Fishing on the West Coast heavily relies upon salmon, as that is the most important catch. There are five types of salmon: coho, chum, pink, spring and the most valuable type... sockeye. Other organisms that are caught on the West Coast (however to a lesser degree) are herring, halibut, cod, crab, tuna, shrimp and oysters.
Salmon are found on both coasts and are caught in Atlantic Canada as well; however the West Coast catch has traditionally been over 400 times larger than that of the East. Pacific Salmon hatch in freshwater streams and then swim to the Pacific Ocean when they are older, where they live the rest of their lives. The mature Pacific salmon disperse from the sea and go to coastal waters during the months of June-November. British Columbia's largest modern fishers fish during this time, in these areas. If the salmon succeed in escaping the nets, they travel to the freshwater streams where they were hatched and lived their pre-mature lives and lay their eggs in gravel beds of the streams which are located on the sides of the mountains along the coast. After spawning, both the males and females die. The life of a salmon can very much be viewed as a cycle.
Salmon are found on both coasts and are caught in Atlantic Canada as well; however the West Coast catch has traditionally been over 400 times larger than that of the East. Pacific Salmon hatch in freshwater streams and then swim to the Pacific Ocean when they are older, where they live the rest of their lives. The mature Pacific salmon disperse from the sea and go to coastal waters during the months of June-November. British Columbia's largest modern fishers fish during this time, in these areas. If the salmon succeed in escaping the nets, they travel to the freshwater streams where they were hatched and lived their pre-mature lives and lay their eggs in gravel beds of the streams which are located on the sides of the mountains along the coast. After spawning, both the males and females die. The life of a salmon can very much be viewed as a cycle.
Due to the failure of the fish management system in the Atlantic Fishery, many scientists and politicians made sure that we would handle the West Coast Fishery differently. When approximately one millions fewer salmon arrived at the spawning grounds of the Fraser River in 1994, there was much concern. Scientists studied why there was such a big disappearance of salmon in 1994 and came up with 3 reasons... Overfishing, changes in the environment and lack of a salmon fishing treaty.
Overfishing - During the 1990's, over 800,000 tonnes of salmon were caught each year in between the states of Alaska and California by both Canadian and American fishers. Due to the high demand of salmon fishers, very few adult fish actually reached the spawning rivers, resulting in another failure to obtain sustained yield management.
Changes in the Environment - The temperature of the Pacific Ocean was greatly affected by global warming, which affects the habitat of salmon. Salmon prefer water that is relatively cool (below 7 degrees Celsius) and because of the rise in water temperatures, more southern places, such as California, have already lost most of their salmon population. If the Pacific Ocean continues to heat up, Salmon will continue to migrate North to cooler waters, meaning that BC could lose all of the fish along the coast since they would have migrated up to Alaska and the Bering Sea, where the water remains below 7 degrees.
Lack of a Salmon Fishing Treaty - Canada and the United States are in constant dispute on where salmon is allowed to be caught and how much can be taken by each country. The Canadians believe that fewer salmon should be caught in order to preserve the fish; however the Americans believe the opposite, as they think that there are enough salmon and restrictions are not needed. Unless the two countries can come to an agreement on how much salmon can be caught, we may lose this precious resource as a result.
Since the salmon population in Pacific Canada has decreased, competition between the 3 major fishing groups has become much larger. The First Nations people and the sport and commercial fishing industries all catch salmon; however commercial fishing is the most effective, as in the 1980's-1990's, 94% of salmon were caught by this type of fishing.
The First Nations have a growing demand for salmon for two reasons. Firstly, a Supreme Court decision that was made in 1990 guaranteed the First Nations people the right to fish for their own food as well as fishing for social and ceremonial purposes. Another big reason is that the right to fish commercially is a focus of many First Nations land claims in "Beautiful BC".
The Sport Fishing industry desires a bigger share of all of the available salmon. They argue that this would be very beneficial to the environment since a salmon caught by a recreational angler brings in a much greater economic benefit than a salmon that is caught be a commercial fishing boat.
Due to the demands of the two other competitors, the commercial fishing industry is forced to reduce their catch. The federal government has reduced the number of salmon caught commercially annually by purchasing a great deal of fishing licenses and boats.
Overfishing - During the 1990's, over 800,000 tonnes of salmon were caught each year in between the states of Alaska and California by both Canadian and American fishers. Due to the high demand of salmon fishers, very few adult fish actually reached the spawning rivers, resulting in another failure to obtain sustained yield management.
Changes in the Environment - The temperature of the Pacific Ocean was greatly affected by global warming, which affects the habitat of salmon. Salmon prefer water that is relatively cool (below 7 degrees Celsius) and because of the rise in water temperatures, more southern places, such as California, have already lost most of their salmon population. If the Pacific Ocean continues to heat up, Salmon will continue to migrate North to cooler waters, meaning that BC could lose all of the fish along the coast since they would have migrated up to Alaska and the Bering Sea, where the water remains below 7 degrees.
Lack of a Salmon Fishing Treaty - Canada and the United States are in constant dispute on where salmon is allowed to be caught and how much can be taken by each country. The Canadians believe that fewer salmon should be caught in order to preserve the fish; however the Americans believe the opposite, as they think that there are enough salmon and restrictions are not needed. Unless the two countries can come to an agreement on how much salmon can be caught, we may lose this precious resource as a result.
Since the salmon population in Pacific Canada has decreased, competition between the 3 major fishing groups has become much larger. The First Nations people and the sport and commercial fishing industries all catch salmon; however commercial fishing is the most effective, as in the 1980's-1990's, 94% of salmon were caught by this type of fishing.
The First Nations have a growing demand for salmon for two reasons. Firstly, a Supreme Court decision that was made in 1990 guaranteed the First Nations people the right to fish for their own food as well as fishing for social and ceremonial purposes. Another big reason is that the right to fish commercially is a focus of many First Nations land claims in "Beautiful BC".
The Sport Fishing industry desires a bigger share of all of the available salmon. They argue that this would be very beneficial to the environment since a salmon caught by a recreational angler brings in a much greater economic benefit than a salmon that is caught be a commercial fishing boat.
Due to the demands of the two other competitors, the commercial fishing industry is forced to reduce their catch. The federal government has reduced the number of salmon caught commercially annually by purchasing a great deal of fishing licenses and boats.