Hello News Group 13Hello News Group Please see the message below which was sent today to 86 Liberal, 80 NDP and 79 Green Party Candidates in BC. If you want to be removed from our lists, please send us an email with remove in the subject line. Hello Candidates Salmon, and the waterways they use, have been a big point in our discussions. Here are some facts for you to consider. The Skeena River originates (headwaters) at the southern end of Spatsizi Plateau, in a valley between Mount Gunanoot and Mount Thule, south of the Stikine River watershed. The Skeena River mouth is located at the Dixon Entrance (between Port Edward and Port Essington). The route upstream is east to Terrace, then north east through the Kleanza Creek Provincial Park, through the Kitselas Canyon, between the Borden Glacier and Nass Ranges, through the Skeena Provincial Forest, around the Bulkley Ranges and Seven Sisters Peaks, north to Kitwanga, then north-east to Hazelton, through to the community of Kispiox then north to the headwaters. 50 kms north of Hazelton, the Babine River meets the Skeena River. Upstream from the Babine River is Nilkitkwa Lake, then Babine Lake, then the Morrison River (also referred to as Morrison Creek) and finally Morrison Lake. If you would like to see this on google maps, please see our video posted at: https://www.pacificbooker.com/property.htm. The waterways section starts at about 4:50. Numerous studies of Babine Lake and Morrison River over the last century have made them some of the best studied sockeye producing watersheds in Canada. Sockeye salmon spawn mainly in Morrison River and Tahlo Creek. The number of spawners in Morrison Lake has also been documented. A description of the shoreline of Morrison Lake and surveys to identify potential spawning areas that might be utilized by kokanee, sockeye and lake trout have also been conducted. The Morrison sockeye salmon were enhanced by the Babine Salmon Hatchery on Morrison Creek from 1907 to 1936 and have likely been affected by the Pinkut and Fulton spawning channels since the 1960s. From the collection of eggs from Morrison Creek and from the Stuart Lake Hatchery (collected from Pierre and Pinkut creeks), the Babine Hatchery planted eggs in Tahlo Creek, fry and fingerlings in Morrison Creek, and fry in Morrison Lake. Transient populations migrate to Morrison Lake and upper tributary stocks. The LBN Woodland Licence covers approximately 18 km along the shore of Babine Lake and is upstream from the Pinkut Creek Spawning Channels, and includes many spawning areas along the shoreline of Lake Babine. Pinkut Lake is also located within the woodland licence area. The charts below show the Sockeye Escapement Numbers as per Department of Fisheries. (Salmon escapement is the amount of a salmon population that does not get caught by commercial or recreational fisheries and return to their freshwater spawning habitat.) Please note that the Morrison Lake is not mentioned. Our source for the following information is the 2011 Salmon Spawning Report, prepared by Lake Babine Nation for PBM. In 2011, the sockeye populations of Morrison Watershed experienced an extraordinary abundant return with a total of 35,151 sockeye. Excellent ocean survival was heralded by the large number of sockeye jacks enumerated last year, and the return migration aided by above average stream flows throughout the Babine system. Morrison sockeye and coho escapement as enumerated with no expansion factors for 2010 and 2011 are shown below. Morrison Watershed Sockeye and Coho Escapement Summary 2010 - 2011 Waterway Species 2010 2011 Morrison River Sockeye 6,593 27,206 Morrison Lake Sockeye unknown 224 Lower Tahlo Creek Sockeye 2,523 7,637 Upper Tahlo Creek Sockeye 1,015 84 Morrison River Coho 1,002 402 Using the 2011 numbers shown above, the Morrison Lake portion is less than 1% of the total Morrison Watershed escapement. For up to date information, here is a link to the 2017 Skeena Sockeye Management Plan from the Lake Babine Nation and the text follows below. (https://www.lbntreaty.com/updates/2017-skeena-sockeye-management-plan/) In 2017, the total sockeye return to the entire Skeena River is expected to be 500,000. The average return is about 2 million. The predicted 2017 return would be about the same size as the return in 2013 that led to dramatic reductions in food fish harvest for LBN. LBN Fisheries is involved in watershed wide discussions to develop a plan to protect LBN wild sockeye and provide sockeye for food fish if possible. LBN should not expect a food fishery for sockeye in 2017. These efforts will help ensure more fish for future LBN generations. In 2017, all fisheries up the line (including LBN food fisheries) for Babine sockeye will be closed until the return is certain to be greater than 600,000. This will help ensure that if sockeye for food fish are available to harvest, LBN will be able to do so. If the return of sockeye is low, all First Nations along the Skeena River will face constraints on their food fisheries for sockeye. Watershed wide discussions are occurring to ensure equitable distribution of sockeye amongst First Nations, if enough sockeye return. Only 1 out of 3 sockeye in the Skeena aren't from the Pinkut or Fulton River channels. A minimum return of 600,000 to the Skeena River will help protect Babine wild populations. Note All First Nations along the Skeena are looking for ways to increase their harvest of non-Skeena sockeye, coho and Chinook salmon in 2017. To help offset expected reductions in sockeye harvest, LBN Fisheries is proposing to harvest more Chinook and coho for food at the Babine River counting fence. Note--if 1 out of 3 sockeye in the Skeena aren't from the Pinkut or Fulton River channels, that means that 2 of 3 are from the Pinkut or Fulton River channels. Also available is a powerpoint called The Struggle for Lake Babine Nations Fishing Rights online at https://www.lakebabine.com/files/Presentation%20-%20Greg%20Taylor.pptx In the presentation is the statement that Babine sockeye in the 1950s was 75% wild and that today only 25% is wild and continues that all LBNs eggs are in the Enhanced basket. The following waterways are mentioned in that presentation--Babine River, Bernann Creek, Bourcher Creek, Donalds Creek, Five Mile Creek, Forks Creek, Four Mile Creek, Hazelwood Creek, Kew Creek, Tachet Creek, Tahlo Creek, Twain Creek, Morrison Creek, Nichyeskwa River, Nilkitwa River, Naine Mile Creek, Pendleton Creek, Pierre Creek, Shass Creek, Six Mile Creek, Sockeye Creek, Sutherland Creek, Telzato Creek, Tsezakwa Creek and Wright Creek. (Please note that Morrison Lake is not mentioned.) From the Status of Wild Sockeye Stocks of the Babine Watershed (prepared for SkeenaWild Conservation Trust by Michael Price - November 2011) Morrison Conservation Unit--This CU includes Morrison River, Lower Tahlo Creek and Upper Tahlo Creek, with a combined historic average annual return of 15,811 spawners to the Morrison watershed. Although this CU shows above average returns for the current decade compared to historic records, it has been experiencing a dramatic decline since 2003 to its lowest point in 2010. (Please note that Morrison Lake is not mentioned.) Hopefully, you have found this information food for thought.