Yes,
@OldBlackDog , the mention of a seal cull was brought up at the symposium (and article below). There is mounting evidence that harbour seals are eating a large percentage of juvenile salmon (chinook and others) as they leave river estuaries for the Strait of Georgia. This evidence is still be gathered through (
http://marinesurvivalproject.com/) and will be used in in future policy making going forward no doubt. The seal population in the SOG has held constant at around 40,000 seals since the early 1990's. It was also estimated to be around that level in the early 1900's but did drop off massively (down to around 5,000) when the cull was in place. As has been mentioned before there are no quick and easy fixes to this problem. A cull could be part of it perhaps but it alone won't save our chinook. It's a complex issue that requires a complex solution. Some aspects of the solution can be done now (ie. cull; increased chinook net pets; eel grass transplants; fishing regs, etc) but others are mid-long term.
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Stopping all fishing of chinook, including harvesting by First Nations, likely won’t provide an instant food solution for endangered Southern Resident killer whales, the president of the Pacific Salmon Foundation said Tuesday.
Brian Riddell, a former senior official with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said in an interview there are limited options to help the whales other than to stop fishing. “Can you do it? Certainly. That’s something that could be done right now, if that was the priority. You could stop all fishing and put all the fish on the spawning grounds.
“It depends how far you want to take it. These things have repercussions — First Nations’ use, for example. I think everything’s on the table.”
The Pacific Salmon Commission reports a total catch of 1.69 million chinook in 2016, including 1.15 million by Americans and the rest by Canadian fisheries.
Riddell said he is not convinced that taking “large-scale immediate actions are going to make an immediate difference” for the whales. He also believes it is possible to provide limited in-river First Nations chinook catches without having a major impact on productivity. In Canada, only conservation takes priority over First Nations’ food, social, and ceremonial fishing.
What is needed over the longer term is to increase the overall abundance of chinook, including protection of their habitat, while acknowledging the impact of other marine predators on those same chinook, he said. “That’s probably the only way we’ll make a significant difference.” One option for increasing productivity is to acclimate chinook smolts through their transition to sea water by feeding them in temporary sea-pens.
Chinook is the largest species of Pacific salmon and the preferred diet of the Southern Resident killer whales, especially in summer. The fish typically has a five-year life cycle.
“There’s no question the whales are struggling in terms of diet,” Riddell said. “We have to make a major change. If the decision is that Southern Resident orcas are the priority for recovery, then we’ll have to provide additional food and other actions as well.”
Southern Residents are thought to number just 76 in three pods after a young male showing signs of malnutrition disappeared last month. Lack of chinook is thought to be a leading cause of their decline, with other factors including pollution and vessel noise.
Riddell also said that ongoing research involving the foundation and the University of B.C. shows that harbour seals can have a substantial impact on juvenile chinook migrating downriver to sea and that society at some point may have to consider culling seal populations.
“If you show evidence … I’m quite sure that option is going to be brought up,” he said. “There are a lot of seals around. They’re a significant source of (chinook) mortality.”
Full article:
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-...-to-help-hungry-killer-whales-salmon-official
