Selective fisheries making a comeback on the Skeena
After decades of salmon declines along the Skeena River in Northwest, B.C. selective fishing in the region is making a comeback. Selective fishing targets only healthy fish populations, releasing young fish or weak fish back into the river alive and unharmed.
A hundred years ago First Nations used weirs and traps, beach seines, dip nets, and in modern times, fish wheels to trap salmon for food and economic purposes. But by the end of the 20th century most of these had largely disappeared, dominated by the indiscriminate gillnet.
However, selective fishing operations are more traditional and help ensure a population of fish stays healthy by only harvesting runs that are doing well, leaving the weak ones to grow stringer. Now many First Nations are forging ahead with selective fishing project. Kitselas, the Nisga’a, Wet’suwet’en and Lax Kw’alaams and Gitanyow have all been diligently refining their selective fishing operations to provide their communities with food fish and, in some cases when runs are string enough, economic stability.
