Somas Sockeye Bulletin

[IronNoggin]

SOMASS SOCKEYE BULLETIN # 1 – 2020 Date: May 29, 2020

Somass Sockeye Stock Assessment Update Pre-season forecast: Somass (Great Central and Sproat) – 169,000 Henderson Lake sockeye outlook < 15,000 Escapement to May 23: Stamp: 10 Sproat: 900 Total: 910 Test

Fishery:
Seine vessel testing June 8th - 10th
First in-season re-forecast: June 25th
Catch Estimate: 0
Somass First Nations – 0
Maa-nulth First Nations – 0
Area D Gillnet – 0
Area B Seine - 0 Recreational – 0

NEXT WEEK’S FISHING PLANS:

All Fishing plans are subject to change depending on weekly meetings.

First Nations
Hupacasath & Tseshaht – Sockeye FSC closed, EO - closed.
Maa-nulth – Sockeye FSC closed

Commercial
Area D Gillnet – closed.
Area B Seine – closed.

Recreational
Sockeye closed

Upcoming : As a precaution to prevent incidental mortality of released Sockeye a full finfish closure to all sectors is expected to be implemented shortly. The area to be closed is from the tidal section of the Somass River at Paper Mill Dam downstream into the inlet and south to Hocking Point. This measure and any future changes will be announced in Fishery Notices and this bulletin.

For more info please call the Port Alberni DFO office at 250 720 4440

 

[Redfisher]

Looks a little bleak for the 2 main runs. Damn....hope nature brings them in late. Its happened before.

 

[Capt_Ed]

I wonder if all the closures will be respected by all the user groups

 

[searun]

Yes they are being respected. Everyone is supporting and doing their part....so far.

 

[HankHunter]

UPDATE
Category(s):
RECREATIONAL - Fin Fish (Other than Salmon)
RECREATIONAL - Salmon
Subject:
FN0506-RECREATIONAL - Finfish Closure - Portion of Upper Alberni Inlet and the Tidal Section of the Somass River



Due to poor expected returns of Somass Sockeye in 2020, the following portions of Alberni Inlet and the Somass River will be closed to fishing for finfish effective
00:01 hours June 4 until midnight, July 14, 2020:

Portions of subarea 23-1 and subarea 23-2 from a line created by the tidal boundary signs at Paper Mill Dam in the Somass River then downstream south into the Inlet
to a line drawn from Hocking Point light 127 degrees true to a boundary sign on the opposite shore.

For all other portions of Area 23, the daily quota for sockeye salmon remains zero (0).

As a precaution to prevent incidental mortality of released Sockeye it was recommended by the Harvest Committee members to implement more restrictive fishery measures
for all sectors.

The above management measures may change on short notice depending on in-season information.

Please note a closure in the freshwater section of the Somass River from Paper Mill Dam upstream to Somass Park will be posted in in a separate freshwater Fishery
Notice for Region 1 Somass River.

 

[Islandgirl]

15 years ago Ironnoggin and myself voiced our concerns about the mismanagement of this fishery. I wrote many letters and had many phone calls with dfo. They said we have enough fish in the river' and they unleased the seine fleet to net every last swimming thing at the river mouth. Year after year this was done. Now sadly today we pay the price.

 

[pennel]

15 years ago Ironnoggin and myself voiced our concerns about the mismanagement of this fishery. I wrote many letters and had many phone calls with dfo. They said we have enough fish in the river' and they unleased the seine fleet to net every last swimming thing at the river mouth. Year after year this was done. Now sadly today we pay the price.

The same deaf ears as was the case with the cod fishery on the east coast.
Actually,I suspect that they are not deaf but bow to political pressure higher up the chain. Not that that would ever be admitted.
What do you do?

 

[agentaqua]

Not defending DFO or past bad management decisions - but the poor sockeye returns are coast-wide - this year and last. This year - even the Copper River fishery was terminated early:
https://www.alaskajournal.com/2020-05-20/copper-river-closes-week-after-poor-sockeye-showing

 

[ericl]

15 years ago Ironnoggin and myself voiced our concerns about the mismanagement of this fishery. I wrote many letters and had many phone calls with dfo. They said we have enough fish in the river' and they unleased the seine fleet to net every last swimming thing at the river mouth. Year after year this was done. Now sadly today we pay the price.

Can't remember where but I saw on some web page that a main goal go the Pacific Salmon Commission was to provide a stable economic environment for the Commercial fishing industry; this is why the SEAK trolling fleet only received a 7.5% catch reduction in the latest treaty. Examples of the above mismanagement are everywhere; I know the post is about Sockeye, but down in the US Chinook catches started declining in the 1880's & hatcheries were out in place on the Columbia even earlier to mitigate human-cause environmental damage.
With healthy fish populations the runs can tolerate these down-cycles.

 

[pennel]

The same deaf ears as was the case with the cod fishery on the east coast.
Actually,I suspect that they are not deaf but bow to political pressure higher up the chain. Not that that would ever be admitted.
What do you do?

My initial comment is not based on this years run,but is more to do with the systematic mismanagement over the years gone by.

 

[agentaqua]

Ya its been systematic and over many generations of both fish & humans. But the latest 15-20 years it has been additionally remarkable. The ocean is changing over a large scale. Hard to ignore that now.

 

[ericl]

Ya its been systematic and over many generations of both fish & humans. But the latest 15-20 years it has been additionally remarkable. The ocean is changing over a large scale. Hard to ignore that now.

Unless you are OBD

 

[agentaqua]

Oppositional to Basic Data?

 

[wildmanyeah]

 

[terrin]

View attachment 53584

Is there a link for the cameras this year?

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.pacfish.ca/wcviweather/Content Pages/Sproat/CameraStream3.aspx

 

[SpringVelocity]

Brutal. Hope they are just late.

 

[wildmanyeah]

The saying is late fish never show but its still early and there is hope,

 

[ericl]

Oppositional to Basic Data?

You are SICK & I love it

 

[searun]

My initial comment is not based on this years run,but is more to do with the systematic mismanagement over the years gone by.

Respectfully, IMO you are off base with your assessment. This has everything to do with changing freshwater and ocean conditions related to climate change. We just came off a 4 year cycle of record returns, so your "mis-management" and over-fishing theories are a little far fetched. We had record out-migrating smolts heading out to sea, and despite that weak returning adults from that brood year. This is a coast-wide problem with Sockeye and Chum.