday, a record number of 2,612 salmon were transported — the most in one day to date. The transport included 2,300 sockeye and 312 chinook, bringing the combined total to 23,479 so far.
• Beach seining specialists from the Gitxsan Watershed Authority, Secwepemc First Nation and St’at’imc First Nation have had great success capturing salmon for transport operations. Seining crews are also working to identify new seining areas daily.
• The incident is being managed by an innovative collaboration, government to government, between First Nations and federal and provincial governments.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 2,300 Chinook: 312
Total to Date Sockeye: 18,072 Chinook: 5,407
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_20.pdf
Update: Welcome to Team Skeena, seining specialists from Gitksan Watershed Authority who recently arrived at the landslide site, adding additional expertise to the Secwepemc and St’at’imc crews already on the ground.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Selective fishing specialists
Seems to have worked well on the Skeena hasn't it?
Oh.....wait a sec.....
GLG
Well-Known Member
Update from DFO. (not looking good I'm afraid.)
The Fraser River Panel met Tuesday, August 20, to receive an update on the
migration of the Fraser Sockeye and pink runs to date and review the status of
migration conditions in the Fraser River watershed.
https://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=224564&ID=all
The Fraser River Panel met Tuesday, August 20, to receive an update on the
migration of the Fraser Sockeye and pink runs to date and review the status of
migration conditions in the Fraser River watershed.
https://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=224564&ID=all
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
no it is catastrophically bad, These runs will not be fished again for a very long time., now its just about saving the genes
"The third spawning ground report of the season was provided by DFO Stock
Assessment on August 15. To date 4 live and 2 dead Sockeye have been observed
in the Early Stuart spawning tributaries. The Scotch Creek fence was installed
on August 6 and no fish have been enumerated into the system at this time
however fish have been observed holding below the counting fence. The Stellako
River hydroacoustics site was operational on August 1 and no Nadina Sockeye
have been observed to date. The Chilko and Quesnel hydroacoustics sites were
operational on August 9 and 12 respectively and no Sockeye have been observed
to date. The Cultus Lake fence was installed on July 30 and no Sockeye have
been observed to date. Water temperature in Sweltzer Creek is 25° Celsius. The
Gates Creek spawning channels are now operational with no Sockeye observed to
date. Visual surveys have begun in a number of other tributaries with the only
Sockeye observations to date being recorded in the upper Chilliwack River. The
next spawning ground update will be provided on Thursday, August 22."
Big Green Machine
Well-Known Member
The entire river is now closed, except for Sturgeon and Coarse fish angling. And of course a few FSC openings for Springs. Bar fishing, a family tradition for many years, is a SAR event.
If it was open to angling, then DFO would have to open it up to netting full time 24/7. The only chance of saving any of the **** return of sockeye this year is to keep the FN almost happy and us off the Fraser. I am seriously so surprised the mouth has not closed down yet.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Yeah it’s is surprising look at the Albion today. Man the river guys are taking it on the chin
cohochinook
Well-Known Member
If FSC Fisheries were able/willing to use selective fishing methods such as fish traps or pound nets, they could be open and allowed to target other stocks than Sockeye. Right now with non-selective fishing methods of gill nets used in the river, this problem will always occur during conservation concerns! DFO needs to work with Fraser River First Nations to incentify and assist them to do this!
Last edited:
cohochinook
Well-Known Member
The reason the Fraser mouth is still open is Sport Fishing Anglers can target Chinook with virtually no impact on Sockeye.
I give DFO props for actually recognizing this.
GLG
Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2019 Big Bar Landslide update
• Short interviews with field staff have been uploaded to the Big Bar webpage, under the section “Meet the People”. A fish biologist, a fisherman, operational supervisors and the fish wheel operator talk about what they do and how their work is contributing to saving the salmon. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...ident?keyword=big&keyword=bar#responseupdates
• Road construction crews and engineers are making progress establishing a road that will be used to transport salmon upstream, via trucks. This operation will work simultaneously with helicopter transport in order to maximize the amount of salmon that are bypassing the obstruction.
• While relocating salmon upstream by helicopter is very effective and will remain ongoing, trucks will also be used to transport salmon in aerated holding tanks. Trucks provide a second approach to salmon transport as helicopter operations are reliant on weather conditions. Thunderstorms, fog and wind have the ability to compromise air safety and prevent helicopter use.
