Min. of Env. Skeena Update to Aug.15th

Here is the latest Skeena Update to August 15th from the Ministry of Environment, Smithers.












Please find, attached, the Skeena Update to August 15th, 2010. This file contains the Tyee Test Fishery generated Skeena River summer steelhead index to August 15th, including daily, cumulative and escapement estimate figures, in addition to a summary table showing cumulative index data since 2000, overall and decadal averages, et cetera. The Tyee Test Fishery began on May 25th this year and is scheduled to continue until September 24th.

Skeena (Tyee Test Fishery) summer steelhead estimate summary info:

The Tyee steelhead index to August 15th is 128 - well above average for this date (average: 68; worst year: 16 (’57); best year: 192 (’98), if direct comparisons between years were valid (please see caveat, below).

Commercial fishery activity is summarized in the attached file Commercial Openings 2010 and below. There have been no further commercial fisheries since the last update on August 5th.

Area 4 gillnet fisheries:
A 30 hour gillnet opening on targetting chinook on June 24

16 hour gillnet openings on targetting sockeye on
July 12
July 26th

and the following Area 3 gillnet fisheries targetting sockeye, all 16 hour openings:
June 15
June 21
June 28
June 29
July 5
July 6
July 12
July 13
July 26

No further commercial openings are being considered at this time for either Area 3 or Area 4. The DFO reports the Skeena sockeye escapement estimate past the Tyee Test Fishery to date is approximately 876 000 while the total predicted sockeye escapement past Tyee for 2010 remains at 1.1 million. The total return to Canada for Nass sockeye to August 3rd is estimated to be 356 000.

The upper Sustut River enumeration weir was installed on July 31st and 13 steelhead have been captured to date, slightly below average for this date over the last decade (average: 20; worst year: 1 (2006); best year: 78 (2004). NB: this is a genetically distinct population from the lower Sustut River stock.

Wet'suwet'en Fisheries began annual mark-recapture stock assessment activities at Moricetown Canyon (Bulkley River) for salmon and steelhead on the 14th of July and have captured 937 steelhead to August 11th (321 in the beach seine and 616 in the dipnet). To date, 44 steelhead have been recaptured (22 in the beach seine and 22 in the dipnet fishery).