Vancouver Island Chinook Forecast
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:44 pmThe Pacific Salmon Commission predicts allowable catches for South East Alaska (SEAK), Northern B.C. (NBC) and West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI). The staff at the commission are fish wizards who reliably predict ocean abundances (mixed US & Canada).
Their previous projections have been pretty much spot on. This year's projections are showing us nearly an allowable catch of 200,000 Chinook. This is close to 60% more than last year! Normally we see the recreational fishery on the west coast of the island harvest between 50-60,000 as a whole.
The other great news is the size of the fish. Of those 200,000 mature Chinook over 80% are expected to be four year olds, which means we can expect to encounter alot of "Tyees".
"Tyee" is the local First Nation's word for a big Chinook over thirty pounds. In the US they refer to these as "Kings".
The Coho expectations are not finalized, however we are anticipating between 15-20 MILLION pink salmon, which when caught in the ocean, their bright color and firm meat rivals coho for a quality meal. We could be in thick with these as well this summer, by the sounds of things.
David Murphy
Murphy Sportfishing
1.877.218.6600
murphy@island.net
http://www.murphysportfishing.com
Their previous projections have been pretty much spot on. This year's projections are showing us nearly an allowable catch of 200,000 Chinook. This is close to 60% more than last year! Normally we see the recreational fishery on the west coast of the island harvest between 50-60,000 as a whole.
- murphy_index.jpg (104.15 KiB) Viewed 3684 times
The other great news is the size of the fish. Of those 200,000 mature Chinook over 80% are expected to be four year olds, which means we can expect to encounter alot of "Tyees".
"Tyee" is the local First Nation's word for a big Chinook over thirty pounds. In the US they refer to these as "Kings".
The Coho expectations are not finalized, however we are anticipating between 15-20 MILLION pink salmon, which when caught in the ocean, their bright color and firm meat rivals coho for a quality meal. We could be in thick with these as well this summer, by the sounds of things.
David Murphy
Murphy Sportfishing
1.877.218.6600
murphy@island.net
http://www.murphysportfishing.com
