Sockeye from Morrison vs. Lake Babine- 18,514 of 1,125,272Less than 2% of the Lake Baine sockeye are from Morrison arm.
18,514 Morrison sockeye divided by 1,125,272 Lake Babine sockeye = 1.6%
For LBN to complain that the mine could significantly impact the Lake Babine sockeye run is a stretch at best, as the Morrison sockeye make up such a tiny portion of the total count.
=====================
Note that Morrison arm consists of:
Morrison creek
Morrison lake
Tahlo creek
Tahlo lake.
Plus, the majority of the Morrison arm sockeye are from Morrison creek. Therefore they would hardly be impacted by a Morrison lake mine, as they would head down to Lake Babine for most of their young life before heading downstream to the ocean.
=================================
The DFO report from 1975 to 2010 shows there were on average only 18,514 sockeye returning to Morrison arm. However, the Lake Babine total was 1,125,272.
Plus, the total Lake Babine fsockeye rom 1950 to 1974 was only half of the 1975 to 2010 toal, as it was 563,923.
The Granisle mine operated from 1965 to 1981 and the Bell mine operated from 1972 to 1992. Thus, the sockeye return doubled after the mining.
The idea that appeared in a recent article, which questioned if high copper levels were preventing sockeye from navigating their way back, is simply ridiculous if one just looks at the numbers.
You can call the office and ask Ruth for this report. I read it years ago and thought that it would be relevant now. Important now because this seems like it is the only excuse left that LBN has.
--- Morrison Lake is NOT the headwaters for the Skeena river.
--- The Morrison sockeye are not genetically unique - they are a mix of egg and milt from 10 streams. In the early 1900s, for approx 30 years, all these "Heinz 57" young sockeye were released in the Morrison creek.
--- The Traditional territory claims seem to have been settled- I believe agreements were signed between LBN and the BC gov in 2007, 2013 and 2018.