September 02, 2009 |
Dramatic sockeye decline to be discussed at Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference
Sept. 2, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dramatic sockeye decline to be discussed at Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference
With sockeye returns for the Skeena River at roughly half their projected numbers, the Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference, to be held Sept. 15 and 16 in Smithers, B.C., presents a unique opportunity for timely discussion about threats to one of the province’s most important watersheds.
The conference, hosted by the Bulkley Valley Research Centre and the first to bring together this caliber of expertise about the Skeena’s salmon habitat, will include perspectives from First Nations, industry, government, NGOs and academics on the current state of the Skeena River’s salmon stocks.
Despite projected sockeye returns of 1.5 to 2 million, Dave Einarson, area chief of resource management with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said this week that the watershed has seen between 850,000 and 900,000 returning sockeye.
“That’s pretty significant,” Einarson said. “It’s definitely a downturn and it seems to be a trend.”
The decline, which Einarson said is likely connected to environment and climate change, is similar to numbers seen in 1999 and 2005 — the only other two years the government has closed the Skeena’s commercial fishery. The returns are far less dramatic than the Fraser River’s current salmon runs, which resulted in more than nine million missing sockeye.
The Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference provides a rare opportunity to examine cumulative impacts to the Skeena’s ecosystems. The Skeena remains one of the longest undammed salmon-bearing rivers in the world and British Columbia residents rely on its wild salmon stocks and general health for economic, cultural and environmental sustainability.
“It’s no coincidence that a variety of groups from different perspectives are all voicing concern over this,” Bulkley Valley Research Centre research program manager Rick Budhwa said. “We’re meeting that need by providing a forum to discuss this issue of preservation and conservation.”
Chaired by Dr. Brian Riddell, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, conference speakers include the Honourable John Fraser, chair of the BC Pacific Salmon Forum, Jon O’Riordan, with the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, and Jack Stanford, with the Flathead Lake Biological Station at the University of Montana.
Smithers resident Ali Howard, who became the first to swim the 610-kilometre Skeena in its entirety this summer, will give a slide show presentation about her experience during the conference’s evening banquet on Sept. 15.
The Bulkley Valley Research Centre is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to improve natural and cultural resource management through high quality research. In 2007-2008, the centre completed nearly 30 research projects that add to the scientific knowledge base in British Columbia. For more information about the Centre or the upcoming Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference, please call 250.847.2827 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).