Federal plan restricts Fraser River chinook fishing for 2019 season

The federal government has laid out new commercial and recreational fishing restrictions forchinooksalmon in B.C.'sFraserRiver, inan effort to restore and protectdwindlingstocks there.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) says urgent protection measures include the closure of a commercialfishery involving seven endangered stocks.

Chinookpopulations in British Columbia have been on the decline as a result of climate change and habitat destruction, according to the DFO, and Fraser River chinook areparticularly vulnerablebecause of increased sedimentation into the river systems.

"This is causing a lot of our freshwater habitats to reach a tipping point," said Sue Grant with DFO's State of the Salmon Program.

Debris accumulation from two back-to-back years of smoke and wildfires, logging and development alongthe Fraser River hasadded to the problem.

"This can create blockages of migration for our salmon stocks so they can't get to suitable habitats or it can smother eggs that are incubating in the spawning gravel," said Grant.

Importantly, chinook salmon are the preferred diet for at-risk southern resident killer whales. More than 98 per cent of their diet is chinook.

The DFO restrictions include:

• Closure of the commercial fishery until Aug. 20, 2019. The usual start date is in June.
• Overall recreational fisherylimitedto 10 chinook per person.
• First Nations chinook fishing restricted until July 15.

"The science is clear: Pacific chinook salmon are in a critical state," reada statement from Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

"I want to ensure that we do not knowingly put these stocks on a path to extinction."

To ensure the new rules are enforced and to prevent poaching, 140 conservation officers will bepatrolling areas of the Fraser River by land, air, and water, according to the DFO.