Each week, Watershed Watch's fisheries advisor Greg Taylor will share his expert insights on what's happening in B.C.'s salmon fisheries. With decades of experience in the industry, Greg offers a blend of observations, analysis, and personal perspective.

Pink salmon fishing on the north coast has me reminiscing about the 1980s and 1990s. While the fleet is a fraction of what it once was, it is still exciting to see boats loading up with pink salmon in short order.  

When you go shopping for salmon at your local grocer or seafood store, and are looking for a less expensive alternative, ask for fresh pink salmon. Pink salmon gets a bad rap. Yes, in the old days, because we most always canned them, they often were not handled well and were not a great fresh or frozen product.  

But this has all changed. There are no major canneries left on the coast. Pink production is now frozen, mostly for export. International markets demand excellent quality.  

Pink salmon destined for the local fresh market are cared for the same: iced well on the boat, delivered without delay, processed in impeccable conditions, and shipped within a day or two of being caught.  

Moreover, I like pinks for their mild flavour, size, versatility, and price. Ask your person at the seafood counter for some good quality pink salmon. You will be well rewarded. 

Bristol Bay Sockeye

Bristol Bay is now all but over. Fishing is quickly trailing off. Current harvest exceeds 40 million. This is about 2 million more than forecast.  

Copper River Sockeye

The Copper River sockeye fishery will end up harvesting around a million sockeye, slightly more than its recent 5-year average.  

Prince William Sound Pinks

After a disastrous season in 2024, it appears that PWS will, at a minimum, achieve its forecast harvest of about 60 million pink salmon, and based on current trends, may well exceed the 2025 forecast. 

Chum Salmon

Chum salmon are returning strong throughout Alaska. And, as is usually the case with chums, we are seeing the same trend throughout their range, including here in B.C. Chums spend four years in the Pacific and good environmental conditions tend to benefit most chum populations. 

Southeast Alaska

Calling this one is more challenging. It is just the start of the fishing season in SE Alaska. Early test fishing suggests a poor pink return relative to the forecast. In addition, early fishing has been poor. But I can recall a few years when I sat in my office completely deflated by the poor SE pink catches in July, only to have the season turn around in August.  

The poor fishing in SE Alaska is curtailing harvest pressure on B.C.-bound populations. This, and marine water temperatures which are funnelling pinks and chums straight into Dixon Entrance, and thus avoiding Alaskan interceptions, is helping make this a banner year for B.C. fishermen on the north coast. 

Northern B.C.

Nass sockeye is tracking near average. Sockeye and chum fishing for gillnets and seines started off well for fisheries targeting Nass sockeye and Alaskan hatchery chums.  

Fishing for pinks in Area 3 north of Prince Rupert has been excellent, with most seine boats being able to load themselves within one or, at most, two days.  

Up to this past opening, the fleet could retain chum salmon. However, they must now discard all chums, coho, chinook, and steelhead. DFO dictates that the fish must be 'released with the least possible harm,' encouraging you to think that the fish are carefully released in a manner that achieves a high probability of their surviving to spawn. 

Research details how seiners should be operated to ensure the highest possible survival of chums discarded in the fishery: sets kept small and managed so as not to crowd the fish, remove the fish from the net within 15 minutes, sort them on deck, and ensure bycatch is carefully returned to the water within 2 minutes.  

None of the above is required of North Coast fishermen. 

Hence, it must be assumed that chum bycatch discarded in this fishery will experience high mortality. This begs the question, other than for 'greenwashing' purposes for the general public, why discard chums at all if these measures are not being implemented and enforced? Why not retain all fish caught, require 100% dockside validation so DFO knows exactly how many fish are killed in the fishery, and make management decisions accordingly?  

Once catch limits for bycatch caps are exceeded, the fishery could be curtailed or moved into more terminal areas to eliminate much of the bycatch. Fishermen would make more money, and we would know how many salmon are being killed. 

