DNA Tests Confirm Origin Of Alouette Sockeye

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2007ENV0102-001060
Aug. 24, 2007

Ministry of Environment

MAPLE RIDGE – Genetic sampling by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) of sockeye salmon that have reappeared in the Alouette River system after an 80-year absence has confirmed that the fish originated from kokanee found in Alouette Reservoir, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced today.

The Ministry of Environment, partner agencies, stakeholders and local First Nations gathered in Maple Ridge today to discuss the results of DNA testing at a meeting of the Alouette Monitoring Committee. The samples show that the fish share the same genes as the kokanee (landlocked sockeye salmon) in the reservoir, and the kokanee are thought to represent the original sockeye population that disappeared after a hydroelectric dam and reservoir were built on the river in the 1920s.“With recent concerns about the number of returning sockeye in the Fraser River, this development is especially welcome and is most encouraging,” said Penner. “I would like to thank all of the agencies and volunteers involved for helping British Columbia lead the world in sustainable environmental management.”

The Ministry of Environment and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which share responsibility for the fish, have permitted the movement of spawners by bucket and tanker truck from the base of the dam into the reservoir upstream.

The return of the Alouette River sockeye is being heralded as an exciting development that has been made possible by partnerships between the Ministry of Environment, DFO, Alouette River Management Society (ARMS), Katzie First Nation, BC Corrections Branch Allco Hatchery staff, and BC Hydro, which has supported and funded these projects through its Bridge Coastal Restoration Program. BC Hydro defined studies and implemented programs to restore reservoir fish populations, enhance kokanee numbers in the reservoir and stimulate kokanee out-migrations.

Two consensus-based Water Use Planning (WUP) processes on the Alouette involving the same groups have resulted in BC Hydro changing its operating regime to provide better conditions for fish and implementing studies to determine the feasibility of re-establishing a viable sockeye population.

All parties remain committed to the WUP process. The next phase will involve the collection of valuable data on biological changes and operational needs resulting from the returning salmon. The re-establishment of an extirpated sockeye population from a kokanee population is not known to have occurred before. While additional studies are required, officials and stakeholders are excited about what these events mean for the future of sockeye in the Alouette River watershed.

-30-

Media contact:

Kate Thompson
Media Relations
250 953-4577

Greg Wilson
Fisheries Biologist
604 582-5200