Tag «chinook»

Peaceful Information Rally Outside Downtown Vancouver DFO Office – July 6th, 2020, noon to 1:30 PM

Please see the PFA press release here.

The significant issues with early Fraser River Chinook salmon have been present for more than 15 years. DFO has made little, if any investment into their recovery, instead placing the ineffective burden on public fisheries. Restricting and closing public access to Chinook salmon is NOT a recovery plan. Minister Bernadette Jordan and the DFO need solutions with conviction. Current solutions have an optical presence to mislead Canadians that recovery will be attained. DFO needs to address threats to early Fraser River Chinook like habitat degradation, climate change, predators, pollution and illegal netting.

Date: Monday, July 6th
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: 401 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC (on the corner of Burrard and W. Hastings)

For those participating, thanks for your support. Please read the press release to be aware of and to follow the

  • PFA Information Rally code of conduct
  • BC government advice regarding COVID-19 protocols

Area 19/20 SRKW and Fraser River Measures

Friday, June 19 saw DFO release the latest rules for recreational chinook salmon fishing in the south coast. Intended to address the various competing “needs” for what was once a plentiful, natural and recurring resource; the new rules will almost certainly make no one competing sector happy.

So what’s in these announcements for recreational fishers in the south coast of Vancouver Island?

FN0565 –Commercial, Recreational and Aboriginal – Salmon – Chinook – 2020 Fraser River Chinook Conservation Measures and Coast-wide Recreational Annual Aggregates:

Southern BC Recreational Fisheries: This Fisheries Notice supersedes FN0322.

The following measures are now in effect for WCVI Subareas 20-1, 20-2, Areas 121, and seaward of a 1 nm Boundary Line (defined below) in Areas 123 to 127:

  • Effective immediately to 23:59 hours July 14: Chinook non-retention;
  • 00:01 hours July 15 to 23:59 hours July 31: 2 Chinook per day with a maximum size limit of 80 cm.
  • 00:01 hours August 1 to 23:59 hours December 31: 2 Chinook per day

…

Chinook daily limits remain at 2 per day shoreward of this Boundary Line, and also in Areas 21 to 27.

…

Strait of Georgia – South and Juan de Fuca – Areas 18, Subareas 19-3 to 19-12, Subareas 20-3 to 20-7, Area 28 and Subareas 29-3 to 29-5 (with the exception of those portions of Areas 28 and 29 listed in the section below), and Subarea 29-8:

  • Immediately to 23:59 hours July 31: Chinook non-retention;
  • 00:01 hours August 1 to 23:59 hours August 31: 1 Chinook per day with a maximum size limit of 80 cm;
  • 00:01 hours September 1 to 23:59 hours December 31: 2 Chinook per day.

You are encouraged to read, comprehend and follow these newly announced rules.

Ryan Chamberland of our local SFAB group has summarized this and other salmon fishing opportunities locally as:

Gulf Islands – You may fish for Coho (2 hatchery per day) except for in the SRKW designated sanctuaries until July 31.  On August 01, you will not be allowed to fish for salmon in the following areas…see map:  http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/whales-baleines/docs/srkw-measures-mesures-ers-iles-gulf-islands-2020-eng.pdf

Sooke – You may fish for Coho (2 hatchery per day), and practice Catch and Release on Chinook between Sheringham Point and East Point until July 31.  

Renfrew – For those fishing in the new triangle between Bonilla and Swiftsure, you may also fish for salmon until July 31.  
Note: That as of August 01 you will not be permitted to salmon fish whatsoever in these areas, but you still may bottomfish.  See area map for details: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/whales-baleines/docs/srkw-measures-mesures-ers-juan-de-fuca-2020-eng.pdf

Fraser River Measures for Sidney, Victoria, Sooke Areas:Areas 18,19,20 are closed to retention of Chinook until July 31.On August 01, we are open to One Chinook Per Day, max 80cm. On September 01, it opens to Two Chinook Per Day, with no max size.

