Officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) predicted a smaller sockeye salmon return this year and it looks like they were correct.
Anyone who has been to the Adams River salmon run in recent years has been treated to a show only Mother Nature could put on.
Last year was especially impressive with thousands of bright red fish fighting their way upstream to spawn.
However, those making the trek to the Shuswap to check out this year's run may find the show stunning, but not in a good way.
While 2019 is considered a subdominant year for the run, the lack of fish is noticeable.
Instead of countless numbers of salmon in the Shuswap river, there was barely a handful.
One short section of the river that last year at Thanksgiving had more than 100 fish in it, this year on the same weekend it had less than 20.
While no one with the DFO was available to speak in person, the federal agency did send Castanet an email stating: “Late run Adams sockeye arrive at the Adams River in late September with peak of spawn by mid to late October. To date, returns of all Fraser Sockeye groups in 2019 are coming in below the lowest range of the preseason forecast. The 2019 preseason Fraser Sockeye forecast for Late Shuswap Sockeye -— which the Adams is a part of — is 11,000. Final numbers will be available in late December.”
Officials said climate change was the main culprit behind the declining fish stocks.
The pre-season forecast was 1.8 million to 14 million Fraser River sockeye, with a median forecast of 4.8 million, and five million pink salmon.
The Pacific Salmon Commission dropped the forecast to 1.6 million sockeye, and even that target may not be met.
A more accurate count of spawning fish will not be known until later this year.
— Darren Handschuh, Castanet
