Fishery Notice

The Fraser River Panel met Monday, September 17, to receive an update on the 
migration of the Fraser Sockeye runs to date and review the status of migration 
conditions in the Fraser River watershed.	

Gill net test fishery catches in the Fraser River have continued to fluctuate 
for the past several days with Whonnock catches peaking at 156 on September 15, 
followed by a drop to 66 on September 16. Cottonwood catches have also 
fluctuated but at slightly higher levels peaking at 265 on September 14 
followed by a drop to 58 on September 15 and 76 on September 16. Daily Mission 
escapement estimates increased significantly from 26,400 on September 12 to 
154,100 on September 15 and 152,500 on September 16. The estimated total 
Sockeye escapement past Mission to September 16 is 4,452,800. This is comprised 
of 121,400 Early Stuarts, 1,120,400 Early Summers, 2,063,300 Summers and 
1,147,700 Late run fish. Stock identification analyses from recent samples 
taken in the lower Fraser River indicate that Early Summers are no longer 
present while Summers have decreased to between 1 and 6% and Lates have 
increased to 94 and 99% in the most recent samples. The current estimate for 
holding Late Run fish is quite uncertain at this time and is likely between 1.3 
and 3.0 million fish.

During the Panel meeting today there were no changes made to the run size or 
Management Adjustments for Early Summer, Summer or Late run management 
groups.   

The eighth spawning ground report was released on September 13.  The Scotch 
Creek counting fence was operational on August 9 with 78,987 sockeye enumerated 
to date. Fish are now past the peak of spawning in Scotch Creek. The Eagle 
River Hydroacoustic site was operational on August 10 with 227,164 fish having 
been estimated to have passed the site to date. Fish are past the peak of 
spawning. The Nadina Spawning Channel operations are now back to normal as the 
fire issues have ended. About 19,800 fish have entered the spawning channel at 
this time.  Fish are vigorous and in good condition. The Stellako River 
hydroacoustic site was operational on August 1 with a total of 178,085 sockeye 
estimated to have passed as of August 28. The majority of these fish would be 
Nadina sockeye at this time. Sockeye have recently been observed in Gates Creek 
with 1,760 counted into the spawning channel to date. Fish are at the peak of 
spawning.

The Chilko River hydroacoustics site was operational on August 3 with a total 
of 508,832 sockeye estimated to date. Fish are in the early stages of spawning. 
In the Quesnel River the hydroacoustics site was operational on August 7 with 
777,475 sockeye estimated to date. Fish are near the peak of spawning. The 
Stellako River hydroacoustics site was operational on August 1 with 111,130 
Stellako sockeye estimated since August 28. 

The hydroacoustics program in the Birkenhead River was operational on August 23 
with 9,176 fish enumerated past the site to date. Fish are reported to be 
vigorous with minimal pre-spawn mortality reported to date. The counting fence 
at Sweltzer Creek was installed on July 31 and 22 Sockeye have been counted 
into Cultus Lake to date. 

Currently, First Nations food, social and ceremonial (FSC) and Economic 
Opportunity Sockeye fisheries are nearing completion in Marine areas and the 
lower Fraser River while FSC and commercial demonstration fisheries in the 
interior are ongoing.  First Nation fishers are requested to check for the 
opening times and any restrictions in their local area. 

Retention of sockeye in marine recreational fisheries began on August 1 and 
remains open while the in-river fishery in the lower Fraser River is currently 
closed to retention of sockeye. The marine recreational fishery will remain 
open to sockeye retention until further notice but may be closed with 48 hours 
notice in the coming two weeks.

As there was no change to the run size or Management Adjustment for Late Run 
sockeye, there was no increase to the available TAC.  Commercial fisheries 
currently open for Areas B and H will remain open until the remaining quotas 
are harvested for Areas B and H or additional quotas are released. Increases in 
quotas are dependent on the run size and predicted river entry date for Lates 
which are both highly uncertain at this time. The Panel has decided that 
additional information is required and has requested the troll test fishery 
conduct a final series of days test fishing this Tuesday through Thursday. The 
combination of this data and additional days of escapement should help inform 
both the run size and river entry information. Future fishing opportunities 
will be determined following the next Panel meeting on Wednesday, September 19. 
Please refer to fisheries notices for the individual fisheries for further 
details. 

The next Panel meeting will be on Wednesday, September 19 at 1 p.m.


FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Regional Salmon Team - DFO Pacific
DFO.PacificSalmonRMT-EGRSaumonduPacifique.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN1011
Sent September 17, 2018 at 1546

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