Chinook Fishery at April 1: Deja Vu

DFO recently issued fishery notice FN0315, “FN0315-Commercial, Recreational and Aboriginal – Salmon – Chinook – 2020 Fraser River Chinook Conservation Measures Update“, which puts in place the same measures as were instituted in 2019 at this point in the calendar year.

…beginning April 1, 2020 until further notice.

To address conservation concerns for at-risk Fraser River Chinook stocks, DFO is continuing precautionary reductions in commercial, recreational and First Nation’s fisheries to support conservation of Fraser Chinook. Given the early run timing of some Fraser Chinook populations, the Department is implementing management measures that were implemented for the 2019 season on an interim basis beginning April 1st, 2020. These measures will be in place on an interim basis to provide time for a technical review of the 2019 fishery management measures and completion of consultations on possible adjustments to these management measures for the remainder of the fishery.

DFO FN0315

Area 19/20 Spring SFAC Meeting March 16: Venue Change to Conference Call!

Due to the COVID-19 related health concerns, this meeting will now take place as a conference call. With no simultaneous online presentation, please ensure you have access to any documents relevant to the agenda, which is:

  • Fraser River Chinook 
  • Big Bar Slide
  • SRKW
  • Halibut hybrid model
  • Prawns
  • Best Practices 

Local chairs Ryan Chamberland and Chris Bos will update the public fishing community on the difficult issues at hand on March 16 at the Area 19 & 20 SFAC spring meeting.

DateMarch 16, 2020
Time7:00 pm
Dial-in InformationPhone: 1-877-413-4782

Select "1" for English.

Meeting ID: 1830175, followed by "#" (the "pound" or number-sign key)

Once connected, please mute your line until such time as the host invites callers to speak.


The DFO Fraser River management letter sent recently solicits feedback.

The Department is seeking feedback from First Nations and established advisory groups on potential adjustments to 2019 management measures or alternative approaches that should be considered for the period June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

Your SFAC chairs will want your feedback and to document motions to carry forward to the South Coast Main board meeting, March 28-29 in Nanaimo. 

Ryan has been engaged in SRKW-related talks over the last month and a half, resulting in recommendations for DFO regarding

  • a science based approach to providing more access to fishing areas
  • a perspective regarding mobile avoidance zones/mobile sanctuaries
  • a 1 nautical mile corridor from Sheringham Point to East Point in Port Renfrew

which today gained much support within the technical working group. For reference, see the measures put in place by DFO for 2019.

Subsequent communications are expected to both inform and collect feedback on proposed and/or draft plans.

DFO Reminder of Chinook Management Measures

DFO has all of their 2019 notices posted here.

With FN1281, they sought to remind us of the measures in place to manage the recreational fishery for chinook:

The following is a reminder of the South Coast Area Chinook management measures currently in effect and continuing January 1, 2020 until further notice.

The daily limit for Chinook is two (2) per day in the following areas:

Areas 11 to 27, 28, 111, 121, 123 to 127; and Subareas 29-1 to 29-5 and 29-8.

Please do remember in addition to check area-specific regulations where you fish for further restrictions.

Also worth noting…

For the recreational fishery, the annual aggregate limit for Chinook salmon is ten (10) coast-wide in all tidal waters. The annual licence period is from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

Happy holidays from all at the Amalgamated Conservation Society.

Sooke River Escapement Update from DFO

DFO has released their South Coast Salmon Bulletin in which they provide an update on the Sooke River escapement of chinook and chum salmon.

Thank you to the volunteers whose work forms the foundation for this good news. Also many thanks to those that fund these projects through their generous donations.

The goal of these efforts is to increase the abundance of Chinook salmon in fisheries and in spawning escapement. Moreover, this project should benefit Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) prey abundance as well as ecotourism.

ACS Letter to Minister Wilkinson

The ACS has sent a letter to the Minister of Fisheries & Oceans and Coast Guard, Jonathan Wilkinson, requesting that recreational fishermen be permitted to retain one hatchery marked chinook salmon – respecting daily, possession and season limits – in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia effective July 15.

