Tippets: Record Low Salmon in the Fraser, The Gar Wars, Fish Returning to the Sandy River   

November 15, 2017 By: Erin Block

  • It is estimated that a record low number of steelhead will return from the ocean to the Fraser River in 2017. “Mike Ramsay, assistant director of BC’s Fish and Game branch, said if management practices in the federally regulated commercial salmon fishery don’t change, Thompson steelhead may not be able to recover from low returns,” reports Ash Kelly of CBC News.
  • In a recent article on The Nature Conservancy, Matt Miller writes about the fight to protect native populations of alligator gar and the changing face of the species as a worthy game fish. “Even in mainstream outdoor publications, attitudes are changing,” writes Miller. “There are still articles that call gar ‘trash fish,’ of course. But it’s becoming increasingly likely to also find articles celebrating them.”
  • A decade after the Marmot Dam was removed on Oregon’s Sandy River, habitat has improved and fish populations are rebounding. “Thanks to a lot of hard work on the part of many dedicated individuals and a lot of collaboration,” says Todd Alsbury, ODFW district fish biologist for the Sandy, “we are starting to see some impressive results.” Via KTVZ.