Don't get me wrong, I have always believed a seine boat that adheres to the above operating requirements is a mobile fish trap. It is the best alternative to sustainably harvest a target species in a mixed stock environment, but if DFO and industry refuse to implement the necessary measures, it is indefensible to argue this is a sustainably managed fishery. 

Industry argues that it is too expensive to monitor the fishery using at-sea observers. Today, most fisheries around the world employ cameras to do this work. Cameras are inexpensive, effective, and easily deployed. 

Lack of monitoring and an inability to access discard mortality are key reasons why B.C. fisheries are unable to secure a sustainability designation from any of the major domestic or international certification organizations. 

In terms of Skeena sockeye, I have gone from high expectations, to hoping, to praying, to begging the fish Gods. The return will clearly exceed the aggregate escapement goal, but is not tracking to come anywhere close to its 2.7 million pre-season prediction. However, there is still time for things to turn around. Further, the abundance of pinks may be masking the number of sockeye in the test fishery. 

Skeena pink escapements are 'off the charts'. It is unclear yet whether the large early return of pinks will continue for all populations or will tail off. I am betting it will continue. This is a problem for processors because a high proportion of Skeena pinks are infected with the Henneguya parasite. This parasite is harmless to humans but is unsightly. In the old days, when most pinks were canned, this was not a problem, as the cooking process destroyed the parasite. 

Now that there are no canneries left on the north coast, all pinks are frozen. Buyers are not keen to purchase pinks infected with the parasite. Processors will likely do what they can to limit catching the abundant Skeena pinks when trying to harvest their Skeena sockeye quota.

It is also too early to say much about any of the other species. There is a reasonable showing of early steelhead, which is encouraging for recreational fishermen.  

I am pleased to see better chinook returns to the Skeena than we have seen in recent years. The return is still much less than it was in its banner years. They may also be benefiting from this year's recreational closures. 

Area 6 Pink Salmon

There are reports that pink salmon are abundant in Area 6. The first seine opening is scheduled for the 24th of July. It will be interesting to see if this will be a big Area 6 return. My bet is that it will both because north coast pink survival is obviously high and the reduced Alaskan interceptions spoken of above.  

It will be interesting to see if Areas 7 and 8 see better pink and chum returns this year. 

Somass (Barkley Sound) Sockeye

The Barkley Sound commercial sockeye fishery is likely over for 2025. The run size has been reduced again, leaving most gear groups over their allocated catch at the current run size. 

Fraser Sockeye

Early Stuart sockeye are now expected to return at 7x their 2025 median forecast! This is an extraordinarily exciting event, but not entirely unexpected to long-term observers of Fraser sockeye. Early Stuart sockeye have, throughout their existence, often been reduced to very small numbers due to in-river migration blockages. It proves once again that if we give salmon the opportunity, they can recover. 

Fraser water levels are low, and temperatures are warm, so in-river mortality of Early Stuart sockeye may be high. It is unlikely that we will see all 700,000+ sockeye show up on the spawning grounds later this summer. 

It is too early to say anything about the other sockeye run-timing groups on the Fraser. Marine test fishing is okay, but we are still two weeks from the peak timing for the next run-timing group, Early Summer sockeye. But there are some encouraging hints that things may go well for Fraser sockeye in 2025. We are also hearing reports that returning chinook are abundant in northern Johnstone Straits. As I wrote in my last recap, it is inconceivable to imagine any justification to walk back the decision to remove fish farms in the area. 

Fraser River Chinook

All I can say at this time is that there are encouraging signs we may be seeing some improvement in some endangered Fraser chinook populations (summer 5-2s) in 2025. More analysis is required, but just maybe, we are finally seeing some benefits from the painful fishing closures and, of course, improved conditions in the Salish Sea. 

South Coast Pinks

There are reports of pink salmon in recreational catches. This is encouraging, but it is difficult to extrapolate anything from it. 

Greg will be providing weekly fisheries updates, which we will publish here on Fridays. Stay tuned.

Read Previous Weekly Updates

July 17, 2025