Selective Fishing

The Selective Fishing Gear Pilot has been funded through the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund to pilot selective fishing gear in the Fraser River and its tributaries by applying traditional First Nations methods in modern ways.

The aim is to achieve sustainable and culturally sensitive outcomes while improving First Nations' access to their food, social, and ceremonial salmon fisheries.

Key project activities have included research of appropriate selective fishing methods, the development of four selective fishing plans alongside partner communities, and the prototyping and construction of new gear types – including a mobile fish weir and a fish trap.

Having access to selective fishing gear also allows for more opportunities to conduct salmon science. In the first season, selective gear was used to tag 65 chum salmon and monitor their migration success. The goal of this study is to determine the impacts that being intercepted by the new gear has on salmon by tracking how many of them make it back to their spawning grounds.