Math blunder by federal fisheries managers to be “fixed” by allowing fishing on depleted salmon and steelhead runs
Vancouver — Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) informed fishery stakeholders on Wednesday that DFO has been miscalculating numbers of sockeye salmon returning to the Skeena River, B.C.’s second largest salmon producer, for the entirety of the 2025 season to date.
According to North Coast Salmon Manager Brad Koroluk, “an incorrect sockeye multiplier has been applied at the Tyee test fishery throughout the season.” The Tyee test fishery is DFO’s primary tool for estimating the size of Skeena River salmon returns. Correcting the error frees up additional sockeye allocation for the commercial gill net fishery which occurs in Area 4, the waters in and around the mouth of the Skeena River.
Despite already providing the commercial fleet with multiple fishery openings to date in Area 4, the Department is planning additional openings “on Sunday and Monday, with additional openings planned for next week.” These late-season fisheries will impact depleted sockeye populations, as well as chum and steelhead salmon runs that will be caught and discarded as bycatch in the controversial gill net fishery. Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust are calling the proposed late-season fisheries “irresponsible and unnecessary.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” said Greg Taylor, senior fisheries advisor to Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild. “The commercial marine fleet has had many days of fishing already. Any additional allowable catch of sockeye can be harvested in more sustainable fisheries close to the spawning grounds of the more abundant populations, where there will be less impact on depleted salmon and steelhead populations.”
“Thousands of people including Indigenous communities that depend upon later-timed sockeye for their future food security, recreational salmon anglers and the economically valuable steelhead fishery and all the local businesses that provide support will suffer from this action,” said Aaron Hill, Executive Director at Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
The conservation groups, as well as the provincial government and other stakeholders, have advocated for a closing date of July 31 for the fishery for many years, to protect the peak run-timing of sockeye populations of conservation concern, Skeena steelhead and chum salmon. Openings beyond this date, they say, harm vulnerable species and negate rebuilding efforts of at-risk populations.
Contacts
Greg Taylor, Senior Fisheries Advisor, Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust: 604-970-0277
Aaron Hill, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society: 250-818-0054
Background
Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a non-profit organization that for 26 years has worked to defend and rebuild B.C.’s wild salmon and their habitats.
SkeenaWild Conservation Trust was formed in 2007 and works to rebuild salmon and steelhead populations in Northwest B.C. so local communities can benefit from these incredible fish.
Skeena Tyee Test Fishery | Pacific Region
July 30, 2025 email from Brad Koroluk, Acting Section Head for Salmon for the North Coast Area at Fisheries and Oceans Canada:
Math blunder by federal fisheries managers to be “fixed” by allowing fishing on depleted salmon and steelhead runs
Vancouver — Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) informed fishery stakeholders on Wednesday that DFO has been miscalculating numbers of sockeye salmon returning to the Skeena River, B.C.’s second largest salmon producer, for the entirety of the 2025 season to date.
According to North Coast Salmon Manager Brad Koroluk, “an incorrect sockeye multiplier has been applied at the Tyee test fishery throughout the season.” The Tyee test fishery is DFO’s primary tool for estimating the size of Skeena River salmon returns. Correcting the error frees up additional sockeye allocation for the commercial gill net fishery which occurs in Area 4, the waters in and around the mouth of the Skeena River.
Despite already providing the commercial fleet with multiple fishery openings to date in Area 4, the Department is planning additional openings “on Sunday and Monday, with additional openings planned for next week.” These late-season fisheries will impact depleted sockeye populations, as well as chum and steelhead salmon runs that will be caught and discarded as bycatch in the controversial gill net fishery. Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust are calling the proposed late-season fisheries “irresponsible and unnecessary.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” said Greg Taylor, senior fisheries advisor to Watershed Watch and SkeenaWild. “The commercial marine fleet has had many days of fishing already. Any additional allowable catch of sockeye can be harvested in more sustainable fisheries close to the spawning grounds of the more abundant populations, where there will be less impact on depleted salmon and steelhead populations.”
“Thousands of people including Indigenous communities that depend upon later-timed sockeye for their future food security, recreational salmon anglers and the economically valuable steelhead fishery and all the local businesses that provide support will suffer from this action,” said Aaron Hill, Executive Director at Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
The conservation groups, as well as the provincial government and other stakeholders, have advocated for a closing date of July 31 for the fishery for many years, to protect the peak run-timing of sockeye populations of conservation concern, Skeena steelhead and chum salmon. Openings beyond this date, they say, harm vulnerable species and negate rebuilding efforts of at-risk populations.
Contacts
Greg Taylor, Senior Fisheries Advisor, Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust: 604-970-0277
Aaron Hill, Executive Director, Watershed Watch Salmon Society: 250-818-0054
Background
Watershed Watch Salmon Society is a non-profit organization that for 26 years has worked to defend and rebuild B.C.’s wild salmon and their habitats.
SkeenaWild Conservation Trust was formed in 2007 and works to rebuild salmon and steelhead populations in Northwest B.C. so local communities can benefit from these incredible fish.
Skeena Tyee Test Fishery | Pacific Region
July 30, 2025 email from Brad Koroluk, Acting Section Head for Salmon for the North Coast Area at Fisheries and Oceans Canada: