Nass River - Nisga’a Fisheries Program stock assessment updates

The Nisga’a Lisims Government’s Fisheries and Wildlife Department has conducted extensive fisheries research on the Nass River since 1992 in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and BC Ministry of Environment. The Nisga’a Fisheries Program celebrated 25 years of operation in 2016 and currently operates twenty annual stock assessment, catch monitoring, habitat, and management projects. The majority of funding to the Nisga’a Fisheries Program is from the Lisims Fisheries Conservation Trust Fund, established in 2000 as part of the Nisga’a Final Agreement, and the program is guided by the Nisga’a-Canada-BC Joint Fisheries Management Committee and Nisga’a Lisims Government Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.

The current objectives and priority activities of the Nisga’a Fisheries Program are:

Monitor Nass salmon and steelhead escapement;
Monitor salmon and non-salmon harvests in Nisga’a fisheries, in accordance with the Nisga’a Final Agreement;
Determine factors limiting the production of Nass salmon and non-salmon species; and
Promote and support Nisga’a participation in the stewardship of Nass Area fisheries.

The Nisga’a Fisheries Program provides weekly in-season updates on program activities including in-season Nass salmon and steelhead run size forecasts and up-to-date harvest information. This data, public announcements and Nisga’a fishery openings and closures can be accessed from the Nisga’a Lisims Government’s website.

Counts

Nisga’a Fisheries in-season update (Data provided by the Nisga'a Fisheries Program).

Nass River tag return

If you catch a Sockeye, Coho, Chinook or Chum salmon in the Nass River or its tributaries, please check to see if the fish is tagged, as follows.

Please record species, capture date, tag number and location and contact the Nisga’a Fisheries and Wildlife Department (250-633-2617; or PO Box 228, New Aiyansh, BC, VOJ 1A0).

By participating in the Nisga'a Fisheries Tag Recovery Program you will be entered into an annual prize draw (three $250 draws). Lottery draws are conducted in the summer following the tagging year.

Chinook

Grey Aluminum tag on left gill plate: