Bar fishing is where anglers wade out from one of the many large gravel bars along the banks of the Fraser River near Hope , B . C .
Salmon Society in April 2015 highlighted how certain stocks of tributary sockeye were overfished because the majority of the fishing pressure concentrated on the mainstem of the Fraser .
“ Despite a large return of sockeye to the mouth of the Fraser River last year , the number of fish that made it to their spawning grounds fell short of spawning objectives by 19 %,” according to the article . “ If Canadian and U . S . fishermen had caught all the fish allocated to them , the total number of spawners would have been nearly 3 million fish short of the official in-season targets set by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Pacific Salmon Commission — an error of 41 %.”
It makes sense that with so many anglers catching sockeye — again flossing so the term “ catching ” is more appropriate than angling or fishing — that there would be an over harvest of certain strains of fish . But another blow was about to be dealt by mankind that was even worse . That same summer of 2014 the mine tailings from the Mount Polly mine broke through an earth dam and flooded the Fraser river with toxins killing millions of eggs and destroying runs of fish .
In 2019 a large natural land slide occurred at Big Bar where it was finally discovered as fish arrived and upriver samples were to be taken only
jason brooks photo jason brooks photo to find the slide . Again , another barrier that flooded the river with silt and covered traditional spawning grounds and blocking upriver passage for sockeye destined for the headwaters . A blow to the far reaching runs .
Keep in mind since 2014 there has been a “ warm water blob ” in the Pacific that has affected salmon populations . Factor in seal and sea lion predation on sockeye smolts as they migrate from freshwater to the ocean . Moreover , sockeye are not PIT tagged so fishery managers have no idea how many sockeye are being eaten by the pinnipeds . To give some perspective , studies have shown a high number of coho smolts are being eaten by seals and sea lions . Adult fish are also preyed upon as they enter the Fraser to head upstream and spawn .
Recently the First Nations along the coast have pushed for the right to harvest seals . This is one of the measures that should help returning salmon . Another is the push to shut down salmon farms . Again the First Nations are taking on the federal government which issues the permits for the salmon farms in the Discovery Islands , a known salmon feeding ground and part of the migration route from the open Pacific Ocean to the Fraser . Salmon farms have been linked to sea lice outbreaks and other diseases .
The 2020 the Fraser sockeye run was projected to be 283,000 fish . According to the DFO in Canada , this year ’ s return ( 2021 ) will be at or below last year ’ s return . A far cry from the 72 million predicted for 2014 when I stood on the banks , or even the 30 million in 2010 . In less than a decade the Fraser sockeye run has gone from the tens of millions to only a couple hundred thousand . Like the Columbia to the south , where millions of salmon used to run a century ago , the Fraser is falling fast . What will it take to rebound ? We can ’ t turn back the clock and keep the Polly Mine tailings out of the Fraser but it can be used as an example of why we shouldn ’ t have large scale mines near arterial salmon rivers . For example , the Polly Mine disaster that sent 80 million cubic meters of mine waste , including high concentrations of copper , into the river was one of the key talking points to stop the Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay , Alaska .
Moreover , First Nations are using their political muscle to help the salmon , from removing pinnipeds in the estuaries to removing mass salmon farms in the feeding grounds .
It is time to focus on the downfall of the Fraser sockeye and so we can someday again see returns in the tensof-millions and stand on the gravel bar and catch a “ sock ” or two .
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