Wednesday Dec. 8, 2021 marked two years since I created this website as a way to make information on the conservation status of some key populations of these venerable species more accessible and transparent. Try looking at any BC Government or federal government website on fish and fisheries and you will see what I mean!
Since Dec. 8, 2019 a total of 4,386 users have viewed the page a total of 7,333 times. Canadians (79%) and Americans (17%) have been the most frequent visitors, but folks from Asia, Oceania, Europe, Central and South America have visited the site. Many of the same folks (15%) return to the site again and again.
I am very pleased that so many folks have taken an interest in, and perhaps now have a greater awareness of, the plight of our Pacific salmon and trout.
One visitor has written: "Thank you for your amazing blog. I am currently writing briefings ..., and your links have all the information I need."
Let the information flow continue!
July 7, 2024: 4,755 users/7,948 page views
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Below are brief summary statements about updates I receive on the status of particular runs of Pacific salmon and steelhead trout in British Columbia and Yukon waters. To cut to the chase, I have kept commentary to a minimum and just provided numbers and the source where you can find additional information about methods, threats, etc. If these figures bother you, let it be known to your local MLA, MP, the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Diane Lebouthillier; min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca), the federal Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (Steven Guilbeault - ec.ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca; all former Ministers have refused to list salmon and steelhead trout at risk of extinction under Canada's Species at Risk Act, SARA), and the BC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (George Heyman - ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca).
As each year's final totals come in, I will replace the previous years' totals.
For regular updates, between annual summaries, scroll below and look for 
.
What are the root causes of these declines and what can be done about them? These are the billion dollar questions that cannot be answered here easily.
Certainly climate change and a changing ocean, habitat loss and degradation, disease and pathogens, "freak" accidents like the 2019 Big Bar rockslide,
and overharvest (in directed fisheries and from incidental "by-catch") have all contributed to the declines.
One recent summary of trends and the particular role of climate change can be found HERE. Not only do these declines result
in the loss of "made in BC biodiversity", they have significant economic impacts. The total numbers of salmon of all species caught (commerical and
recreational fisheries) in BC waters has declined from almost 15.6 million fish in 2013 to 1.4 million fish in 2019 (commerical catches alone totalled an average of ~23 million fishes annually
in the 1970s).
Catch statistics over time can be found HERE (look for "Canadian Salmon Catch and Enhanced Salmon Production").
The problem in a nutshell? Today a CBC story appeared about DFO's apparent commitment to rebulit 30 fish "stocks" of concern (including three groups of Pacific salmon). A spokeperson for DFO Minister at the time (Joyce Murray) stated that: "Minister Murray's priority is to grow Canada's fish and seafood sector sustainably." Isn't that really an indication of the fundamental problem: the priority is building sustainable fisheries (the "sector"), instead of rebuilding (self)sustainable salmon populations and THEN allowing fisheries to exploit them sustainably? This shows the oft-repeated criticism of DFO's conflicted mandate of promoting fisheries and fish conservation at the same time (see HERE). You really can only have the former after ensuring the latter. This is the fundamental problem with salmon management by DFO - the fish are primarily viewed as exploitable entities, aka "stocks", and not as biological entities first that if 'managed' properly as such entities as the first priority can then perhaps be sustainably harvested. That said, salmon are managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (emphasis mine) and "Fisheries" means use of fish for commerical, susbsistence, or recreational purposes. Further, politics is the "art of the compromise" and DFO is a government (i.e., political) department so DFO is doing exactly what such an entity is designed to do - compromise between exploitation (of salmon) and conservation. This is why salmon conservation should not be in the perview of DFO - it will always be compromised by considerations of DFO's other mandates, i.e., commerical (including aquaculture), recreational, and subsistence use of salmon. To truly have a chance at salmon conservation that might lead to subsequent exploitation, salmon recovery and conservation needs to be headed by a unit other than DFO.
Thompson/Chilcotin rivers steelhead trout, Nov 20, 2024. The sixth fishery index estimates of spring 2025 spawning estimates for Thompson and Chilcotin rivers' steelhead trout have been
released and numbers seem to be stabilizing. The Thompson complex estimate is is 536 (95% credible interval 283-1103), up from last year, but still well below historical abundance (in 38th place in 48 years of monitoring). The estimate for the Chilcotin River is 198 (95% credible interval 113-636), again up from last fall's estimates, but only the 43rd highest abundance over a 54 year monitoring period. The final estimates based on fall 2023 lower Fraser River test fisheries were 228 and 108, respectively. The report can be read HERE
Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon, Oct 25, 2024.
This year's 17th in-season report for Yukon River Chinook salmon is in. With 100% of the run complete through the lower river, 64,496 Chinook salmon
have passed by the lower river sonar station and 24,184 have passed the
upper river Eagle site. The Pilot Station count is up a bit from last year, but
well below the recent 10 year average, and the Eagle Station count (fish that enter Canada) is higher than the past two years, but still
well below the most recent 10 year average (48,791 fish).
Three hundred and fifty-five fish has passed through the Whitehorse fish ladder compared to 154 at the same time last year, but well below the 10 year average of 763 fish. With a rebuilding target of 71,000 Canadian-origin Chinook salmon, and the run well below this point, no harvesting
of any kind is allowed in Alaska or Yukon.
