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Article: The ones that got away. (sockeye salmon disappear from British Columbia's Fraser River)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- November 12, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THESE days Canada's fisheries minister, Brian Tobin, has an embarrassed blush, pink as a spawning Pacific salmon. About 3m sockeye salmon disappeared from this summer's spawning runs on the Fraser river system--and he doesn't know why. His ministry is being assailed for gross mismanagement, as the west coast fears its prized salmon stocks may be heading for the same disastrous collapse as the Atlantic cod.
Estimates of returning fish were clearly wildly off; physical counting as they headed up-river to spawn was probably botched; illegal fishing may have increased; pollution and high water temperatures possibly also took their toll. Mr Tobin has set up an inquiry to ...