August 13, 2013 — The Skeena River sockeye run, one of the most important B.C. salmon runs, has plunged to historic lows, The Canadian Press reports, forcing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to close it down entirely to sport and commercial fishing.
It's shaping up to be another dismal year for West Coast salmon fishermen.
Salmon returns, especially for highly prized sockeye, have been declining for decades and it looks like 2013 is offering no respite.
The Skeena River sockeye run, one of the most important B.C. salmon runs, has plunged to historic lows, The Canadian Press reports, forcing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to close it down entirely to sport and commercial fishing.
So far, the constitutionally protected aboriginal food fishery has not been shut down but it's under threat too. Cancellation would be unprecedented.
"If the numbers are the way they are, we've got to close everything down," Lake Babine Chief Wilf Adam, who was on his way Monday to discussions about its future, told CP.
"That's not an easy decision to make. Salmon is our livelihood. That is the soul of our being. To deny that from our citizens is not a happy event."
DFO reported near record-low Skeena sockeye returns last month.
"This is probably one of the lowest we've seen in about 50 years," Mel Kotyk, DFO North Coast area director, told CP at the time.
Only 453,000 sockeye were expected this year, compared with 2.4 million last year.
Read the full story at Yahoo News