The Nass River watershed closed to recreational fishing Friday, July 28, until further notice.
“The closure is being implemented to address conversation concerns for Nass chinook,” reads the fishery notice released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
“Monitoring of escapement levels for chinook and other species of salmon will continue through the Nisga’a fish wheel program.”
The most recent counts from the Nass Stock Assessments indicate the following numbers:
For chinook, the average return (1994-2016) is 32,000 chinook. The pre-season forecast for this year was 24,000 and the in-season forecast is 12,000.
For sockeye, the average return is 580,000 salmon. The pre-season forecast for this year was 454,000, but now the in-season forecast is 234,000.
More details and numbers from the Nass return can be found at www.nisgaanation.ca/stock-assessments.
The DFO notice for the fishery closure is here.