Tag Archives: DFO

Rivers & Oceans

Pink Salmon Run Looks Good for 2022  

Large numbers of pink salmon are returning to our area this summer. 

“I am seeing these pink salmon return – their numbers appear huge, they are leaping everywhere, finning along the surface for hundreds of kilometers,” emailed independant biologist Alexandra Morton.

Lara Sloan, a communications advisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), wrote they are expecting a strong return to the Campbell River, based on the strong outmigration from the 2020 brood, cooler ocean temperatures and better food. 

Continue reading Pink Salmon Run Looks Good for 2022   →
Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Indigenous commercial fishers in Prince Rupert face late start from delayed licences

Editors note: More than 40 fishermen operated out of Cortes Island in the 1970’s. Mike Manson remembers the years when there were usually several fishing boats trolling within sight of his home. Now there are one or two boats and neither of them fish in our waters – See Four Decades of Gillnetting on Cortes Island.

By Kaitlyn Bailey,  Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Northern Native Fishing Corporation (NNFC) fishers lost five salmon harvest days after there was a delay from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in issuing their licences, Mabel Mazurek, general manager at NNFC, said on July 26.

The missed days on the river cost the fisherman thousands of dollars of income and caused them a lot of added stress, Mazurek said.

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Rivers & Oceans

Drastic ocean level fluctuations impact intertidal species

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tofino, BC – The west coast experienced some of its lowest tides of the year last week, leaving some intertidal animals vulnerable to the heat. 

A recent series of events lined up to trigger a “tidal phenomenon” that resulted in an exaggerated tidal range, according to Denny Sinnott, a DFO supervisor for Tides Current and Water Levels.

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Rivers & Oceans

DFO plans more fishery closures under salmon management plan

By Kaitlyn Bailey,  Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Northern BC salmon management plan will take a precautionary approach to manage fisheries, including increased closures for the 2022-2023 year, stated a July 8 news release.

The Integrated Fisheries Management Plan report stated that environmental trends, including high river temperatures, suggest salmon productivity will be below average this year. Salmon productivity refers to the number of adult salmon produced per adult spawning fish.

As a result, key changes in the plan include extra closures throughout the northern Pacific region.

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Rivers & Oceans

Grieg Seafood completes land-based hatchery expansion in Gold River

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Gold River, BC – The first transfer of juvenile Atlantic salmon has been made to Grieg Seafood BC Ltd.’s Expansion Project, which was completed this spring. 

Continue reading Grieg Seafood completes land-based hatchery expansion in Gold River →