Sockeye down, Pinks up
October 2009
Skeena Sockeye Salmon are one of the provinces most important fisheries resource and the 2009 Sockeye fishery saw very low returns—roughly half their projected numbers. Consequently, there was no commercial fishery on the Skeena this season. 1999 and 2005 were the only other instances where a closure on the Skeena commercial fishery resulted. The low returns that were seen this season in the Skeena were likely due to changing fresh and marine environental conditions and localized habitat loss.
The Pink salmon, however, came back in extraordinary numbers this season and were thus the sustainable fish of choice by The Patagonia Food Program. Patagonia Inc has recently launched a pilot project in cooperation with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and the assitance of SkeenaWild Conservation Trust.