The International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission gave the Canadian fishing industry a double Christmas present Dec. 7 — a brand new sockeye run and firm evidence that sockeye and pink stocks are strong.
For fishermen, the 3,500 spawners on the Upper Adams River — the first since the catastrophic Hell's Gate slide of 1913 — are a powerful answer to those who have blamed the fishermen and overfishing for the ills of the industry.
• Upper Adams male gives for the cause.
The Upper Adams run was wiped out by twin environmental disasters: a logging dam that decimated a once-massive run and a slide that wiped it out. Now a run has been re-established by the commission at a time when authorities like fisheries regional director Wayne Shinners are saying overfishing, not habitat loss, is the cause of declining stocks.
Clearly, these fish have not read the Pearse Report.
See ADAMS — page 7
Season's
Vol. 49, No. 12
Vancouver, B.C.
800
December 12, 1984
Greetings to All
new
NICHOL
Delegates to the B.C. Federation of Labor's annual convention in Vancouver last month voted to set the federation on a new course, electing a top leadership committed to united action to protect the political and economic rights of working people.
Among those elected to the new leadership was UFAWU president Jack Nichol, who was acclaimed as the federation's second vice-president, one of the four top positions in B.C.'s labor movement.
Nichol was the unanimous choice of the Port Council of Maritime Unions for the post. His election also was an important mark of recognition for the UFAWU, which only won readmission to the B.C. Federation of Labor in 1973.
(The union was expelled from the central labor body in the 1950s for its refusal to allow outside interference in the democratic operation of its own affairs during the McCarthy
era.)
Incumbent federation president Art Kube retained his post for a second two-year term after standing off a strong challenge from Frank Kennedy of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union,
Although Kennedy led Kube by 557 votes to 494 on the first ballot, Kube was able to win the second ballot by assembling a majority of votes from supporters in the International Woodworkers of America, the B.C. Government Employees Union and others.
But the IWA's Jack Munro, the federation's first vice-president, was swept from office by Canadian Paperworkers Union president Art Gruntman. Gruntman's lop-sided 825-419 victory was proof of the convention's rejection of Munro's belief that the Operation Solidarity mobilization had to be curbed.
Elected secretary-treasurer was the BCGEU's Cliff Andstein, who defeated incumbent Mike Kramer of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees.
Andstein sought delegate support on the basis of restoring the federation's leadership in the fight to protect trade union and social rights from the Social Credit government's
"restraint program."
UFAWU northern vice-president orkelson was among those elected to the executive council.
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JOBS ARE THE ISSUE
, • • . Geoff Meggs photo
• B.C. Federation of Labor delegates rallied at Robson Square Nov. 28 to demand government action on job creation. Unemployment was a major issue at this year's federation convention.
Buoyed by record sockeye returns and solid escapements in 1984, the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission is predicting a total 1985 Fraser River
sockeye run of nine million fish and a pink run of 16 million.
If the forecast is correct, fishermen should land 6.6 million sockeye and 11 million pinks.
Commission director John Roos told the annual meeting in Bellingham Dec. 7 that Early Stuart, Late Stuart and Horsefly River races are dominant in the 1985 cycle, but firm predictions of run strength are complicated by changing ocean conditions.
Fraser River sockeye runs on this cycle have averaged 6.3 million fish since 1969, with the return of 7.7 million the largest on the cycle since at least 1917.
Escapement in 1981 was the largest on the cycle since 1957, but overfishing of the 1977 and 1981 Early Stuart runs suggest only 700,000 fish will return in 1985.
Late Stuart stocks should contribute 1.2 million fish to the total run and the Horsefly-Quesnel stocks will account for the bulk of the run at six million fish.
The commission achieved escapement of 750,000 fish in 1981, the largest since 1909, and saw fish begin spawning in near areas in the lower river.
Weaver, Nadina, Scotch Creek and Chilko each will add small amounts to the
total stock strength.
The net escapement goal is 1.76 million adults. Gross escapement should be 2.3 million.
Brood year escapement for pinks was 4.6 million fish, Roos reported, with fry production hitting 555 million. Both figures are in the range of 1983 escapement and fry production, which produced an actual return of 15.2 million.
Roos said the commission believes pinks will have average or slightly below average sea survival for the 1985 run. Escapement target is five million, leaving 11 million for harvest.
"With proper distribution, we believe the optimum escapement could be six million fish," he said. "The major portion of the 1985 run is comprised of early run pinks.
"Special effort will be made to increase late run escapement to about 450,000 to 500,000 spawners."
IPSFC management division head Jim Woodey told the meeting what the industry already knew — 1984 was a banner year for Fraser River sockeye production.
The total return of 5.9 million fish was "1.5 million more sockeye than the largest previous return on the cycle of 4.4 million in 1976," he said. "It was almost double the cycle year average return and also nearly double our forecast of 3.2 million fish.
SeeIPSFC — page 2