The Hope
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The Fraser River Gold Panning Championships are back 4
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2013
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2013 BCYCNA
3
MEASLES WARNING IN THE FRASER VALLEY
Health authority issues an alert to parents after a spike in cases
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CELEBRATING YOUTH IN MEMORIAL PARK
Community partners host a free barbecue and activities for Youth Day
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LOCAL HIKE OFFERS REWARDING VIEW American Creek Falls is a short trek off Highway 1 north of Hope
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KERRIE-ANN SCHOENIT / THE STANDARD
Abdol Vahimi from Port Coquitlam fishes for Chinook and pink salmon off the banks of the Fraser River near Highway 1 exit 170 on Tuesday morning. There’s been no commercial and sport fishing for Fraser sockeye this summer, with no prospect for any unless the main summer run merely turns out to be late in arriving.
Fraser sockeye run threatened Jeff Nagel Black Press
Lower-than-hoped returns of Fraser River sockeye and dangerously hot water temperatures upstream have prompted fishery managers to curtail test fishing in a bid to let as many salmon spawn as possible. About 82,000 sockeye have already been caught through test fisheries and those salmon are sold to help offset the $1.4-million cost of the test program, which is critical to gauging the
strength of incoming runs. Pacific Salmon Commission chief biologist Mike Lapointe said Wednesday about half of test fishing operations have now been cancelled. And three seine boats that continue to test fish offshore are now ordered to release nearly all sockeye after counting them instead of harvesting them. “We’re trying to be good citizens and minimize our impact,” Lapointe said. Asked why test fishing wasn’t adjusted earlier, he said the commission
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acted quickly once it became apparent continued hot, dry weather would pose a major risk. “As soon as we knew we had a bad situation we acted as fast as we could,” Lapointe said. “Ideally, in perfect hindsight, it would have been nice if we could have stopped sooner but there was no way for us to anticipate that.” Although the test fishing program is $200,000 short of the revenue to cover its expenses, Lapointe said conservation, not budget concerns, guid-
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ed the timing of the decision. Sto:lo fishery advisor Ernie Crey said first nations have argued for catch-and-release test fishing for years, adding it would have reduced pressure on threatened Fraser stocks. “Far more fish would have been up the Fraser River in all the intervening years,” Crey said. “It’s better late than never. Finally they do the right thing at a time when fish runs are perilously low.”
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