Slime in the Pacific Ocean

Business In Vancouver - When north coast fishermen set their nets on June 9 in anticipation of a good fishing season, they got more than they bargained for – and less.
Along with Nass River sockeye, their nets pulled up thick blankets of slime.

It was originally thought to be marine algae, but the Department of Fisheries and Oceans  has determined the slime to be a “goo” of  phytoplankton. It’s believed to have been caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The slime fouled fishing nets so badly that some fishermen managed to get in only one set before the opening ended, and in a subsequent opening, others had already called it quits, said United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union spokeswoman Joy Thorkelson.

She added that, with 775,000 sockeye predicted to return to the Nass, the seine and gillnet fleets expected an allocation of about 200,000 fish. But Thorkelson estimated that this year’s take probably won’t be more than 60,000.

To make matters worse, as of mid-July, Skeena River sockeye – with a predicted run size of 3.5 million – were a no-show.

Based on estimated returns, commercial fishermen have been hoping for an allotment of 900,000 fish. But as of mid-July, only 130,000 had returned – less than half of the escapement target set by DFO.

Pacific salmon are being hit this year by a double whammy of heat in both the ocean and in rivers.

“As far as sockeye salmon are concerned, in terms of the challenge in the freshwater migration, this is about as severe as we could ever anticipate,” said University of BC biologist Tony Farrell