Extreme Variability in the Production of Pacific Salmon and Herring in the Strait of Georgia in 2007 and 2008

In 2007 all juvenile Pacific salmon that entered the Strait of Georgia in the spring had poor growth or poor survival or both. Adult coho salmon that returned the next year had the lowest survival ever recorded. Adult chum salmon from the brood year that returned in 2010 also had extremely poor survival. Juvenile Pacific herring had very poor survival in 2007 and the adult return in 2010 appears to be the lowest in recorded history. However, it was the historic poor return of sockeye salmon to the Fraser River in 2009 that stimulated the Canadian Government to have a Judicial Inquiry to explain what happened. Only one year later in 2008, the survival of these species was completely reversed. The poor survival was a more of a consequence of local ocean conditions, while the very good production was more of a coast wide event.