There is obviously no conservation concerns for these Fraser River Chinooks after July 15 as your department is allowing full scale netting within the Fraser.

In a recent interview on radio station CKNW, there appeared to be a disconnect between what the Minister stated as policy and what the DFO published as fact.

Our members were shocked by your statements on CKNW recently where you denied the existence of First Nations FSC net openings for these same early returning chinook stocks that your department is supposedly trying to protect. It was pointed out that over 90 First Nations FSC openings have occurred to date on the Fraser; according to the DFO website. These openings coincide with the spawning migration of the very same endangered chinook stocks of concern.

CKNW, Jill Bennett Show, Sunday Edition, July 7, 2019, 7:58 into the 51:03 recording

Briefing Note: Recommendations for Restoring Southern British Columbia’s Public Chinook Fishery

A briefing note has been prepared by a broad group of concerned southern Vancouver Island citizens with the aim of restoring southern BC’s public chinook fishery. Please read the briefing note here.

(i) – Transition to Mark Selective Fishing (MSF) for the public fishery
during the recovery of wild Chinook stocks of concern;
(ii) – Utilize strategic enhancement in addition to protecting and restoring
critical habitat to reverse Chinook abundance trends; and,
(iii) – Protect the $1.1 billion annual public fishery, sustain employment,
and maintain the many benefits that accrue to Canada.

A Federal Election is planned to occur on or before October 21, 2019. Your support for British Columbia’s Public Fishery and assistance in these objectives being implemented are critical.

DFO: Consultation Regarding Recovery Actions for SRKW

DFO, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Transport Canada invite you to participate in a Webinar/Teleconference to be held Thursday, April 18, 2019 from 9:30-11:30 am Pacific Time. The purpose of this Webinar is to present the proposed suite of measures for 2019.

A snapshot of Scenario A for Juan de Fuca Strait/Swiftsure Bank.
A snapshot of Scenario B for Juan de Fuca Strait/Swiftsure Bank.

Here are the details for the Webinar/Teleconference:

  • Meeting Number: 559 136 012
  • Meeting Password: MFRuX944

To join this meeting

  1. Go to https://gts-ee.webex.com/gts-ee/j.php?MTID=mb77121875ff462b810973e1059bf4ada
  2. If requested, enter your name and email address.
  3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: MFRuX944
  4. Click “Join”.
  5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Teleconference information

Provide your phone number when you join the meeting to receive a call back. Alternatively, you can call:

  • Call-in toll-free number: 1-877-413-4792  (Canada)
  • Call-in number: 1-613-960-7516  (Canada)
  • Attendee access code: 444 668 0

For assistance

  1. Go to https://gts-ee.webex.com
  2. On the left navigation bar, click “Support”.
  3. Call 1-800-226-6338 or 613-941-9554

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This Webex service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, discuss your concerns with the meeting host prior to the start of the recording or do not join the session. Please note that any such recordings may be subject to discovery in the event of litigation.

SFAB Meeting

Ryan Chamberland, our Area 19/20 SFAB Chairperson, invites you to attend an SFAB meeting on Monday, March 04 at 7:00 pm at the Juan De Fuca Kinsmen Fieldhouse (Building by Golf Course/Tennis Facility, same room as Made In BC Wild Salmon meeting – see the red shape tagged with a 5, below).

Topics on the agenda are:

  1. 2019 Chinook Salmon Fisheries Management.
  2. New halibut regulations for 2019.
  3. Avid Anglers Update.
  4. Southern Resident Killer Whale Update.
  5. Prawn Reductions. DFO is recommending a 50% reduction in prawn limits. The Chair will be seeking input as what the SFAB should recommend to DFO as acceptable limit changes.  
  6. Update on previous motions from Fall meetings.
  7. Thompson/Chilcotin Steelhead update.

If you would like to receive emails regarding future Area 19/20 SFAB meetings, important notices and letters, please contact Ryan via this email. 

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