Steveston Harbour’s manager, Bob Baziuk, has been around a fair bit, 26 years in the fishing industry, to be precise, so the latest cull on salmon fishing on the Fraser River isn’t raising his eyebrows too much.
Still, the situation is so dire that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) called a halt late last week to all salmon fishing on the Lower Fraser amid predictions of the worst-ever sockeye return on record.
Recreational anglers and sport fishing companies have decried the decision, saying they are going to great lengths to avoid fishing the prized sockeye.
But, according to Baziuk, whose harbour would normally be buzzing right now with the sounds of the sockeye season, it’s the commercial fishermen who could, quite literally, be on the hook financially.
“August is generally the month when there’s a few opportunities for commercial fishermen to get out there and make some money,” Baziuk told the News.
“This is obviously going to impact on their income; they can still go and harvest other species, if they have the licence for it, but (the sockeye run) is their money-maker.
“To what extent it will affect them, that depends on a lot of variables.”
Baziuk said, although he’s witnessed a few lean years, he can’t quite recall one like this.
“The salmon run in four year cycles and there are some bonanza years; it’s very much feast or famine, it depends on a lot of things,” he said.
“It could affect (the harbour) a little and certainly will in terms of sales at the public fish market. The sockeye is the prize catch; so this closure is significant.
“If (the fishermen) do get a run, they will make the most of it and you can expect to pay a premium price (for sockeye).”
Baziuk said he heard a rumour that there may be a possible sockeye run opening in the fall, but he doesn’t “have any significant information and even that may be just for chum; it’s very hard to say.
“But it certainly doesn’t look good at the moment, especially as the sockeye window is usually until late August, sometimes early September.”
Of the DFO’s decision to shut down all salmon fishing, Baziuk said the next generation (of fish) needs to be looked after, “otherwise it will be worse in four years.”
The DFO issued notice on Thursday that one hour after sunset, the fishery would close until further notice. Earlier in the week, the Fraser River Panel downgraded its estimate for the summer sockeye run from 992,000 to 700,000. The total run is only expected to be one million.
In 2014, about 20 million returned from the ocean. Their offspring are expected in 2018.
The DFO also announced last Tuesday it is taking “further action” on the 75 recommendations of the 2012 Cohen Commission, which sought to address declining Fraser River sockeye salmon runs.