Chum fall run salmon counts have completed and 209,859 have been detected at the Pilot Station (revised down a bit based on genetic comparison with summer run fish), compared to 370,015 last year. Fall run fish that have crossed into Canada are the lowest on record; a bit more than one-third (8,368; Porcupine River-counts complete) to a bit more than a tenth (14,074; Eagle Station-counts complete) of the 10 year average. Fish that entered the Fishing Branch River (upper Porcupine system) number 5,832 (15,527 is the 10 year average). This week's report for the season can be viewed HERE and includes information on a new conservation agreement between Canada and the US.
Fraser River sockeye salmon, Aug 30, 2014 The Pacific Salmon Commission released its eighth in-season report for Fraser River sockeye salmon. Only 200 "Early Stuart" sockeye salmon (close to the forecast 180) have passed through the Mission hydroacoustics site. The low run was anticipated given, in part, that these fish are some of the offspring of fish that were heavily impacted by the Big Bar rock slide in 2019. The other factor working against this run is the very low returns in 2020 (most fish mature as 4 and 5 year olds). The projected return for the total Fraser run is about 567,000 fish (50% probability), well below the cycle average, and is the lowest forecast run on record. A total of 140,500 Early Summer, 291,400 Summer, and 24,700 Late run fish have passed Mission to date. Numbers are, overall, a bit lower than initially forecast and a revised estimate in-season is 456,000, the second lowest on record, but higher than the 2020 brood year size of 396,000 - the lowest on record.
Migration conditions in the river, especially near Big Bar, are expected to be challanging owing to low water levels and high water temperatures, and increased sedimentation from the Chilcotin River landslide. Currently, the Fraser River at Hope is running about 23% lower than the average for this date and water temperature is 18.4C, 1.0C higher than the average for this date. The full report can be read HERE and includes information of the landslide on the Chilcotin River (see below also). The peak of the Chilko River run will reach the (now breached) slide area on the Chilcotin River in the third week of August. Migration conditions are thought to moderate considerably by this time, but migration appears to be delayed somewhat as only about 530 fish have arrived at the assessment site which is located 5 migration days upstream of the slide area.
Skeena River summer steelhead trout. Oct 8, 2024 So far, lower river test fisheries indicate that: "The cumulative Skeena River summer steelhead index to September 23rd is 144.23. The average to this date = 101.60 (range: 21.55 (2021) to 250.73 (1998)). The estimated abundance of Skeena summer run steelhead past Tyee test fishery to September 23rd is 35,336, the average to this date = 24,892 (range: 5,280 to 61,429). To this date, the 2024 steelhead abundance estimate ranks as the 15th highest year out of 69 years of operation."
Source: BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship - Smithers, BC.
Approximately, 1,719,324 sockeye salmon have passed through the lower Skeena River and 423,627 through the Nass River assessment site as of Aug. 29.
Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Columbia River Fish Counts. Oct 2 2024. A total of 491,023 sockeye salmon have been counted through Wells Dam, the last dam on the Columbia River before fish
reach the Okanagan River (located 26 km upstream) and have a chance to enter Canada another 137 km upstream. See HERE for updates (scroll to the bottom).
March 18, 2023. Parliamentary Committee Report on DFO Science released.
An all federal party parliamentary committee was struck to investigate how DFO conducts and communicates scientific research in the service of making decisions regarding Canada's public fishery resources.
It does not make for pretty reading.
The report is very critical of how DFO conducts some research (other aspects of its research program are justifiably laudable) and, most importantly, how such information is reviewed and transmitted to both the public and the Minister in order to make decisions on various fisheries. The overall conclusion is that the current processes are quite damaging to efforts to sustain wild Pacific salmon populations, particularly with respect to DFO Aquaculture Management's overly 'cosy' releationship with the fish-farming industry. You can read the report (and its 49 recommendations) HERE. Regional DFO Director General Rebecca Reid's response to the committee's conclusion of DFO's conflicted mandate (made by others many times - see HERE) that DFO: "...understands its role and responsibilities for the management of wild salmon and aquaculture and does so appropriately" speaks volumes. Talk about out of touch!
All this in the wake of the deeply flawed DFO report on fish farms and sea lice incidence described as "a scientific sin" in a letter signed by 16 academics and scientists independent of DFO (I was not one of them, but I agree completely with them and independently came to many of the same conclusions on how poor the DFO analyses and report are - see HERE and the previous update just below) and the critical report by the Auditor General's Office on how DFO manages the aquatic species at risk file (see below also).
If there was ever a time for fundamental change in how DFO operates and what its mandates are it is now. The Parliamentary Committee has concluded the same thing. In particular their Recommendation 41 states:
"Given the conflict of interest between DFO’s mandate relating to aquaculture versus the application of the precautionary principle and the ongoing crisis for the health of wild Pacific salmon stocks, that the government implement, on the West Coast only, Recommendation #3 in the Cohen Commission report on the state of wild salmon: “The Government of Canada should remove from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ mandate the promotion of salmon farming as an industry and farmed salmon as a product.”
Just to be be clear this is the second time that this fundamental restructuring of DFO has been recommended.
Come on - Just do it!!
Auditor-General's Office Report on Protecting Aquatic Species at Risk. Canada's Office of the Auditor General has just released its
report on protecting aquatic species at risk (including salmon and steelhead). One of its major conclusions (page 29) is that: "...Fisheries and
Oceans Canada, in collaboration with others, did not adequately protect selected aquatic species assessed as at risk. For the areas we examined,
Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not adequately contribute to meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water)...". You can read the full report and recommendations (all of which DFO agreed with) HERE.
Have a comment or want to be informed of updates? etaylor@zoology.ubc.ca