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Port Renfrew Salmon Enhancement Society (PRSES) Backgrounder…

  • The Port Renfrew Salmon Enhancement Society was incorporated as a Not-for-Profit Society on August 17, 2010.

  • The primary objective of our Society is to raise funds for salmon enhancement and protection, chiefly through the Port Renfrew Chinook Net Pen project. We are in our 8th year of the project and have raised a total of over 190,000 Chinook salmon.

  • This project is completely operated by community volunteers, including First Nations, local Fish and Game club members, and recreational fishers.

  • This project is approved by Fisheries and Oceans and also approved by the local community advisor.

  • The project goal is to increase survival of the Chinook salmon. In the local San Juan River it is currently about .5 of 1% and is similar to the survival rate in Washington State hatcheries. Proven technology and our past community advisor acknowledges we are getting at least 2 % survival with these ocean net pen raised Chinook.

  • For the last three years we have been raising and releasing 40,000 per year. We have capacity for 50,000 Chinook in the 2 pens that are anchored in San Juan Bay, [1 km South of the government wharf].

  • The coded wire tag data in 2005 indicated we [recreational fishers] harvested 285 local San Juan Chinooks in our total catch that year of 10,000 Chinooks. At a survival rate of 2%, we are now having a return of 800 mature Chinooks from our project alone. The local sports fishing community is now producing more local mature Chinooks than they are catching, thanks to this project.

  • All labour is provided on a voluntary basis; our expenses for the project are for infrastructure and fuel. In 2010, our costs for the project were $3500.

  • Four years ago we were voted, by the BC Wildlife Federation, the best enhancement project of the year.

 

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Copyright © 2012 Port Renfrew Salmon Enhancement Society
Last modified: 07/16/12