Interior Fraser steelhead face extinction, warn B.C. fishing, conservation groups
Fishery and conservation groups in British Columbia warn a unique species of ocean-going trout faces a “severe conservation crisis” and must be added to Canada's Species at Risk Act.
Fifteen groups, including the BC Wildlife Federation and the Steelhead Society of BC, have written to the federal environment and fisheries ministers urging immediate action on behalf of dwindling stocks of Interior Fraser steelhead, a variety of rainbow trout.
The species, a member of the salmon family, migrates to the ocean for much of its life but hatches and spawns in B.C.'s Thompson and Chilcotin rivers.
The letter, also signed by Eric Taylor, the former chair of the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, says numbers of the fish have been on a “precipitous decline” for the last decade.
In 2018, the steelhead were rejected for an emergency listing on the Species At Risk Act and a second recommendation in 2020 still awaits ministerial consideration, even though the groups say last year's spawning populations hit their lowest levels since records have been kept.
The letter urges the ministers to act, saying current plans offered by the Fisheries Act are not designed to recover fish populations at risk of extinction and have not stopped the steelhead's decline.
“The (Interior Fraser steelhead) situation is the most severe conservation crisis for any wild sea-run fish in British Columbia,” the letter says.
Fewer than 15 fish returned per tributary last fall, which the letter says is far lower than the numbers that prompted the two earlier recommendations for species protection.
It predicts an “imminent threat to survival” if an immediate recovery strategy and action plan is not created for the fish, which groups describe as “arguably once the most revered groups of steelhead trout in British Columbia and beyond.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.