A little while back we did this exercise to try and tally the impact of the gillnet openings on steelhead. Here is the second part of that with updates for the most recent openings.
Steelhead Tally for the season:
..................................Approx. Stld Encountered/
Date.... Boat #'s ..............Boat/Day..................Total Stld Enct.
July 07: 91..........................2..............................182
July 11: 96..........................2..............................192
July 15: 282.........................3...............................846
July 17: 300.........................3...............................900
July 18: 300.........................4..............................1200
July 21: 296.........................5..............................1480
July 22: 314.........................8..............................2512
July 24: 316.........................8..............................2528
July 27: 241.........................8..............................1928
July 28: 216..........................8..............................1728
July 31: 289..........................8..............................2312
With a possible impact on 7312 steelhead up to July 22, we add in the further openings and come up with possible impacts on 8496 steelhead.....For a season total potential impact of 15,808
Dont forget other potential impacts from: seine openings in Area 4; seine and gillnet openings in Area 3; Alaskan interception; First Nations food fisheries both marine and in-river; First Nations commercial in-river fisheries; natural mortalities from predators such as seals, sea lions; and the small but real sportfishing mortality.....
Could we realistically add the same amount of impact from all the other sources....quite possibly..this would give us a ballpark figure of impact on approx. 30,000 Skeena steelhead. All this impact with no real idea of how many fish were in the run to begin with. Commercial numbers acquired through 'hail counts' for encounters and numbers of released steelhead are viewed with suspicion due to the longterm conspiracy of silence amongst fishers with regard to steelhead. Fear of being shut down by admitting high steelhead interception/encounters has long made commercial fisher hail counts and logbook data virtually useless.
Let's hope the season winds down with little fishing in August and further impacts are curtailed.....from our perspective the steelhead have taken yet another beating this season and deserve a break.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Dean Lodge, Terrace
Steelhead Tally for the season:
..................................Approx. Stld Encountered/
Date.... Boat #'s ..............Boat/Day..................Total Stld Enct.
July 07: 91..........................2..............................182
July 11: 96..........................2..............................192
July 15: 282.........................3...............................846
July 17: 300.........................3...............................900
July 18: 300.........................4..............................1200
July 21: 296.........................5..............................1480
July 22: 314.........................8..............................2512
July 24: 316.........................8..............................2528
July 27: 241.........................8..............................1928
July 28: 216..........................8..............................1728
July 31: 289..........................8..............................2312
With a possible impact on 7312 steelhead up to July 22, we add in the further openings and come up with possible impacts on 8496 steelhead.....For a season total potential impact of 15,808
Dont forget other potential impacts from: seine openings in Area 4; seine and gillnet openings in Area 3; Alaskan interception; First Nations food fisheries both marine and in-river; First Nations commercial in-river fisheries; natural mortalities from predators such as seals, sea lions; and the small but real sportfishing mortality.....
Could we realistically add the same amount of impact from all the other sources....quite possibly..this would give us a ballpark figure of impact on approx. 30,000 Skeena steelhead. All this impact with no real idea of how many fish were in the run to begin with. Commercial numbers acquired through 'hail counts' for encounters and numbers of released steelhead are viewed with suspicion due to the longterm conspiracy of silence amongst fishers with regard to steelhead. Fear of being shut down by admitting high steelhead interception/encounters has long made commercial fisher hail counts and logbook data virtually useless.
Let's hope the season winds down with little fishing in August and further impacts are curtailed.....from our perspective the steelhead have taken yet another beating this season and deserve a break.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Dean Lodge, Terrace
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