While sockeye salmon have started trickling through the Chilcotin River landslide area, the numbers are still a long way from normal, said Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) tribal chair Chief Joe Alphonse.
“Salmon are now passing the slide and I guess that is reason to celebrate, but the flip side of that is we wish there were way more fish,” Alphonse told Black Press Media.
Efforts have been ongoing to rebuild salmon runs impacted by the Big Bar Slide in 2019, and now there is the added stress of the 2024 Chilcotin River slide, he explained.
“This is the first of the four-year cycle of that run coming this year. If we had got 100,000 to 150,000 fish we would have been happy,” he said.
Right now they are wondering if there will even be 10,000 fish in 2024, he added.
“It's bleak," he said, noting the run used to be one million fish.
After the July 30 landslide, the TNG formed an Emergency Salmon Task Force comprised of the TNG fisheries department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the province of B.C., the Upper Fraser Conservation Alliance (UFFCA) and several external technical experts, many who were involved with the Big Bar Slide fisheries response.
Fisheries and Oceans in a news release noted additional monitoring and assessment of Tŝilhqox (Chilcotin) salmon stocks migrating to spawning grounds over the coming weeks will be critical to informing further actions that may be required.
"While there are still many unknowns, DFO crews will be prepared to mobilize and work alongside partners to achieve the best possible outcomes for impacted salmon populations."
The task force has been providing regular updates and on Aug. 29 reported that SONAR counted 59 sockeye in 24 hours moving bast Hanceville, upstream of the slide area.
Between Aug. 25 and 26, small groups of fish were observed holding in shallow margins downstream of the slide.
“While these initial numbers are very low, this does indicate that natural passage is possible under these very difficult conditions,” stated the update.
Chief Alphonse said the TNG has asked all First Nations along the Fraser River to hold off on fishing and they have.
“We’re getting a lot of cooperation and are extremely happy. We are at the point where every last fish matters.”
It is thought the majority of the Chilko sockeye run is still downstream of the slide and holding in the mid-Fraser River, the report noted.
The task force update noted observations suggesting Chilko sockeye can withstand substantial delay.
In 2019, Chilko sockeye were delayed by two to three weeks due to the Big Bar landslide and were able to return to spawning grounds.
