Albion test fishery - Chinook gill net

Description

The Albion Chinook test fishery has operated since 1981 on the lower Fraser River at Albion, BC (near Fort Langley). The test fishery is conducted with a drifted gill net at a specific site near the old Albion ferry crossing. The fishery begins in early April of each year, and fishes until mid-October. On each day of operation, the boat fishes two sets, timed to coincide with the daily high tide.

The Chinook test fishery normally fishes every day from April 1st through August 31st. During this period, the test boat uses two different nets which fish on alternating days: the "standard" Chinook net, which is constructed using eight-inch mesh; and a "multi-panel" net, which consists of panels of six, seven, eight, and nine inch mesh. 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. Use of the multi-panel net began in 1997 - prior to that, the test fishery operated with the eight-inch mesh net only.

From September 1st through October 20th, the Albion Chinook test fishery fishes every other day, alternating days with the chum test fishery (which fishes a 6.75 inch mesh gill net). Throughout this period, the Chinook test fishery uses the eight-inch mesh net exclusively.

Both gill nets used in the Albion Chinook test fishery are 200 fathoms long.

Since its inception in 1981, the Albion test fishery has been conducted by the fishing vessel "Witch Doctor".

The following reports are available:

• Daily Test Fishing Summary Report
• Albion Chinook Daily Catch Per Unit Effort
• Graph of Albion Chinook Daily Catch Per Unit Effort (8" net)
• Graph of Albion Chinook Cumulative Catch Per Unit Effort (8" net)

Contact

Please contact Fisheries and Oceans if you require additional information about this test fishery.
Telephone: 236-886-1452