A few weeks ago, we spotlighted the aggressive harvest occurring in Southeast Alaskan commercial mixed-stock salmon fisheries this season and its impacts on Skeena salmon and steelhead.
Now it’s mid-September, commercial fisheries are closed or winding down, and most of this year’s salmon have entered the Skeena, past the Tyee, and are settling into their home rivers. So, how did the numbers add up?
SkeenaWild Executive Director Greg Knox outlines this season’s preliminary salmon and steelhead outlook across the North Coast, Skeena and other tributaries in Northwest B.C. Follow future updates on current conditions and give you up-to-date information on the actual returns we’re seeing.
While Canadian marine commercial fisheries at the mouth of the Skeena ended on August 3rd in response to a declining in-season return estimate of Skeena sockeye, Southeast Alaskan fishers are in the peak of an aggressive year of harvest – intercepting and killing millions of salmon bound for BC waters.
Thanks to the abundance of pink salmon across the north coast this year, Southeast Alaskan seine fisheries alone have already harvested nearly 14 million salmon – more than double the rate of harvest from this time last year – and the season is not over yet. But it’s not just Alaskan salmon they are harvesting… over 2 million Canadian salmon have likely been intercepted as they try to make their way back home.
We are excited to announce Fred Philpot RPF ret. 481 as the inaugural recipient of the SkeenaWild Conservation Award, given in recognition of outstanding community contributions to natural resource conservation and stewardship.
It’s hot in the Skeena! Like much of the province, we are seeing unusually high temperatures and low water levels throughout the region… and it’s only the start of August. A combination of warming ocean temperatures, early snowpack melt, low and warm water temperatures have set the stage for what could be a challenging year for Skeena salmon and steelhead.
We are delighted to announce the much-anticipated return of the Film & Photo Festival this year.
The SWFF celebrates original short films, features, youth films, and photographs submitted by Northern B.C. residents and people from around the world who love exploring this incredible melting pot of stories, visions and perspectives that shines a light on the wonder of the Skeena Watershed.
Between 2019 to 2020, the provincial government cancelled over 1.3 million acres (nearly double the size of Metro Vancouver) of land designated under the Provincial Land Act for conservation and recreational use in northwest B.C. that residents hold dear. These cancellations put valued habitats at risk of being removed from public lands, logged or impacted by industrial development, including popular recreational areas such as Klinger Lake, Tyee Mountain, Atlin, and the Stewart estuaries. Learn more and take action!
SkeenaWild seeks a part-time Education Coordinator to create engaging environmental programs, lead science-based activities for K-12, manage summer camps, and more. Join our team!
Together, we celebrated strong returns and abundant salmon harvests. We held polluting mines accountable for their waste, and called on Alaska to stop the interception of B.C. salmon. We spent time in classrooms and outdoors educating the next generation of Skeena stewards.
Your donation to SkeenaWild will go directly to the new Ecstall River Monitoring Program, an initiative developed following the massive landslide in the Ecstall River.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Don't miss all the latest news, stories and events from SkeenaWild and our affiliate organizations.
