5 AUGUST 1998. CANADA: FISHERY - THE HIGH PROBABILITY THAT MANY SOCKEYE WILL DIE BEFORE SPAWNING DUE TO HIGH FRASER RIVER TEMPERATURES LEADS TO THE OPENING OF A PRE-EMPTIVE "FISH-OUT" GILLNET FISHERY ON WEDNESDAY (today) AND THURSDAY IN THE FRASER DELTA REGION. Analysis: The commercial Fraser gillnet fishery that has suddenly been opened on Wednesday, 5 days ahead of schedule, can only have serious implications for the spawning escapements of dozens of the smaller 'Early Summer' and 'Summer' sockeye salmon stocks. Opening the river to flat-out commercial fisheries because pre-mortalities are expected due to high temperatures is unprecedented in the history of fisheries management on the Fraser River, and can be directly attributed to lobbying pressure by industry, due to the large increases in prices for sockeye salmon in Canada following the poor Alaskan sockeye landings, and the 'low' Canadian dollar.

Policy Implications: Allowing this kind of thinking to dominate fisheries management spells the end of our wild salmon. Under 'risk averse' management which was supposed to be official DFO policy following the John Fraser inquiry, high river temperatures should mean that more, not less fish should be allowed to reach the spawning grounds. Even if some of the salmon do die before spawning, they will form part of a natural cycle where they will feed birds and mammals and enrich the streams for future generations of salmon and trout, as they have done for millennia. The decision makers know that the Quesnel [Horsefly] runs is highly susceptible to pre-spawning mortality, but the decision to "fish them out" can only hurt the many smaller early runs such as fragile Seymour, Scotch, Anstey, and Eagle ('Early Summer') and Late Stuart, and Stellako ('Summer') sockeye. Rebuilding, already put back by overfishing in 1994 will now be brought to a standstill."--David Ellis IN Dave's fishery reportdavidellis@lightspeed.bc.ca.

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