The Lake Babine Nation (LBN) are delaying the opening of their food fishery due to low salmon numbers in Babine Lake.
According to the First Nation, they are working together with Canadian officials to obtain the necessary information for opening.
“We run the risk of negative impacts on the wild salmon stocks. They are depleting, so we have to be very careful,” said LBN’s Chief Operating Officer Bernard Patrick.
600,000 salmon have to pass through the Nilkitkwa Lake counting fence before the fishery can open which the LBN said already happened by this time last year.
The initial assessment of the Skeena River run indicated almost 2 million fish were coming but are late getting to the final checkpoint.
“We are still expecting a large number of fish, but we don’t know when, we don’t know how many, and on top of that we don’t know what the quality of the meat will be,” Patrick said.
Other factors like the B.C. recreational and commercial fishing industries also play a role in the Babine Lake salmon count.
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