Due to the historically-low rate of return for sockeye salmon this year, no fishing for sockeye salmon is permitted.
The rate of escapement at the Skeena Tyee Test Fishery in July 16 in 2013 was 161,126 sockeye compared to 130,437 by the same date of this year. The rate is below the threshold for First Nations food, social and ceremonial fisheries.
Recreational fishing for sockeye and chum salmon will remain closed in the entire Skeena River watershed, including tributaries and lakes, according to a release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Recreational fishing for river chinook, coho and pink salmon is permitted again, with management measures in place for chinook:
• The new maximum daily quota for Skeena chinook is reduced to two per day and only one of the salmon may be over 65 cm, in the entire watershed.
• The Skeena River mainstem, upstream of the Sustut River and at the Kitwanga and Kispiox River mouths is closed to chinook fishing.
• All tributaries and lakes of the Skeena River will be closed to chinook fishing, except for sections of the Babine, Bulkley, Kitsumkalum, Morice and Sustut Rivers.
• The entire Skeena River watershed will be closed to chinook fishing until August 15, to protect spawning chinook stocks.