nil RIM)l RCfS 



trend, whereas the Queen C harlotte Islanils (even year) 

 and ihe Strait ol Cieorgia (odd year) stocks show dechnes. 



While the catch along the coast varies widely from year 

 to year, the average is ab(.)ut 10.5 million tish. The opti- 

 mum catch is generally above the current catch, and 

 coastwide is believed to be about 15 million lish. (Sec 

 Table D-3, Appendix D for details.) 



Coho Commercial catches of coho have insen steadily 

 since 1^15. (Sec Figure [)-3, Appendix D.) This cannot 

 all be attributed to production from Canadian stocks, 

 however, because in recent decades a portion of the catch 

 has orginated from U.S. stocks and hatchery production. 



For the 1 1 major production areas for which catch and 

 escapement data have been analyzed, stock declines are 

 indicated for 5 areas, stable or increasing stocks for 6. 

 Despite some positive indications in some areas, natural 

 production from B.C. rivers may well be declining, 

 though this is disguised in some cases by increased pro- 

 duction from hatcheries in the United States. 



Commercial and sport catches of Canadian-produced 

 coho currently average 2.5 million fish annually; opti- 

 mum catches are estimated at 3.2 million (see Table D-4, 

 Appendix D for details). Opportunities to increase the 

 catches of coho are modest on a coastwide basis, the only 

 significant opportunity being in the central coast area. 



Chinook The commercial catch of chinook salmon 

 has risen significantly since 1905. (See Figure D-3, 

 Appendix D.) This cannot be attributed to healthy Cana- 

 dian stocks, however, because a large proportion of the 

 Canadian chinook catch has traditionally originated in 

 rivers and hatcheries of the United States. Fish from the 

 Columbia River, and especially those resulting from the 

 enhancement projects on that river, have accounted for a 

 significant portion of the Canadian catch in recent years. 

 Our best estimates suggest that "American fish" account 

 for 40 to 50 percent of the catch in the north and central 

 coast areas, 20 to 45 percent in the Strait of Georgia and 

 70 to 90 percent off the west coast of Vancouver Island. 



Analyses of catch and escapement data indicate that 

 chinook stocks are depressed in most regions. In recent 

 years the stocks in the Strait of Georgia and central coast 

 have continued to decline, though they are believed to 

 have stabilized in the Skeena and Nass areas and 

 increased in Johnstone Strait and Rivers-Smith Inlets. 

 The data available also indicate that stocks are increasing 

 in the Fraser River and southwest Vancouver Island 

 areas, but these results are suspect: we have grounds to 

 believi ihat more intensive counting of escapements and 

 larger catches of chinooks from enhancement projects in 

 the United States and Canada are masking the recent 

 decline of wild stocks in these areas. The information 

 available on most stocks is very weak, and apprehensions 



about overfishing are aggravated by uncertainties about 

 trends in catches and escapements. 



On a coastwide basis, production from Canadian rivers 

 appears to be well below potential. Production now aver- 

 ages some 880 thousand fish. (Note that the figure in 

 Table 2-1 includes fish pri)duced in the United States.) It 

 is believed that this could be increased to 1.1 million. (See 

 Table D-5, Appendi.x D for details.) 



Chinook salmon are the least numerous of the five spe- 

 cies; there are comparatively few stocks of them, and 

 they are heavily fished in commercial, sport and Indian 

 fisheries throughout most of their life cycle. As a result 

 chinook stocks, particularly those of the Fraser River and 

 the Strait of Georgia are the focus of a most urgent con- 

 servation concern. In later chapters of this report I refer 

 to special measures to deal with the excessive pressure on 

 chinook and coho stocks in the southern areas. 



Steelhead Steelhead trout are often fished and man- 

 aged along with .salmon and so are included in this dis- 

 cussion. 



Information about the condition of steelhead stocks 

 has improved substantially in recent years as a result of a 

 special inventory program. The findings are sobering: of 

 the more than 400 streams that support steelhead, only 4 

 or 5 large systems are very productive; stocks are much 

 lower than previously believed and numbers are declin- 

 ing. This is due to very heavy rates of exploitation: the 

 summer and early fall runs are harvested especially heav- 

 ily since they pass through the commercial fisheries at the 

 same time as salmon; they are a popular species for sport 

 fishermen; and they are also taken in the Indian fishery. 

 In response to the decline, the angler catch has been cur- 

 tailed by catch-and-release regulations, and measures 

 have been taken to reduce the steelhead catch in the com- 

 mercial and Indian fisheries. Such controls appear to 

 offer promising prospects for restoring the depressed 

 stocks. 



Potential Yields 



The analyses of potential yields from existing Cana- 

 dian salmon stocks indicate that yields could be 

 increased from the present level of about 22 million fish 

 annually to some 37 million. The opportunities vary 

 among species, as shown in Table 2-3. These estimates 

 are adapted from the more detailed analyses set out in 

 Appendix D, and it should be understood that the opti- 

 mum catches are estimated within fairly wide margins. 



The estimates in Table 2-3 of potential production, 

 based on numbers of fish, are lower than the estimates in 

 Table 2-1, based on the average weight of salmon. This is 

 partly because the former relate to potential production 

 from existing natural stocks only. But the difference also 



