Fishery Notice

The Fraser River Panel met for the final in-season meeting on Tuesday September 
17, 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.	

Sockeye and Pink catches in the Fraser River gill net test fisheries have 
decreased to very low levels the last few days and the decision was made to end 
the Cottonwood test fishery today.

In-river stock identification samples are indicating a Sockeye stock 
composition comprised of 0% to 4% Early Summers, 73% to 80% Summers and 20% to 
23% Late run stocks. 

During the Panel call today no changes were made to the run size for any of the 
four Sockeye run timing groups. The estimated escapement of Early Stuart, Early 
Summer, Summer and Late Run Sockeye past Mission as of September 16 is 25,900, 
92,500, 338,600 and 21,700 respectively. Four year old Sockeye make up 
approximately 30% to 50% of the age composition from recent river test fishery 
samples. The estimated escapement of Pink salmon as of September 16 is 
8,375,000 with recent daily escapements estimates at Mission declining from 
348,800 on September 13 to 54,800 on September 16. 

During the Panel meeting today the run size for Pink salmon was not changed 
from  8.9 million with Area 20 timing of August 17. No additional marine 
commercial fisheries are planned at this time.

A significant rock slide in the Big Bar area of the Fraser River just upstream 
from the community of Lillooet has created a 5 meter high waterfall/cascade in 
this section of the river. This created a migration passage challenge for all 
salmon destined for rivers and streams upstream of this slide. Recent 
information suggests there has been a significant increase in levels of Chinook 
and Sockeye passage since late August, as well as confirmation of Pink salmon 
now migrating above the slide. Recent information from applied radio tags 
indicates successful passage of 53% for Sockeye and 36% for Pink salmon. 
Airlifting fish above the slide has been postponed. A Unified Command Incident 
Management Team has been developed which includes participation of the Federal 
and Provincial governments as well as a number of Fraser First Nations. 
Information and updates regarding the slide and work being done to address it 
is located at the link below.  

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-
recovery/emergency-response-and-recovery/incident-summaries/big-bar-landslide-
incident

The observed water temperature at Qualark on September 16 was 16.2° Celsius 
which is 1.5° Celsius above average for this date. Water temperatures are 
forecast to decrease to 15.0° Celsius by September 22. The Fraser River 
discharge at Hope on September 16 was 2,411 cubic meters per second which is 
14% above the average discharge for this date and is predicted to increase to 
2,768 cubic meters per second by September 22.

The seventh spawning ground report of the season was provided by DFO Stock 
Assessment on September 12. The Scotch Creek fence was installed on August 6 
with 1,476 Sockeye enumerated to date with fish at the peak of spawning. The 
Stellako River hydroacoustics site was operational on August 1 and 1,078 
Sockeye have been observed to August 31 with the majority likely to be Nadina 
stocks. Since August 31, 9,178 Sockeye have been enumerated through the 
Stellako hydroacoustics site which are thought to be Stellako stocks. To date 
400 Sockeye have been observed in the Nadina spawning channel. The Gates Creek 
spawning channel is now operational with 2,277 Sockeye counted into the channel 
at this time. The Chilko and Quesnel hydroacoustics sites were operational on 
August 9 and 12 respectively and 34,746 and 9,417 Sockeye have been observed to 
date. The Cultus Lake fence was installed on July 30 with 6 Sockeye observed to 
date. Water temperature in Sweltzer Creek is 21.5° Celsius. The Birkenhead 
River hydroacoustics site was operational on August 27 with 248 Sockeye 
estimated to have passed the site to date. Visual surveys have begun in a 
number of other tributaries with Sockeye observations in several systems at 
this time. The next spawning ground update will be provided on Thursday, 
September 19.
 
First Nations food, social and ceremonial (FSC) Sockeye directed fisheries in 
all areas remain closed. Due to the very low abundance of Fraser Sockeye there 
will not be any directed Sockeye fisheries for the remainder of the year. FSC 
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 as 
additional restrictions are being considered as a result of the slide. 
Commercial and recreational fisheries for Fraser Sockeye are not being 
considered at this time and will likely not occur in 2019. 

There are no additional in-season meetings planned for the Fraser Panel in 2019.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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

Fisheries & Oceans Operations Center - FN0949
Sent September 17, 2019 at 1434

Return to Main Menu

Visit Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Printed from the Pacific Region web site on June 18, 2026 at 0452