Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced a further $2.7 million investment in salmon conservation projects, after government officials confirmed Thursday morning that salmon stocks across British Columbia are returning in concerningly low numbers.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, also known as DFO, had previously forecast that 4,795,000 sockeye salmon would return to the Fraser River this year.
As the run starts, that number has been adjusted to 628,000 — just 13 per cent of that original forecast. The state of sockeye salmon is now so dire that some populations “face an imminent threat of extinction,” according to DFO.
“2019 has been a particularly difficult year for wild salmon,” Wilkinson said.
For Fraser River sockeye in particular, it “may be one of the worst years on record.”
On the Skeena River, 1.7 million sockeye salmon were forecast to return, but that has now been downgraded to 652,000.
The news isn’t as dire for other species of salmon, but the overall trend is that fewer fish are returning than DFO had forecasted. Scientists have warned that the Chinook salmon are also endangered, and some populations could be wiped out in the next 15 to 20 years if action is not taken now to help them recover.
The runs this year are too low for many commercial fisheries to operate. DFO has also restricted fishing opportunities for First Nations and recreational fishers.
Courtesy of thestar.com
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
