Skeena River Sockeye Escapement and Distribution

Population estimates made from observations on the number of sockeye salmon in the various spawning streams of the Skeena River, B.C., during the period 1944–48 are presented. The methods used include a fence count at Babine Lake, the most important spawing area, supplemented by stream counting in the other areas and sample tagging at Lakelse. Estimates made at Babine by the latter methods were compared with the fence counts; the stream count estimates were about one-third of the actual number present, whereas estimates from tagging were about twice the actual.A brief description of the spawning streams of the Skeena is accompanied by a map showing their location. Best estimates of 1946–47 escapements to major spawning areas are: Babine, 480,000; Morice, 70,000; Bear, 42,000; Lakelse, 29,000. These comprise 92 per cent of the total for the river system. The area of the spawning beds used by sockeye in the system is about 100 acres, or of the order of 1.5 square yards per spawning pair. The division of the whole run is approximately 45 per cent to the commercial fishery, 6 per cent to the Indian fishery, and 49 per cent escapement.