By Chad Klassen

DFO still looking into lowest sockeye return since 1939

Feb 5, 2016 | 10:29 AM

KAMLOOPS — After the Department of Fisheries and Oceans revealed the number of sockeye salmon returning to the South Thompson and Adams River fell to its lowest since 1939, it says it’s still looking into what caused the record low numbers. 

In DFO’s late-run sockeye report, numbers in the South Thompson totalled 9,700, just 6% of total in 2011. There were 1.2 million sockeye salmon in 1991.

“We’re concerned what those results have shown us,” says Stu Cartwright from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Kamloops. “We’re hoping to let science guide us to help us better understand what may have been the causes. We know it’s very complex, probably not one single issue but a number of issues throughout the life cycle of the salmon that have probably caused some challenges for 2015.”

The report says water temperatures on all the spawning grounds were favourable in the fall of 2015. But Fisheries and Oceans says with the evolution of climate change, leading to earlier springs, is creating more challenging conditions for salmon in the region. 

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“What we’ve been seeing over the last few years is, events that are right off the scale from what would be the norm. So at this point in time, we’re concerned with the climate change issues, and hopefully over time we’ll better understand,” says Cartwright.