Ottawa announces 'unprecedented action' to protect Fraser River chinook

A new study says Chinook salmon hatch with a kind of inherited magnetic map (AP/Bill Roth)

VANCOUVER — Expanded fishing closures and size restrictions are part of new actions announced by the federal government to protect threatened Fraser River chinook salmon.

Terry Beech, parliamentary secretary to the fisheries minister, says much of the waters near the mouth of the Fraser River will be closed to fishing and chinook that are more 80 centimetres long must be released.

He says they're taking the unprecedented action because of historic low populations of chinook salmon, which are the favoured food of endangered southern resident killer whales.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada acted last year to protect Fraser River chinook stocks, that included efforts to clear a massive landslide in the river, which further threatened the species.

Beech says of the 13 Fraser River chinook salmon populations, 12 are considered to be at risk.

He says the latest chinook protection measures were developed following consultation with Indigenous communities, recreational and commercial fishing organizations and environmental groups.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2020.