Salmon Head Recovery Information for 2024

[Doug]

I just received my guide number chinook head report. The 12 fish on the report were from numerous people fishing with us in 2024, and all the heads were dropped off at the Esq Anglers with my guide number noted on their tags.

The only CWT tagged salmon was from a net pen project at Sandy Cove, Burrard Inlet, West Van. The four-year-old was from the Chilliwack River Hatchery.

In past years, when I fished in Sooke, my reports showed we averaged catching three times more clipped fish in the Sooke area compared to the Victoria waterfront. From what I've heard, (hope not true) the Net Pen project is being cancelled in Sooke this year. If it's cancelled, four years from now we can expect less clipped fish - maybe even unclipped fish - being caught in the Sooke area, all along our coast, and even in Alaska.

The Sooke Net Pen Project increased the salmon returns to the benefit of sport and commercial fisherman up and down the Pacific west coast.

DFO should let the Sooke Salmon Net Pen Project go ahead.

Did anyone else get their Head recovery Program reports?

 

[Tighthead]

I just received my guide number chinook head report. The 12 fish on the report were from numerous people fishing with us in 2024, and all the heads were dropped off at the Esq Anglers with my guide number noted on their tags.

The only CWT tagged salmon was from a net pen project at Sandy Cove, Burrard Inlet, West Van. The four-year-old was from the Chilliwack River Hatchery.

In past years, when I fished in Sooke, my reports showed we averaged catching three times more clipped fish in the Sooke area compared to the Victoria waterfront. From what I've heard, (hope not true) the Net Pen project is being cancelled in Sooke this year. If it's cancelled, four years from now we can expect less clipped fish - maybe even unclipped fish - being caught in the Sooke area, all along our coast, and even in Alaska.

The Sooke Net Pen Project increased the salmon returns to the benefit of sport and commercial fisherman up and down the Pacific west coast.

DFO should let the Sooke Salmon Net Pen Project go ahead.

Did anyone else get their Head recovery Program reports?

P

Post in thread '2025 Sooke Reports'

Tuesday at 7:14 PM

Well kind of a fishing report...head returns from August 4th to September 8th. 24 heads turned in..6 had tags.
1. Aug 4th Otter Point 3yr fish 630mm Bonneville Hatchery
2. 7th Otter Point 3 yr fish, 650mm Grovers Creek hatchery
3. 10th Otter Point 4 yr fish 700mm Chilliwack River
4. 10th Otter Point 3 yr fish 720mm Snake River @Pittsburg Landing hatchery
5. 20th Otter Point 3 yr fish 640mm Cowichan River
6. 22nd Sheringham Point 3 yr fish 700mm Cascade River

• profisher

• 

 

[WHO DAT]

From what I've heard, (hope not true) the Net Pen project is being cancelled in Sooke this year

E-mailed the SVIAC to see if this can be confirmed. Helped the boys out last year (Gr8 bunch) was looking forward to this year. If true possibly there will be a petition or dfo contact to express disappointment with this decision?!

 

[Capt_Ed]

I put 6 heads in last summer, just got the results . not one tag

 

[Doug]

E-mailed the SVIAC to see if this can be confirmed. Helped the boys out last year (Gr8 bunch) was looking forward to this year. If true possibly there will be a petition or dfo contact to express disappointment with this decision?!

With Profisher submitting 24 heads and Blue Wolf submitting 29 heads in 2024, it shows there are a lots of clipped fish in the Sooke area being caught. So hatcheries / net pens are helping us sports fishermen out. My only CWT fish caught in Victoria, came from a net pen project at Sandy Cove Vancouver.

I believe, the future of good fishing in Sooke is in everyone hands and if you wait a couple of years, that will result in two years of a lot less fish in the system in four/five years. Last year the net pen project injected 650,000 springs into the system and if it is cancelled this year it will be 00 into the system. What do you think fishing will be like in four/five years?

I have all the DFO, lower Van Is rivers return numbers for the past few years, and Sooke river was showing improvement but still needs a lot of help because it is one of the lowest return rivers on Vancouver Island, even with the net pen support. They do have hatcheries in Sooke but they can only do so much to help the fish stocks.

Chinook returns Survey #10 on Dec 2024 was (5 surveys) a total of 263 chinooks counted in 2024.
2023 chinooks count was 233
2022 chinooks count was 190.

I also have the Coho and Chum return numbers and they are down too.

I know these numbers can vary and are not exact but it is the best we have to determine what is returning.

The next document shows where the net pen fish with CWTs have been caught. You can see the 2019 to 2020 number increase in fish being caught and that is probably from the net pen brood stock increase in fish every year.

DFO report on the Sooke Net Pen Chinook Recoveries to Feb 2021 . Brood stock 2016/2017.

2019 Alaska Dept of Fish and Game (AK) 1 1
2019 BC Unknown Marine 1 1
2019 Juan de Fuca Sport 7 7
2019 Northern Sport 2 2
2019 Northern Troll 2 2
2019 Northwest Vancouver Is Troll 1 1
2019 Washington Dept of Fisheries and Wildlife (WA) 1 1
2019 West Coast Vancouver Is Sport 6 7
2020 Alaska Dept of Fish and Game (AK) 15 27
2020 Central Sport 1 1
2020 Juan de Fuca Sport 8 12
2020 Northern Sport 1 3
2020 Northern Troll 1 3
2020 West Coast Vancouver Is Sport 1 1
Grand Total 48 69

As you can see, the net pen helped out a lot of fisherman. Specially in Alaska, West Coast and Juan de Fuca.
These are only fish with CWT tags only, and just think how many fish were caught from the net pen that were not clipped, or clipped with no CWT.

I sure hope the net pen project will continue on and please submit your clipped fish heads.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Only tagged one our family caught this year.

 

[WHO DAT]

Apologize for the format, I'm a luddite do not know how to copy and paste.

 

[Hardy Guy]

I had 3 out of 6. All puget sound chinook.