Fisheries throughout the Skeena Watershed are in full swing right now. Thousands of salmon are headed up river to their home systems to spawn and then die. Many salmon will complete the journey, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the population is healthy.

Research in the Bulkley and Morice River systems, home streams of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, has been on-going for decades, but new studies into the shift in distribution of Morice sockeye especially is shedding light on their future.

Morice sockeye populations have been depressed for years, but an electronic tagging program conducted by Wet’suwet’en Fisheries at the Witset Canyon is helping track where Morice sockeye are spawning, which could help Wet’suwet’en Fisheries better understand what new habitats these fish are populating and protect those areas for futures spawners. It’s a lot of work, but the science is bringing the community together.

Today we’ll chat with Brian Michell, and 29 year veteran Fisheries technician with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en and Sam Vincent a Fisheries Technician with Wet’suwet’en Fisheries.