{"id":883183,"date":"2026-09-04T15:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/883183\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:12:12","slug":"fishers-empty-handed-following-dismal-fraser-river-sockeye-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/883183\/","title":{"rendered":"Fishers empty-handed following dismal Fraser River sockeye run"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Many Fraser River sockeye salmon fishers are coming home empty-handed, following a dismal run that shut down fisheries this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This year, it didn’t even fill up the boat once \u2014 not once,” said Mike Baird, fisheries co-ordinator for the Tsawwassen First Nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And he’s not the only one noticing the sharp decline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Well, [in] the Fraser River, unfortunately, there’s no fish,” said Darin Chung, a fisher and owner of B.C. Live Spot Prawns & Seafood.<\/p>\n

\"AMike Baird, Tsawwassen First Nation fisheries co-ordinator, said the decline in sockeye is a stark contrast to the 2010 run, when salmon were jumping around his boat off the shores of Steveston. (Steven Chua\/CBC)Fisheries shut down<\/p>\n

As a result, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, also known as DFO, has shut down Fraser River sockeye fisheries, though there might be leeway for First Nations food, social and ceremonial purposes.<\/p>\n

“The forecast for this year was 7.7 million but we’re now sitting at a run size of just over three million,” said Fiona Martens, director of the Pacific Salmon Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diminishing runs are an ongoing trend.<\/p>\n

Sockeye salmon go back up the Fraser River in cycles. A dominant cycle \u2014 when the most fish return \u2014 occurs every four years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AFraser River salmon counts from the Pacific Salmon Commission shows a declining dominant runs after a spike in 2010. (CBC)<\/p>\n

But they’ve been getting smaller in recent years, dropping by millions each cycle from a peak of 28 million in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baird said that year he saw salmon jumping out of the water around his boat, which was sailing off Steveston.<\/p>\n

He was able to fill his coffers with sockeye within three hours \u2014\u00a0a far cry from this year’s disappointing run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This is probably the lowest dominant cycle that I can recall,” said Greg Taylor, fisheries advisor with Watershed Watch Salmon Society, a conservation group.<\/p>\n

And it’s hitting fishers in their pocketbooks.<\/p>\n

\"ADarin Chung, a gillnet fisher, says he’s had to look elsewhere to harvest fish as a result of the downturn in Fraser sockeye. (Steven Chua\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Darin Chung, a gillnet fisher, estimates Fraser River sockeye makes up between 40 to 50 per cent of his business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Without the Fraser River sockeye, we’re going to be massively short … basically from November to June of next year,” he said.<\/p>\n

As a result, he’s had to fish for sockeye elsewhere, but he said it’s no replacement for the Fraser catch, which is particularly coveted because of its high Omega-3 content.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why such a low run?<\/p>\n

Conservationists, fishers and government are trying to figure out why the return is so low.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Most would link it to abnormally high water temperatures,” said Taylor.<\/p>\n

He noted it’s a challenge to know exactly what’s going on in the ocean, but said there have been also been lower runs in Alaska, Russia and Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It appears to be something linked to the ocean environment,” Taylor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baird blames the unseasonably hot weather this year, which has triggered wildfires throughout B.C.<\/p>\n

\"AMike Baird says ongoing drought conditions are a likely contributor to the low Fraser sockeye run this year. (Steven Chua\/CBC)<\/p>\n

“We live in a rainforest and we’re dealing with drought,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Baird also noted there may be an overpopulation issue with seals and sea lions, which are consuming endangered fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chung, on the other hand, is calling for changes in the bureaucracy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The way that it’s managed \u2014 the Government of Canada is not managing it properly,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For its part, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said a low snow pack, forest fires and drought conditions are making it hard for the fish.<\/p>\n

The agency said it’s invested $412 million to help preserve and restore wild Pacific salmon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But while there are a multitude of reasons why the run is so low this year, most can agree on one thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We all have to do our part to look after the river,” Baird said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-883183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}