Our area, Area 14, is one of only three areas on the south coast to have non-retention of Chinook from April until July 14th. The other two areas are 28 and 29, in Vancouver.
The DFO stated purpose of this is mainly to protect Fraser River “Stocks of Concern”. (can we specify exactly what those SOC are?)We certainly respect and support that. However, we have had a pretty good look at DFO data concerning this and believe we can show that the fish that are being caught in Area 14 are not Stocks of Concern. In fact, during the last 4 years, out of 4910 samples ( from DFO and creel surveys is this the correct language?) we have not encountered a Fraser stock of Concern during September to May.
Added to that, we have two large hatcheries in the area and our DNA stock composition shows we have an abundance of “Unmarked” hatchery origin fish.
So one of the major focuses for this Local SFAC is to work with DFO to find some Chinook retention opportunities in Area 14 in April and May. The science suggested it would have little or no impact on stocks of concern and, given the number of businesses and individuals who are supported locally by sport fishing and the number of fishers who would love to be able to retain a Chinook during these months, we see no reason why this could not be possible.
you have lots of data, but I think it needs to be condensed into a couple of very illustrative graphics, each with a written explanation. We can leave the large data illustrations for later and hope more people wil wade into it, but this needs to grab attention quickly.