Low salmon run arrives at Whitehorse fish ladder

Two salmon have been spotted at the Whitehorse Rapids fish ladder, the first chinook salmon to reach Whitehorse this season, arriving later than usual.

The predictions for the chinook run are low this year; Yukon First Nations are calling it a major crisis.

The department of Fisheries and Oceans is monitoring the run.

"A little over 53,000 Canadian origin chinook have entered the mouth of the river," said Steve Smith, area chief of resource management.

"Obviously what we're more interested in is what comes across the border into Canada. Right now we're at about 18,000 chinook and it seems to be close to 2,000 fish a day come over the border."

Commercial fishing has been cancelled for the season. Some First Nations along the river haveasked citizens to limit catch this season.

According to an agreement with Alaska, at least 42,000 chinook salmon must enter Canadian waters in order to assure future stocks but the return is unlikely to reach that number this year.