Port Alberni Sockeye Forecast

I'm heading to Bamfield in early june is the sockeye normally open at that time of year? Whats the early sock fishing like?
 
It really varies with the openings over there.
They went to 4 a day sometime in June last year. On the July long weekend ( sunday ) they unleashed the bag fleet. You know what happens after that. Most of us packed up and went home, as their was not much left. I would suggest get there as soon as it goes to 4 a day. DFO has guaranteed us 1 week of 4 a day limits prior to letting the bag fleet loose.

Do a seach on this forum for port alberni sockeye, I am sure lots will come up.

Dfo says that sockeye are a commercial fish and we are only entitled to take 5 % of the run.

I am sure Bob Cole and his group will be doing their best to ensure that we get a chance at these fish this year. All their hard work paid off and we had great chinook and coho fishing over there in AUG since they keep the bag fleet out until after the derby..

Sadly another mismanged DFO disaster, and they did not get their required escapement into the stamp/somass system for chinook.
 
As a port alberni resident I find the fact that DFO gives priority to the commercials very disheartening because it's nice to see this small otherwise un-eventful town so busy and kicking in the summer and when the salmon are plentiful in our inlet. Plus it's great for our small economy to get such a boost from tourists and out of town fishing men/woman respectfully.

As it's widely known that the money generated by this commercial fishery doesn't directly help or go to Port Alberni as many of the boats are from vancouver etc, unlike when recreational sector spends money on food, motel/hotel, tackle, bait, fuel, camp sites, boat launching fee's and moorage.

Not to mention it's pretty neat seeing all the salmon species swimming at the salmon ladder out at stamp provincial park/campsite.
 
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My family and i are moving up island this summer and are very much looking forward to the fishing. i sure hope it's not ruined for everyone just to please a few.Balance is the key and we must weigh in the total impact on everyone including business.Maybe this year will be different and things will be done fairly for all.
 
The forecast is around 600,000 +/- at this point. The last 2 seasons the initial forecast was around 300,000 - 400,000 and both seasons the actual number of fish returning went over 1 million. At the Harvest Round Table we appear to have reached agreement with all the sectors to leave the area from Dunsmiur Point through to the Narrows closed to commercial harvest. In effect this creates a closed section for recreational anglers to enjoy without being in conflict with commercial and FN fisheries. Working together to address the issues from last season is one way we can hopefully create a win/win situation for all users. We had very productive discussions early in the process, working closely with FN to talk about our mutual needs. Similarly, at the Table we had good focus on win/win solutions with the commercial sector. It is about give and take and looking for ways to ensure all parties get most of what they need. For example, we also agreed that if the commercial sector was having difficulty catching their TAC we would work with them to allow some limited fishing in the recreational area. In other words, be flexible. Hopefully we can make this arrangement work for the benefit of all.

As for limits DFO is looking at the possibility of 4 per day earlier and no official start date - in other words just open to sockeye retention. A lot depends on the available sport TAC and how long it would take the rec fleet to reach the cap. That is around 94,000 fish based on a very strong return of sockeye - our TAC goes up from 0 to the maximum of 94K depending on how many fish arrive. It's managed the same way the Halibut TAC is - more abundant years = more TAC; less abundant = less including closure.
 
When do they normally annonce what date will be the opener? Is there a chance for the first week of june or not likely?
 
Generally the main run is later than first week of June, so that is not a good time to target Sockeye. Fishing usually doesn't start to pick up until mid June. Not to say we can't have decent sockeye fishing before then.
 
searun said:
The forecast is around 600,000 +/- at this point. The last 2 seasons the initial forecast was around 300,000 - 400,000 and both seasons the actual number of fish returning went over 1 million. At the Harvest Round Table we appear to have reached agreement with all the sectors to leave the area from Dunsmiur Point through to the Narrows closed to commercial harvest. In effect this creates a closed section for recreational anglers to enjoy without being in conflict with commercial and FN fisheries. Working together to address the issues from last season is one way we can hopefully create a win/win situation for all users. We had very productive discussions early in the process, working closely with FN to talk about our mutual needs. Similarly, at the Table we had good focus on win/win solutions with the commercial sector. It is about give and take and looking for ways to ensure all parties get most of what they need. For example, we also agreed that if the commercial sector was having difficulty catching their TAC we would work with them to allow some limited fishing in the recreational area. In other words, be flexible. Hopefully we can make this arrangement work for the benefit of all.

As for limits DFO is looking at the possibility of 4 per day earlier and no official start date - in other words just open to sockeye retention. A lot depends on the available sport TAC and how long it would take the rec fleet to reach the cap. That is around 94,000 fish based on a very strong return of sockeye - our TAC goes up from 0 to the maximum of 94K depending on how many fish arrive. It's managed the same way the Halibut TAC is - more abundant years = more TAC; less abundant = less including closure.
Click to expand...

Great news Searun. It is encouraging to see some consultation with stakeholders and DFO that seems to be working out well for all concerned!
 
You know what would be great to see? A commercial corridor at the northern half of the inlet and the recreational corridor at the southern for instance. That would leave a continuous traffic lane for both interests.
 
Actually calmsea, something kind of like that is currently being discussed between the groups. If all goes as planned, there will be a commercial free zone fairly close to town for the recreational fleet to work in.

Motion yesterday's SFAC meeting was to open June 1 or thereabouts, with 4 daily limit. Run projections are guesstimated to be between 500K and 1 Mill. guess after the somewhat wild misses as far as predictions go in the past, they are covering that base with a rather wide range. All indications suggest another Banner year!! :D

Cheers,
Nog
 
searun said:
At the Harvest Round Table we appear to have reached agreement with all the sectors to leave the area from Dunsmiur Point through to the Narrows closed to commercial harvest. In effect this creates a closed section for recreational anglers to enjoy without being in conflict with commercial and FN fisheries.
Click to expand...

Isn't this the case? I could see splitting the inlet N/S being a gongshow as its pretty narrow. E/W makes more sense.
 
I think it is doable. If you split E/W and say leave the west for commercials then you still deal with the issue that you can barely get by all the nets and boats if you want to cruise out to the outside. Also if the commies sweep the inlet west clean then how good do you think the fishing east of that will be? If you leave a continuous corridor for both sectors they would be out of each others hair and no blaming and finger pointing. Plus a portion of the fish has a good chance making it past all the nets to the rivers.
 
While there is the perception you are running west in the canal, you are actually running SSW until Pocahontas when you swing around to a more westerly run. Took me some time to wrap my head around it but looking at Google maps helped me clarify.

I like the idea of some commercial/rec 'exclusion' areas BUT I would wonder how much this will congest the commercial area and make it htat much harder to get out of the canal. I watched the Barkley take 20min to get out and away from Bamfield Harbour because the nets were so thick. Add a bunch of 'new' boats to that and you have a mess. That said, better to deal with congestion while running that when trying to troll.
 
I wish the best for all those fishing sox this year but after the disaster for us last year we won't be going back. D.F.O. has truly made a mess.
 
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