Public Notice

Update on 2015 Nisga’a Individual-Sale (IS) Fisheries & NLG’s Demonstration Selective Fishery

The in-season Total Return to Canada (TRTC) estimate for Nass Sockeye is currently tracking at 681,000 based on the mean run timing estimate to date (97%). Based on the in-season TRTC estimate, the Nisga’a entitlement (including cumulative underages from past years) is 138,000 Sockeye.

The current catch of Nass Sockeye to date in Nisga’a Treaty fisheries is approximately 144,000. As a result of reaching the in-season entitlement target for Nass Sockeye, no further IS fisheries are planned for 2015. In-season entitlement targets have also been reached or near target for Nass Chinook (8,000), Coho (6,500), Pink (22,500), and Chum (<500) salmon.

Of the total harvests to date, domestic (FSC) catches are approximately 37,000 Sockeye (week ending 22 August) with an anticipated total catch to be approximately 40,000 Sockeye based on mean FSC catches after 22 August. FSC catches of other species have totalled approximately 6,000 Chinook, 1,400 Coho, 3,100 Pink, 275 Chum, and 216 steelhead.

The total IS harvest of Nass Sockeye is 106,652 with 296 fisher permits issued in 2015. The Marine IS caught 38,573 Sockeye (plus 328 Chinook, 16,592 Pink, and 1,510 Coho) from 15 openings. The In-river IS caught 68,079 Sockeye (plus 1,734 Chinook and 3,125 Coho) from 10 openings.

In addition to IS fisheries, NLG negotiated the leasing of 45 Area C commercial gillnet licenses to participate in DFO’s Inland Selective Demonstration Fishery Program in 2015. DFO allocated catches of Sockeye to NLG’s inland selective fishery program based on a license sharing formula from commercial gillnet catches in Area 3. The demonstration fishery harvests are additional to Nisga’a Treaty Allocations (and IS targets) and had to be caught selectively (no gillnets). DFO allocated 7,510 Sockeye to NLG for selective harvest from the Grease Harbour fishwheels. The upper fishwheels harvested these additional catch shares as arranged by NLG and NFLP while releasing the majority of Sockeye caught (36,000) and other species.

No further Marine or In River IS fisheries are planned for 2015