Docee River counting fence

The Docee River is located in the Central Coast district of British Columbia in Management Area 10. The Docee River is less that one kilometre long and drains Long Lake into Wyclees Lagoon which drains into Smith Inlet. The Docee River Fence is located at the outlet of Long Lake.

The Docee River counting fence was in operation between 1972 and 2016. A counting tower was in operation from 1962 to 1971. Daily sockeye escapement information recorded at the fence was used for the management of the commercial gillnet fishery in Smith Inlet. The counting fence generally operated from late June or early July to mid-August.

Sockeye were sampled from the fence for post orbital to hypural plate length and tip of nose to the fork of the tail length. Scales were taken from each fish for age determination.

In 1998, the fence operation was expanded to include coho and chinook.

As of 2018 Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw have maintained daily counts using a sonar system at the Docee fence site.

Docee River fence and G’wa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw sonar count

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