Sockeye management Area 3 & 4

The last few posts have been on how the Skeena sockeye run is tracking below estimates right now and below thresholds for allowing commercial fishing in Area 4.

But, do you ever wonder why so much fishing is allowed in the adjacent Area 3?? Do Skeena and Nass bound fish magically stay separated as they migrate? Do Skeena bound fish know the route to the bottom of Dundas Island and avoid the Area 3 fisheries?? Of course not....Skeena bound fish do migrate through Area 3 and are obviously being caught in those commercial openings. The question would be what proportion of Area 3 sockeye catch are Skeena fish? And how is it that management deems it ok to catch a Skeena bound sockeye in Area 3 but not Area 4, especially when the escapement estimate is so low?

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