NORTH COAST SALMON (AND STEELHEAD) MANAGEMENT
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)
works closely with First Nations, the Commercial Salmon Advisory
Board, the Sport Fish Advisory Board, and environmental
interests to establish pre-season fishing plans for salmon in
the Skeena and other river systems. In all cases, DFO’s first
priority is to conserve salmon and other valuable stocks such as
steelhead on behalf of Canadians.
Meeting our obligations to conserve precious fish stocks and
balancing the expectations of all user groups against the
abundance of various stocks in any given year can be a
challenging and, at times, daunting task. This has been
particularly true with respect to Skeena River steelhead in
recent years. We are concerned by the low returns of steelhead
to the Skeena system in 2007, which are an exception to the
trends observed for these fish up until the last few years.
DFO has worked collaboratively with the Province of British
Columbia to protect Skeena River steelhead stocks. Our approach
has been to ensure that the integrated fisheries management
plans for the Skeena system conform to the maximum steelhead
bycatch allowed under the 1993 agreement between DFO, British
Columbia and fishing interests on harvest levels. To achieve
this, a ceiling has been placed on the total steelhead by-catch
allowed in the commercial sockeye fisheries conducted in
Management Areas 3, 4 and 5 (the mouth of the Skeena River and
its approach waters). In most years since the agreement was
signed, steelhead by-catch harvest rates have been considerably
under these ceilings.
In addition, we have required commercial sockeye harvesters to
employ a range of selective fishing measures, including short
gillnet sets, half-length gillnets, gillnet weedlines, brailing
by seines, and revival box use to support the successful release
of steelhead captured as by-catch. This year, we also assigned
more fishery officers to the North Coast compared to 2006, and
closely monitored the commercial fishery to ensure good
compliance with these measures. The information DFO has to date
suggests that the steelhead by-catch harvest in the commercial
sockeye fishery was about 11% in 2007, which is well below the
ceilings outlined in the 1993 agreement.
The commercial sockeye fishery has now closed. However, the
issues raised by the poor return of steelhead to the Skeena
system in 2007 and the need to conserve this precious resource
remain. DFO believes these issues need to be evaluated and
discussed in a broader forum. We would support an independent
science review of the technical aspects of the current situation
on the Skeena, in collaboration with the province. We believe
that a review must be science-based to provide realistic,
long-term answers. In this vein, DFO is examining next steps,
and will invite concerned groups to participate in the
integrated harvest planning committee process (IHPC) scheduled
for this fall. The IHPC consultations offer an opportunity for
consensus building on the conservation of Skeena steelhead.
DFO will also continue to consult closely with the Government of
B.C., which is responsible for the management of steelhead in
the province.
Current Commercial Fishing
Opportunities
-
Gillnet fisheries in the
approach waters to the Skeena are currently closed, and will
not reopen in 2007.
-
Selective seine fisheries will
be designed to target pink salmon.
Lifecycle facts about steelhead
Lifecycle facts about sockeye
