Counting Facilities - North Coast

The Babine River Counting Fence

The Docee River Counting Fence

The Meziadin Fishway

Nass Fishwheel Sockeye Escapement Estimates [HTML] 

Counting Facilities

One of the foundations of both fisheries management and stock assessment is a count of adult salmon returning to their natal streams to spawn. This information can tell a fish manager what effect management actions taken during the season had on the run. If the spawning beds are close enough to the fishing grounds, as in most coastal stocks, salmon counts directly influence whether openings occur. The count of adult spawners is a direct measurement of the health of the stock.

There are many ways that salmon are counted. Counts are made by walking along stream banks and observing the fish, or by flying in either fixed wing aircraft or helicopter. Fences are constructed on various systems to count the salmon as they move up the stream or river. Statistical methods such as mark – recapture are used in some cases, using fishwheels, beach seines, or other means. In some cases the "Dead Pitch" is performed. This procedure consists of the crew walking down a stream, after spawning has started and counting dead fish as they proceed. Each dead fish is marked (usually by cutting in half) so as not to count them a second time during further inspection walks.

Follow the links on this page to some of our larger counting facilities. There are other fences and facilities in the north, and in time more links may be added, but for now, these are the counting facilities that are most important for both fish management and stock assessment.