Fishery Notice

The Fraser River Panel met on Friday, August 11 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.	

Gill net test fishing catches of sockeye declined for the past several days in 
Area 20 with August 10 being the last day of operation for this test fishery in 
2017. The Area 12 gill net test fishery was also having lower catches for a 
number of days with a slight improvement yesterday. During the panel call today 
the decision was made to end this test fishery on Sunday, August 13 and the 
Area 13 purse seine test fishery on Monday, August 14 as scheduled. In-river 
gill net test catches have been improving in both testing areas but are still 
much lower than expected.

Purse seine test catches of sockeye in Areas 12 and 13 have fluctuated 
considerably in the recent days, while Area 20 catches continue to decline. The 
combination of the gill net and purse seine test catches in the two approach 
areas has resulted in an increase in the projected sockeye diversion rate 
through Johnstone Strait to 75% compared to the pre-season forecast of 51%. The.

The most recent DNA samples taken in the marine purse seine test fisheries show 
sockeye stock compositions in Area 20 of approximately 6% Early Summer, 78% 
Summer and 16% Late run stocks. In Area 12, the purse seine stock composition 
was 9% Early Summer, 77% Summer and 14% Late run stocks. The decrease in 
proportion of Early Summer run stocks combined with the increase in the 
proportion of Late run stocks is suggesting that the total return of Fraser 
sockeye may be similar to normal run timing for this cycle. In-river stock 
identification samples have been increasing recently with the most current 
sample suggesting stock proportions of 6% Early Summer, 94% Summer and 0% Late 
run stocks.

Daily Mission hydroacoustics escapement estimates have continued to increase in 
recent days with the largest daily escapement estimate to date being 47,100 on 
August 9.  The total estimated sockeye escapement as of August 10 is 386,500. 
Hell's Gate observations have also increased considerably in recent days. 

During the call today, the Fraser Panel made no additional changes to the run 
size for Early Stuart and Early Summer run sockeye. Due to the continued poor 
showing of Summer run stocks the Fraser Panel adopted a provisional run size of 
1,250,000 with a median timing of August 14 in Area 20. At the current run size 
for Early Summer and Summer run sockeye, there is no TAC available and as such 
only fisheries with minimal impact on sockeye are being considered at this 
time. The estimated escapement past Mission of Early Stuart, Early Summer, 
Summer and Late run sockeye as of August 10 is 46,800, 88,200 and 245,400 and 
6,100 fish, respectively. 

On August 10, the Fraser River water discharge at Hope was 2,740 cubic metres 
per second, which is approximately 26% lower than average for this date. The 
water temperature of the Fraser River at Qualark Creek on August 10 increased 
to 19.5° Celsius which is 1.3° Celsius higher than average for this date. The 
forecast is for water temperatures to decrease to 19.3° Celsius by August 16 as 
cooler air temperatures combined with precipitation is forecast in the coming 
days. Due to the very low discharge levels, water temperatures are highly 
influenced by air temperatures.

For pre-season planning purposes the Fraser Panel had adopted management 
adjustments for Early Summer, Summer and Late run sockeye that reflect the 
forecast water temperature and discharge conditions based on the May and June 
information for Early Summer and Summer run sockeye, and anticipated river 
entry dates for Late run fish. Due to the very poor return of Early Summer and 
Summer run stocks they are now being managed based on a Low Abundance 
Exploitation Rate (LAER) limit and as such there will be no modifications to 
the in-season management adjustments for this group. Management adjustments are 
additional fish that are set aside from identified harvest levels and allowed 
to migrate upstream in an attempt to assist in achievement of identified 
spawner objectives for the different run timing groups.  No in-season changes 
to the management adjustment are expected for Early Stuart, Early Summer, 
Summer and Late run groups in 2017.

At this time, it continues to be too early to assess the return of Fraser pink 
salmon. Recent test fishery catches in the marine approach areas have shown 
increasing abundances of pink salmon primarily in the Johnstone Strait area. 
The most recent stock identification samples analyzed for Areas 12 and 20 purse 
seine test fisheries indicate Fraser origin pink salmon comprise 35% and 32%, 
respectively. Based on the most recent purse seine test catches the estimated 
diversion rate through Johnstone Strait for Fraser pink salmon is estimated to 
be 86% compared to the historical median of 50%. Run size and timing updates 
for Fraser pinks will likely begin in mid to late August.

First Nations food, social and ceremonial sockeye fisheries have been 
restricted by a 4 week window closure protecting Early Stuart and the earliest 
timed Early Summer run stocks with limited fishing opportunities in-river to 
date directed at Chinook salmon. Sockeye encountered in these fisheries are 
accounted for as part of the Low Abundance Exploitation Rate. 
Food, social and ceremonial fishers in marine approach areas as well as the 
Fraser River are requested to check for the opening times and any restrictions 
in their local area.

The next in-season meeting of the Fraser River Panel is scheduled to occur on 
Tuesday, August 15, 2017.

 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jennifer Nener 604-666-0789

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0806
Sent August 11, 2017 at 1548

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