• Yesterday, radio tagging operations were conducted again. This enables fish biologists to monitor salmon and track movement. Monitoring is critical to provide information about fish movement and the impact of our operations on migration success.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 2,681 Chinook: 291
Total to Date Sockeye: 20,753 Chinook: 5,698
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_21.pdf
• Short interviews with field staff have been uploaded to the Big Bar webpage, under the section “Meet the People”. A fish biologist, a fisherman, operational supervisors and the fish wheel operator talk about what they do and how their work is contributing to saving the salmon. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/...ident?keyword=big&keyword=bar#responseupdates
• Road construction crews and engineers are making progress establishing a road that will be used to transport salmon upstream, via trucks. This operation will work simultaneously with helicopter transport in order to maximize the amount of salmon that are bypassing the obstruction.
• While relocating salmon upstream by helicopter is very effective and will remain ongoing, trucks will also be used to transport salmon in aerated holding tanks. Trucks provide a second approach to salmon transport as helicopter operations are reliant on weather conditions. Thunderstorms, fog and wind have the ability to compromise air safety and prevent helicopter use.
• Yesterday, radio tagging operations were conducted again. This enables fish biologists to monitor salmon and track movement. Monitoring is critical to provide information about fish movement and the impact of our operations on migration success.
Salmon Transported by Helicopter
Daily Total Sockeye: 2,681 Chinook: 291
Total to Date Sockeye: 20,753 Chinook: 5,698
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/p..._update_big_bar_landslide_incident_aug_21.pdf
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
I’m going assume that the rock manipulation and creating a natural passage is still under way?? As well as the fish ladder that was brought up?? Or.....???
Looks like the water has really dropped now
Looks like the water has really dropped now
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Im impressed to see Rod this fired up.
Fishing with Rod is feeling pissed off.
58 mins ·
Normally as we approach the end of August during odd years, most of us are anticipating with excitement for the upcoming Fraser River pink salmon fishery. Instead, we are now dealing with a series of absurd management decisions by an agency which really does not care to have a better understanding on what the Lower Fraser River recreational fishing sector needs.
Here is a quick overview of what have taken place so far and what you can expect for the remaining part of this year. Salmon fishing has been closed in the Lower Fraser River to date due to expected low abundance of chinook and sockeye salmon returns. This closure has included some saltwater recreational salmon fishing closures as well as all Lower Fraser First Nations’ communal fishing closures (with the exception of some ceremonial openings). Originally, this closure was scheduled to end on August 23rd for the recreational sector, with the option of a pink salmon fishery on the table if run size is allows it. This window of opening was expected to last until September 20th when a 42 day salmon fishing closure kicks in to coincide with the run timing of endangered Interior Fraser River steelhead (Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead) until November 1st.
Because of the poor sockeye salmon returns which coincide with the pink salmon run, “low abundance exploitation rate” (LAER), basically a term for small amount of incidental by-catches, now applies to these stocks. DFO is allocating all of this "LAER" for the Lower Fraser River First Nations’ chinook salmon communal fisheries, which will by-catch a certain number of sockeye salmon while harvesting chinook salmon. The end result is that recreational anglers cannot fish for pink salmon because this department believes anglers would by-catch sockeye salmon while targeting pink salmon and there are no by-catch allowance left after allocating all of them to First Nations’ fisheries.
Furthermore, the resource managers have suggested that chinook salmon returns are poor to date so a closure for pink salmon is also to prevent chinook salmon being by-caught.
So here is the problem.
Since about ten years ago, my colleagues and I on the Sport Fishing Advisory committee have been actively pushing for regulatory changes that would allow selective fishing methods. Meetings after meetings, these proposals have been dismissed until now it’s simply ignored. In ten years, we could have developed fisheries which would only target one specific salmon. Gear restrictions such as leader length restrictions, allowance of one particular fishing method, bait ban, could easily be implemented so anglers could target sustainable salmon stocks such as pink salmon. Instead of having one blanket closure from the mouth of the Fraser River to the Fraser Canyon, we could have area-specific openings such as the tidal portion of the Fraser River where the possibility of encountering a sockeye salmon is slim to none. We could have reduced the daily quota to find a middle ground, instead of having either a high daily quota for an opening or a completely closure. We could have developed specific guidelines such as the requirement of a catch and release net to ensure all released fish are kept in the water so post-release mortality could be lowered even more to minimize impacts. Instead, the answer from this department has been, “It can’t be done, so status quo is best, which means a blanket closure is our only option.”
