With the most recent news that the predicted Fraser River sockeye return is estimated to be well below original forecasts and therefore no sockeye harvests are expected, local consumers have some questions.
Grant Snell, General Manager of the BC Salmon Marketing Council, a non-profit generic marketing organization for wild BC salmon, says that the situation surrounding the Fraser River sockeye returns is very serious and everyone is anxiously following its developments and waiting for information to explain the cause. Snell adds, “And retailers are telling us that consumers have questions about just how the status of the Fraser River run affects the supply of all wild BC salmon. Because our consumers continue to become increasingly knowledgeable about salmon and supportive of local producers including fishermen, they ask more and more about where the salmon is from and their first choice is to buy wild BC salmon. It is natural that they now need more information. Retailers are as a result noting the importance of providing current information to consumers regarding how the Fraser River run forecasts may affect the overall supply of wild BC salmon and basically just how wild BC salmon gets to the local market. Consumers want to buy wild salmon from BC and they want to feel comfortable with their choice.”
Kosta Zogaris, Owner of The Salmon Shop in North Vancouver, BC and Heather Creel, Owner of 1-Fish, 2-Fish in Langley, BC agree that some consumers may now first be cautious about buying wild BC salmon but are then comfortable and confident with their purchase once it is explained that the wild BC salmon that is currently available in their stores are those harvested from BC runs that have experienced returns deemed high enough for adequate escapement and a sustainable resource. Brian Hamatake, President of Seafood City in Granville Island in Vancouver, BC confirms that his customers are very familiar with salmon and that they know what they are buying. The majority of his salmon consumers want wild BC salmon because they support the industry. He also believes that his customers will start asking for more information.
The BC Salmon Marketing Council is quickly responding by providing the following key facts regarding wild BC salmon harvesting and availability to its comprehensive list of retailers as well as restaurants to help them respond to customer questions as well as help them plan their product mix and menus.
Current Availability of Wild BC Salmon
Reputable local seafood retailers have developed solid, long-term connections with wild BC salmon fishermen and suppliers, and that ensures a regular supply of wild BC salmon in our local market. The kinds of wild BC salmon that they carry will change however according to supply availability.
At this time, local retailers continue to have a variety of wild BC salmon species available including mainly coho, pink and spring.
Sockeye
The Fraser River is not the only system that produces sockeye so we are still seeing a very limited supply of wild BC sockeye in the local market as produced in the Nass River and Barkley Sound in June and July. The run size of Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC (by Ucluelet) was actually upgraded from pre-season expectations during the season. The Skeena River however did not see any fishing openings for sockeye this year because of lower returns.
Pink
The most recent reports regarding pink run sizes in the North as part of the Nass River, Skeena River and Caamano Sound have indicated good and steady returns of pink salmon so you are seeing wild BC pink salmon currently available in the local market and it is expected to be available throughout the next few weeks.
Coho
Coho salmon is also still returning in good numbers allowing for fishing in the north and availability in the market on a fairly regular basis.
Spring
Spring salmon has been steadily available in the market because the run sizes are looking good. There is an anticipated further troll opening in the North on August 31st for spring salmon harvests
Chum
As there have been modest returns of summer chums to date, only limited supplies of summer chums have been available in the market. It is too early to determine the returns of fall chums so we do not know the availability of chum salmon in the fall at this time.
The Facts That Seafood Consumers Need To Know
The resource continues to be very conservatively managed with harvests by the commercial fishermen for any wild BC salmon species scheduled only if the carefully and constantly monitored returns can safely predict that enough fish of any given run will successfully return to the spawning grounds for a sustainable resource.
When it is determined that there can be a fishery because of adequate returns, the TAC (total allowable catch) is then set and very tightly controlled. The TAC is always conservative to ensure adequate escapement. The commercial fishermen are only permitted to catch a set number of fish and this is the fish that you see available in your local market.
Today’s fishery is highly developed to selectively harvest only the intended species of wild BC salmon. If there is a risk of inadvertently harvesting a species from a run that is experiencing weaker returns, then the harvest at that time and in that place will not even happen. Consequently, salmon identified as part of weaker runs will not be harvested by the commercial fishermen and will therefore not appear in our local market.
While the Fraser River is a very significant wild BC salmon producing system – especially for sockeye which has traditionally been the most valued of the wild BC salmon species – it is not the only salmon producing system which is why we currently do have several species of wild BC salmon available in our local market.
Several chefs and seafood enthusiasts increasingly continue to embrace the wonderfully unique flavours and textures of all five kinds of wild BC salmon. That is why you see all five kinds of wild salmon featured in the local restaurants and stores at this time.
The wild BC salmon that is currently available in your local supermarket, specialty seafood store, restaurant and authorized sales dock are those harvested from runs that have experienced returns deemed high enough for adequate escapement and a sustainable resource.
The commercial salmon fishermen are all committed to sustain the fishery and the industry. It is their he state of the industry changes almost daily as wild BC salmon are a natural phenomenon so the reports of last month differ greatly from those of today and the reports even a week from now can be different again as well.
The Status Of The Fraser River Run Can Be Summarized At This Time As Follows
The original “return” this year for all Fraser River runs was forecasted at 10.5 million, but the Pacific Salmon Commission has now downgraded it to 985,000. “Return” is defined as the number of salmon returning to a given system in a given year.
The main summer-run was downgraded from 8.7 million fish to 600,000 on a cycle that has a 25 year average return of 4.4 million.
It is predicted that there will be no targeted sockeye fishery by the commercial fishermen, sports fishermen and possibly native fishermen, on Fraser River stocks this year to provide the maximum opportunity for adequate escapement to maximize spawning opportunities for future runs.
It is still early in the season to predict the actual overall results for Fraser River sockeye, but it could perhaps still be possible to see an adequate number of fish return to ensure optimum spawning escapement.
As of Tuesday, August 11th, the Pacific Salmon Commission stated that the reason for this unexpected decrease in returning number of Fraser River fish is not known and they will be conducting studies.
It is surprising to all industry members that the number of returning Fraser River sockeye at this time is so low because a substantial number of sockeye (7 million) did return to the river system to spawn four years ago. A large number of the resulting juvenile fish may have been lost on their journey to the ocean or died in the intervening years at sea.
The BC Salmon Marketing Council is a non-profit generic marketing organization for wild BC salmon funded by the BC commercial fishermen and government sources to: benefit and promote the BC wild salmon industry; conduct research and educational programs for the development and promotion of commercially harvested wild BC salmon, and; communicate to national and international markets the quality, availability and value of wild BC salmon.
