The Application of Research to the Management of British Columbia Sockeye Salmon

Abstract

The sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) which is native to the Pacific rim from California to Kamchatka is the most valuable single species in the British Columbia fishery. Recently catches have ranged from 2 to 7 million fish with a lauded value of %4-%16 million annually, and have generally constituted 20–30% by value of total landings. Sockeye salmon, like other anadromous fish, provide greater opportunities for research to have an impact on their management than do most marine species. On the one hand, they are particularly susceptible to the adverse influences of excessive fishing and of changes in the freshwater environment, both of which provide scope for remedial management. On the other hand, during the freshwater phases, they are relatively easy to observe and, particularly during migrations, there are exceptionally good opportunities for quantitative assessment of populations. In Canada, research has contributed directly to the management of sockeye salmon in at least the following ways 1. By maintaining or increasing the productivity of the accessible freshwater environment through— (a) identifying and providing means of overcoming barriers to access to spawning and rearing grounds, e.g., Hellˈs Gate Rapids; (b) identifying situations in which potential rearing capacity exceeds the output of existing spawning grounds, e.g., Babine Lake; (c) identifying the essential features of productive spawning grounds and so providing a basis for construction of additional spawning grounds to meet the above situation, e.g., spawning channels; (d) identifying situations in which the productive capacity of rearing lakes is inadequate for the spawning grounds and devising remedial measures, e.g., Great Central Lake; (e) providing a basis for assessing potential adverse effects of proposed environment modifications and thus for opposing or modifying such actions, e.g., hydroelectric development. 2. By understanding the relationship between spawning escapement and size of the next generation, thus providing a basis for determining the optimum escapement level for each stock. 3. By identifying the origin of fish occurring in the fishery or in the ocean at various times and places. This identification provides a basis, both for regulation to obtain optimum escapements to individual runs, and for the appropriate sharing of ocean catches between salmon-producing nations, e.g., United States and Canadian coho salmon (O. kisutch) fisheries, and high seas salmon fisheries under the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission. While much research has been aimed directly at the solution of these practical problems, it could not have achieved these ends without the background of much past and present research on all aspects of the biology and life history of the species.