Thursday, July 15, 2010

Latest Fishery Notice

Well, we surmised the Dept might be jumping the gun with an Area 4 Skeena gillnet opening....and with 20/20 hindsight we were correct. As the Fishery Notice copied below states, the sockeye run estimate has now been downgraded to below the threshold for commercial fisheries to occur.
The Area 3 Nass sockeye fishery might have caught its allowable limit and is on hold for now also. Maybe those 8 openings had a bit more impact than first thought..?

A reasonable person might assume that after no Area 4 fishery at all last year, that some sense of precaution....as in the 'precautionary approach' would be the order of the day for 2010. But, in a lapse to old-time management the Dept unleashed the gillnet fleet on Skeena at the very first opportunity it had.
It will be interesting to reveiw the catch results from the July 12th opening to see what impact they had on sockeye.
Also, wonder if this closes the recreational sockeye fishery...which was set to open this week also..?? We would assume so....but if the gillnetters were allowed an 'oopsy' of tens of thousands of sockeye then the recreational fishery will be clamouring for their allowance also.


Category(s):
COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Gill Net,
COMMERCIAL - Salmon: Seine
Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0531-Salmon: Gill Net Area C & Seine Area A - Update

Area 3

Nass sockeye run size downgrades currently indicate that the commercial TAC may have been caught. The run size will be monitored closely in the coming days and weeks to determine if there are any further fishing opportunities in Management Area 3. Next announcement for Area 3 will be Thursday, July 22 or earlier if circumstances warrant.

Area 4

Current Skeena sockeye annual run size estimate is 1.13M.
This is not enough to conduct further commercial fisheries in Area 4 at this time. Escapement will be monitored closely on a daily basis, and further updates on fishing opportunities or run status will be forthcoming. Daily escapement numbers are posted on the North Coast Management internet site at http://www.pac.dfo- mpo.gc.ca/northcoast/skeena/tyeetest.htm. Next announcement for Area 4 will be Monday, July 19 or earlier if circumstances warrant.

Area 6

No further fishery is planned at this time. A gill net fishery conducted on July 12 and 13 saw modest catches. Monitoring of stocks continue, and further assessment fisheries will be based on monitoring results and in season advisory advice. Next announcement for Area 6 will be Thursday, July 22, or before if circumstances warrant.

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