Albion test fishery

The Albion test fishery provides information for the assessment and management of Fraser River chinook and chum salmon. The test fishery is located on the lower Fraser River at Albion, BC (near Fort Langley) near the old Albion ferry crossing. The test fishery begins in early April of each year and fishes daily until the end of November. During this period test fishing takes place with gill nets twice each day, timed to coincide with the daily high tide.

Chinook test fishery

The chinook test fishery normally runs every day from early April through to August 31. During this period, the test boat uses 2 different gill nets which fish on alternating days:

• "standard" chinook net constructed using 8 inch mesh
• "multi-panel" net consisting of panels of 6, 7, 8, and 9 inch mesh

Both gill nets used in the Albion chinook test fishery are 200 fathoms long. The purpose of the multi-panel net is to ensure representative sampling of chinook passing through the lower Fraser River, due to the wide range of body sizes observed in Fraser River chinook stocks.

From September 1 through October 20, the Albion chinook test fishery runs every other day, alternating days with the chum test fishery. Throughout this period, the chinook test fishery uses the 8 inch mesh net exclusively.

Chum test fishery

The chum test fishery normally runs every other day from September 1 through October 20, alternating days with the chinook test fishery. From October 21st through the end of November, the chum test fishery operates daily.

The gill net used in the Albion chum test fishery is 150 fathoms long, constructed from 6.75" mesh.

Reports

Data used to inform the below graphs can be found here. This data is unverified and subject to change.

• Chinook
  • Daily test fishing summary report
  • Albion chinook daily catch per unit effort
• Chum
  • Daily test fishing summary report
  • Albion chinook daily catch per unit effort

Graphs

Chinook

Albion chinook daily catch per unit effort (8" net)

This year, the Albion chinook test fishery began on April 23, 2023.

Albion chinook cumulative catch per unit effort (8" net)

Chum

The Albion chum test fishery began September, 2023.

Albion chum daily catch per unit effort (6.75" net)

Albion chum cumulative catch per unit effort (6.75" net)

Contact us

Telephone: 236-886-1452