The Skeena Independent Science Review Panel was formed to examine the fishery after controversy erupted on the river in 2006, has also called on the federal government to consider the possible closing of artificial spawning channels that produce up to 100 million sockeye fry a year. According to the panel the ocean catch of some salmon stocks should be minimized by as much as 50 percent and late-season commercial netting near the estuary should be restricted.
In its report the panel declared that the Pinkut and Fulton spawning channels near Babine Lake have boosted sockeye stocks considerably, but in doing so they have created an intense commercial fishery that is harming weak stocks of salmon and steelhead. Fishing guides and resort operators along the Skeena and its tributaries, such as the Babine, reported disastrous catches after the late-season sockeye fishery.
According to the panel there is lack of information to determine the full impact of the sockeye fishery on steelhead, and it called for more research, including suggesting a program in which fish are followed with radio-tracking devices. However, the panel has determined that some runs of salmon are being consistently overfished because of the big sockeye runs.
The Fisheries Department has suggest some recommendation for the problems on the Skeena by targeting commercial openings to specific times and requiring commercial fishermen to release certain species alive, such as coho and steelhead. But the panel has doubt on the effectiveness of that approach. The panel also raised concerns about development along the Skeena and complained that fishery biologists aren’t being consulted.