To suggest that chinook salmon returns have been low and use it as another excuse to justify the closure of a viable fishery of another species is laughable. In this past week, the Albion test fishery daily catches have been double of last year, and more than triple of the year before. Does everyone remember what we were doing in August 2018? Apparently by-catches of low chinook salmon stocks were not a concern while everyone was enjoying the abundant sockeye salmon catches. If Fraser River chinook salmon returns are a concern this year, why is it open for retention for our saltwater sector in Area 29-3 and beyond (where anglers are enjoying some fantastic fishing right now), and First Nations’ communal fisheries are currently taking place every weekend?
To add insult to injury, currently the Fraser River pink salmon return is tracking at P75, meaning that it will likely be 7.5 million fish or more, much higher than we first anticipated. The Lower Fraser River anglers may retain perhaps 10s of thousands in a two or three week opening, a tiny fraction of the entire stock. These fish are off limit to you now, not because you have an impact on endangered salmon stocks, because the Department of Fisheries has no interest in looking into alternatives to create sustainable fishing opportunities for you.
The recreational fishing industry can no longer rely on the Fraser River salmon management to survive. Unlike commercial fishermen, we are not just sitting on the side line waiting for the green light to fish. Stores cannot simply stock up inventories and pray for openings in the last minute. Guides cannot promise guests who may be travelling from abroad that they would have a chance to experience salmon fishing. People plan their vacation times ahead to coincide with fishery openings. This isn’t about a bunch of fishermen who are whining about not being able to catch fish and make money however, it’s more than that. Anglers are not always looking for fish to harvest, but we are looking for opportunities to RECREATE. The Fraser River pink salmon fishery is as family friendly as it gets. It is the perfect venue where parents teach their kids how to catch a salmon. It is where friends gather once every two years to experience the thrill of catching some nice fish and consuming food from a sustainable source. At the personal level, my 3 year old is going to miss the chance of netting a fish that mommy would have caught like what his brother did four years ago. It is where memories are made and a closure like this when there could easily be alternatives, kills the community. These closures are also killing fishing licence sales, hurting organizations such as Go Fish BC. If it continues, we will lose a generation of future stewards.
By the way, this isn’t about favouring First Nations while closing our fisheries. First Nations’ fisheries are prioritized and they have also been reduced significantly this year. Congratulations to their leadership for doing so. This whole situation could have been avoided if this department has committed to create selective recreational fishing opportunities, give First Nation leaders a better understanding on what this sector wants and is willing to work for to achieve it. Instead, there is a communication gap between the two groups and we both have been used as excuses for closures.
It is absurd that the Lower Fraser River recreational fishing sector, the group with the largest number of users in this province, with the smallest impacts on fish stocks, and the most flexible when it comes to modification in methodologies to avoid incidental by-catches, is the only group being completely kept off the water by closures for reasons other than conservation. I’m not frustrated by the fact that we will not be fishing for pink salmon, but unprofessionalism and lack of accountability pisses me off. Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, your department and its attitude needs an overhaul.
Rod
Fishing with Rod is feeling pissed off.
58 mins ·
Normally as we approach the end of August during odd years, most of us are anticipating with excitement for the upcoming Fraser River pink salmon fishery. Instead, we are now dealing with a series of absurd management decisions by an agency which really does not care to have a better understanding on what the Lower Fraser River recreational fishing sector needs.
Here is a quick overview of what have taken place so far and what you can expect for the remaining part of this year. Salmon fishing has been closed in the Lower Fraser River to date due to expected low abundance of chinook and sockeye salmon returns. This closure has included some saltwater recreational salmon fishing closures as well as all Lower Fraser First Nations’ communal fishing closures (with the exception of some ceremonial openings). Originally, this closure was scheduled to end on August 23rd for the recreational sector, with the option of a pink salmon fishery on the table if run size is allows it. This window of opening was expected to last until September 20th when a 42 day salmon fishing closure kicks in to coincide with the run timing of endangered Interior Fraser River steelhead (Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead) until November 1st.
Because of the poor sockeye salmon returns which coincide with the pink salmon run, “low abundance exploitation rate” (LAER), basically a term for small amount of incidental by-catches, now applies to these stocks. DFO is allocating all of this "LAER" for the Lower Fraser River First Nations’ chinook salmon communal fisheries, which will by-catch a certain number of sockeye salmon while harvesting chinook salmon. The end result is that recreational anglers cannot fish for pink salmon because this department believes anglers would by-catch sockeye salmon while targeting pink salmon and there are no by-catch allowance left after allocating all of them to First Nations’ fisheries.
Furthermore, the resource managers have suggested that chinook salmon returns are poor to date so a closure for pink salmon is also to prevent chinook salmon being by-caught.
