By James Peters

Salmon expert chides DFO for potentially reckless fisheries management

Sep 23, 2018 | 2:23 PM

SCOTCH CREEK, B.C. — A B.C. salmon expert is sounding the alarm about what may be lower-than-expected numbers for the world famous Adams River salmon return this year.

A dominant year for spawning salmon in the Fraser River system arrives every four years, and 2018 is a dominant year.

That means it’s expected as many as two million salmon arrive in the Adams to spawn during the month of October.

But Greg Taylor, a fisheries advisor for the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, says no one knows if that will be the case.

Taylor says, with only 1 million fish estimated to have arrived in 2014, the best estimates now put this year’s return at about 750,000.

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He adds the estimates from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) appear to be off.

“(DFO) went into the season predicting there were going to be 7 million fish. The reason they did that was just based on historical productivity; they did not take into account the recent decline,” said Taylor.

“The reason they don’t really know is a big proportion of the Adams River Sockeye are still in the gulf – but they don’t know how many. This is very late for the fish to be in the gulf. Traditionally, the fish have left the gulf and are migrating up there by September 19. So this is late, and they just really don’t know if the fish are there or are not there.”

After commercial, recreational and First Nations fisheries wrapped up, Taylor says DFO is simply hoping for a strong return in the coming weeks.

Taylor says he doesn’t believe that is responsible precautionary management.

“Right now, they’re predicting there are going to be much less than we’ve seen in the past but we’re hoping the fish show up. I guess the question people have to ask themselves is, ‘Is this good, solid precautionary management when, after all the fishing is completed, we’re just hoping the fish show up?’”

The decline in salmon numbers has baffled experts for years.

Taylor says no matter what the cause, those who manage the waterways need to be more circumspect.

“We really don’t have a handle on what’s causing it; whether it’s freshwater or marine (factors). A lot of people are pointing to climate change. We really don’t have a handle on it. All we know is, I think we need to be more precautionary than we have been because looking at this kind of decline is a concern,” said Taylor.

“DFO’s mandate is not conservation; it’s sustainable fisheries. It’s a very different context. So they’re biased toward having a reasonable harvest and the consequence is that sometimes the fish can pay the price.”