Straight Talk

Atlantic salmon caught in B.C.'s Harrison River

by Charlie Smith on October 19th, 2017 at 2:10 PM
    1 of 1 2 of 1

      There's another report of an Atlantic salmon being caught far from any fish farm.

      The Aggasiz-Harrison Observer has reported that a member of this species was brought in by sports fisher Don Temple on the Harrison River on October 8.

      The newspaper noted that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has concluded that this Atlantic salmon likely escaped from an aquaculture operation.

      The department operates the Atlantic Salmon Watch Program, which studies the "abundance, distribution and biology of Atlantic salmon in British Columbia and adjacent waters.

      "Some have hypothesized that farmed Atlantic salmon could escape from their net pens and successfully reproduced in B.C.’s rivers," the program website states. "If this non-native species became established in local waters, we would see them in their multiple life stages, particularly juveniles in our coastal streams. In order to evaluate this risk, DFO’s Atlantic Salmon Watch Program periodically conducts field surveys to determine if Atlantic salmon are present in B.C. waters."

      Anyone who spots what they believe is an Atlantic salmon can report this at 1-800-811-6010.

      In late August, the chief of the Tsartlip First Nation, Don Tom, tweeted that one of his members caught an Atlantic salmon in Saanich Inlet.

      This came after a large escape of Atlantic salmon from a fish farm southwest of Bellingham.

      Comments