Test Fishing and In-season Management
To measure the actual run coming back and to reduce the uncertainty in the estimate, staff from the Fraser River Panel are monitoring the number of Sockeye return at several places throughout the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Johnstone Strait and the lower Fraser River. Data from test fishing will be used to update the in-season estimate of run-size. This is important to know because the run size numbers and therefore the harvestable surplus will be changing throughout the season.
Click here to see test fishing results
Forecast and In-Season Run Size Estimates
The forecast for the 2024 Fraser River sockeye run is the lowest on record. Given the data from test fishing and the hydroacoustic counts at Mission, the in-season estimates are agreeing with the the preseason forecast. Given the low returns it is highly unlikely that there will be harvestable surplus for tribal fisheries.