So here is the problem.
Since about ten years ago, my colleagues and I on the Sport Fishing Advisory committee have been actively pushing for regulatory changes that would allow selective fishing methods. Meetings after meetings, these proposals have been dismissed until now it’s simply ignored. In ten years, we could have developed fisheries which would only target one specific salmon. Gear restrictions such as leader length restrictions, allowance of one particular fishing method, bait ban, could easily be implemented so anglers could target sustainable salmon stocks such as pink salmon. Instead of having one blanket closure from the mouth of the Fraser River to the Fraser Canyon, we could have area-specific openings such as the tidal portion of the Fraser River where the possibility of encountering a sockeye salmon is slim to none. We could have reduced the daily quota to find a middle ground, instead of having either a high daily quota for an opening or a completely closure. We could have developed specific guidelines such as the requirement of a catch and release net to ensure all released fish are kept in the water so post-release mortality could be lowered even more to minimize impacts. Instead, the answer from this department has been, “It can’t be done, so status quo is best, which means a blanket closure is our only option.”
To suggest that chinook salmon returns have been low and use it as another excuse to justify the closure of a viable fishery of another species is laughable. In this past week, the Albion test fishery daily catches have been double of last year, and more than triple of the year before. Does everyone remember what we were doing in August 2018? Apparently by-catches of low chinook salmon stocks were not a concern while everyone was enjoying the abundant sockeye salmon catches. If Fraser River chinook salmon returns are a concern this year, why is it open for retention for our saltwater sector in Area 29-3 and beyond (where anglers are enjoying some fantastic fishing right now), and First Nations’ communal fisheries are currently taking place every weekend?
To add insult to injury, currently the Fraser River pink salmon return is tracking at P75, meaning that it will likely be 7.5 million fish or more, much higher than we first anticipated. The Lower Fraser River anglers may retain perhaps 10s of thousands in a two or three week opening, a tiny fraction of the entire stock. These fish are off limit to you now, not because you have an impact on endangered salmon stocks, because the Department of Fisheries has no interest in looking into alternatives to create sustainable fishing opportunities for you.
The recreational fishing industry can no longer rely on the Fraser River salmon management to survive. Unlike commercial fishermen, we are not just sitting on the side line waiting for the green light to fish. Stores cannot simply stock up inventories and pray for openings in the last minute. Guides cannot promise guests who may be travelling from abroad that they would have a chance to experience salmon fishing. People plan their vacation times ahead to coincide with fishery openings. This isn’t about a bunch of fishermen who are whining about not being able to catch fish and make money however, it’s more than that. Anglers are not always looking for fish to harvest, but we are looking for opportunities to RECREATE. The Fraser River pink salmon fishery is as family friendly as it gets. It is the perfect venue where parents teach their kids how to catch a salmon. It is where friends gather once every two years to experience the thrill of catching some nice fish and consuming food from a sustainable source. At the personal level, my 3 year old is going to miss the chance of netting a fish that mommy would have caught like what his brother did four years ago. It is where memories are made and a closure like this when there could easily be alternatives, kills the community. These closures are also killing fishing licence sales, hurting organizations such as Go Fish BC. If it continues, we will lose a generation of future stewards.
By the way, this isn’t about favouring First Nations while closing our fisheries. First Nations’ fisheries are prioritized and they have also been reduced significantly this year. Congratulations to their leadership for doing so. This whole situation could have been avoided if this department has committed to create selective recreational fishing opportunities, give First Nation leaders a better understanding on what this sector wants and is willing to work for to achieve it. Instead, there is a communication gap between the two groups and we both have been used as excuses for closures.
It is absurd that the Lower Fraser River recreational fishing sector, the group with the largest number of users in this province, with the smallest impacts on fish stocks, and the most flexible when it comes to modification in methodologies to avoid incidental by-catches, is the only group being completely kept off the water by closures for reasons other than conservation. I’m not frustrated by the fact that we will not be fishing for pink salmon, but unprofessionalism and lack of accountability pisses me off. Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, your department and its attitude needs an overhaul.
Rod
cohochinook
Well-Known Member
From the people who've been trying to save the upper Fraser Chinook here's an update from the Spruce City Wildlife Federation DFO in action on addressing this crisis for years and the returns this season:
https://www.facebook.com/465980740129604/posts/2489963794397945?sfns=mo
https://www.facebook.com/465980740129604/posts/2489963794397945?sfns=mo
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
My worst fears just came true this is heartbreaking....You just brought me to tears, seriously....
Last edited:
Similar threads
