Fewer sockeye salmon are returning to B.C.'s Fraser River this summer and they are coming in later than usual, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said Monday.
The department refused to make a call Monday on whether commercial or recreational fisheries would be called off this year, but said a decision could come by next week.
Paul Ryall, head of the salmon team at the DFO, told a press conference that the opening of the river to commercial fishing will depend heavily on how many salmon return in the coming week or week and a half.
“When we get the numbers we'll make a judgment on further fishing,” he said.
Mr. Ryall said he couldn't provide a definite answer on why the numbers are down this year and why the fish are coming in so late.
But ocean temperatures in 2003 provide a bit of a clue, he said.
That year, when most of the returning sockeye were in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the temperature of the water was two to three degrees higher than normal.
The higher temperatures caused a change in migration pattern, because the fish moved north to cooler waters, so it took them longer to return to the Fraser River. The warm temperatures hindered the survival of some fish and often meant that the sockeye were smaller than normal.
The bottom line so far for 2005, Mr. Ryall said, is that the DFO is seeing on average, lower returns of fish in the spring and summer.
Fishermen in the area are already disappointed. Earlier runs were so low that federal officials have not yet set aside any days for commercial or recreational fisheries on the Fraser this year.
The so-called early Stuart salmon run in early July was 12 days late and about 20 per cent smaller than the forecast of around 258,000 salmon.
The Early Summer run was even more off the mark. Federal officials anticipated around 718,000 Early Summer salmon, but only 250,000 fish showed up. And they were seven days late.
Salmon return to their spawning grounds after four years to lay eggs and die. Federal officials had forecast a strong return this summer based on a healthy spawning cycle four years ago.
The number of sockeye returns have improved since last Friday, Mr. Ryall said, but DFO officials still need to monitor the situation further.
Mr. Ryall said he wouldn't predict what the result for this summer will be, but "the scientific evidence to date has not been encouraging, given the forecast," Mr. Ryall said.
With a file from Robert Matas
