Quote:
Originally Posted by Redfrog
How long have the Natives been fishing salmon in the Fraser? How long has DFO been managing the fisheries? Who did a better job and when did things go for crap?
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Lots go into it. Development along salmon streams. Roads and logging is huge. Not only causing siltation but also warming due to lack of shade. Then comes Mother Nature. Some years warmer. Some cooler. Some with more moisture. Some with less. Then comes historical ecosystem impacts such as as making river channelized and not natural. Removing log jams. Making them straight and uniform. Then comes BC environmentally friendly dams. Sure cheap power but with destructive impacts on fishing migrations. Then comes food for growing fish. Again. Impacts to the ecosystem. Then smolts get to the oceans they get flushed out fast. Not normal. Then potential for parsites. Then predators. Then in the ocean and El Niņo impacts food supplies and brings in warm water predators. Warmer seas are worse for salmon. In cold years they thrive. Then they migrate back. Factory ships from Russia, China, Korea, Denmark etc slaughter Canadian and American salmon. Then they return. Run the gauntlet of humboldt squid, salmon sharks, orcas and anglers. Then commercial trollers. Then seiners. Then anglers and native fisheries. Then migrate up waiting for high water. Then spawning. Then spawning success and smolt emergence. Repeated.
Basic but complicated. In bad years salmon need to be left to spawn to replenish stocks. In stellar years harvested. All the while building stocks higher and higher. As high as they can possibly go.
I see DFO setting a low bar and failing. Failing on salmon and halibut.
Your statement leads some to believe forecasting is easy. Today versus 150 years ago is silly.
If FN people could kill every last one they would of. They were all about getting as much food as possible. What saved fish populations is low FN populations and lack of technology.