Fraser River Salmon Counts Down 90%, Commercial Fishery Down 70% In Past 20 Years - BC Local

The alarming decimation of the West Coast's iconic Pacific salmon in the past 20 years has largely been a hidden tragedy. It lurks beneath the waves, unlike more visible environmental catastrophes like shrinking polar ice or B.C.'s reddening stands of beetle-devoured pine trees. This summer, just 1.7 million Fraser River sockeye returned – a tiny remnant of a resource that once generated 20 million fish a year. The commercial fishing industry is now worth just $60 million, down 70 per cent.

West Vancouver author Alex Rose, whose new book "Who Killed the Grand Banks?" examines the failed Newfoundland fishery, warns Pacific salmon could meet the same fate as the once-legendary cod. "We're at crisis," Rose said in an interview. "I'm not a doomsayer. I'm not an apocalyptic thinker. But we have to rethink what we're doing."

Newfoundlanders pointed fingers of blame in all directions when the cod were in freefall. And Rose, whose book also explores the plight of B.C. salmon, said it's no different here on the West Coast. "Every year, there's another rationale or excuse for what's happened," he said.

Ocean survival, rising water temperatures and poaching are favourite scapegoats when salmon go missing. But Rose said the primary cause is more obvious. "We're all overfishing – all of the user groups," he said. "We've got to stop."

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