Fraser River sockeye salmon: data synthesis and cumulative impacts

and scope for improvement, particularly for cyclic stocks. The biggest data gap identified was alack of reliable annual estimates of en route loss. The Bristol Bay fishery is different than theFraser fishery in many ways (e.g., fewer fisheries, gear types and sectors; more terminalfisheries; fewer mixed stock challenges; unambiguous management control over fisheryopenings and closings). It is therefore difficult to compare to the Fraser River and Bristol Baysockeye fisheries.A key issue raised by workshop participants is the importance of distinguishing between theunknown (no one has done the work) and the unknowable (data are impossible to acquire).Further, it is important to consider how the information will be used: pre-season forecasts areused to modify expectations but in-season information is used to manage stocks.Status of DFO Management and ScienceEdwin Blewett, CounterpointThe three core tasks of this project were to: 1) evaluate DFO management against statedobjectives, 2) detail DFO Science and Research expenditures on Fraser River sockeye salmon,and 3) assess DFO’s ability to carry out applied sockeye salmon research. For the first two tasks,researchers conducted an extensive review of documents and interviewed key contacts to identifyand evaluate relevant objectives. Fourteen objectives were identified for inclusion in the reportbased on their focus on stock management, relevance to Fraser River sockeye, level ofspecificity, ends (as opposed to means), and largest effects and impacts. Last, they defined therequired human and financial resources to compare/contrast with the actual programs andactivities implemented by DFO. Major information gaps included evaluation data for post-seasonspawning escapement targets, expenditure data prior to 2005, and funding for 2009 PSF, FRPand SF research projects. Very little information was available in electronic format or updateddatabases. Preliminary results show a decline in the proportion of total spending allocated toresearch in recent years, across all of DFO’s Pacific Region.Key issues raised by participants included: how to account for university research that resultsfrom DFO funded research, how to account for NSERC-funded sockeye research, how well DFOresearch is informing management (i.e. what is needed to make management decisions), and howto avoid short-sightedness, considering the need for fundamental science that provides long-terminsights.Diseases & ParasitesMichael Kent, Oregon State UniversityThe focus of the study was to review infectious diseases in sockeye salmon in BC and assesstheir role in mortality. The information for this study was obtained from peer-reviewed literature,