Photo: Clayton Perry
For the first time in 4 years, you will be able to find Fraser River sockeye at your local seafood retailer, including of course our 7seas retail stores in South Surrey and Kitsilano.
The last time fishing of Fraser river sockeye was opened to the commercial fishing fleet was 2006. Seven to Eleven million sockeye salmon were initially expected, that was upgraded to 25 million on August 23rd 2010. The Pacific Salmon Commission announced “Current run size assessments suggest that the total Fraser sockeye return this season is slightly over 25,000,000 fish (including 105,000 Early Stuart sockeye), which is the largest return since 1913.”
In the front page story in the Vancouver Sun on August 25th, Tracy Sherlock states the surplus of sockeye is causing supplier and retailer 7 Seas to turn fishermen away.
“People have fish going rotten in their boats; it’s really bad,” said 7 Seas president George Heras. “The fish is overwhelming everyone right now because there is way more than anyone expected.”
Heras said there is a dearth of ice and freezer space for storage, as well as a shortage of totes and processing space because many people have left the business after so many bad years. Read the full article here.