Chinook Management

              The federal Fisheries Department has announced conservation measures to protect chinook salmon returning to the Fraser River this season, with various restrictions depending on the area. Regional director general Rebecca Reid says an independent committee of wildlife experts and scientists has determined seven chinook populations on the Fraser are endangered, four are threatened and one is of special concern. Chinook in one area was considered not at risk while three others were not assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Reid says harvest-management measures aren’t enough to deal with declining numbers of chinook in recent years due to factors including warming waters because of climate change and destruction of habitat that must be rebuilt