From the NOAA website: Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker determined a commercial fishery failure for the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery in Washington State. The fishery resource disaster…
Researchers from the Canadian Department of Oceans and Fisheries and other institutions are finding genetic markers in Fraser River salmon that predict their success in surviving warming water temperatures, as…
Lummi Nation fishermen will receive more than $3 million in assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, it was announced today. Lummi fishermen have been among the most affected by…
A massive run of Fraser River sockeye salmon this year provided a dream fishery for tribal fishermen, but can’t begin to make up for decades of poor returns that have devastated the tribal fishing economy, tribal salmon managers say.
More than three times as many sockeye returned to the Fraser as were expected this year, but tribes were unable to reach their harvest goals because of a diminished fishing fleet, delayed realization of the run’s magnitude, diversion of the run through Canadian waters and overloaded processors.
The run of 34 million sockeye was the largest since 1913, but is not a sign of a resurgence. (more…)
The Seattle Times: The biggest sockeye run in nearly a century — 25 million fish — is headed back to British Columbia's Fraser River and its tributaries. It's a bonanza…
The Bellingham Herald covered the Lummi Nation’s First Salmon Ceremony:
About 600 Lummi Indian Tribe members and guests gathered Thursday, May 14, at Lummi Nation School to celebrate the arrival of the first salmon – a celebration marked by both hope and fear for the future of the fish that defines tribal identity.
“When I was a young boy, I heard my grandfather say, when he was eating a salmon, ‘This is good medicine,'” said Merle Jefferson, the tribe’s natural resources director.
The First Salmon Ceremony is a key cultural observance for the Lummi and other Coast Salish tribes. For generations, the tribes have conducted these ceremonies to honor the salmon and assure their return. (more…)
The Daily Herald of Everett reported on the federal relief money given to tribes for the failure of the Fraser River sockeye fishery: The Tulalips and eight other local American…
A Bellingham Herald editorial: Things have deteriorated badly. Puget Sound chinook salmon stocks are listed for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. That includes Nooksack River chinook. Runs of…