Thanks to Lil’wat Fisheries Manager, Maxine Joseph Bruce, for this awesome update.

Ama Sqit Nsneknukwa7 (Good day friends and relatives!)
Kalan’ wi (Everybody listen!)

As of Sunday September 29th, 80,161 sockeye passed through the counting fence/Didson Sonar Camera on the Birkenhead River, known to the Statimcw as Qwelimak. Over the past few days, less than 1000 sockeyes have been counted in a day which lead us to making the decision to remove the counting fence & DIDSON Sonar Camera from the river and ends our enumeration efforts.

However, this does not mean we are done! Our next task is to complete our 2nd Phase of sampling for the Pacific Salmon Commission, and begin the 3rd phase. We anticipate the sockeye program to be completed by 3rd week of October.

On Tuesday October 1st, we completed our sockeye sampling efforts for Sampson Creek. There were 115 live sockeye and 50 carcasses – the eagles and bears were there before us.

On the 3rd, the Lil’wat Fisheries Technicians were around the Lvkmets and Zelqwa areas collecting the last sockeye samples for the 2nd phase of sampling efforts, and in the afternoon we were at Green River for further sockeye samples. And since we had the jet boat, we took a trek to the Upper Lillooet River with plans to do our best to get to a small creek just downstream of the Upper Lillooet River Forest Service Road bridge and check for sockeye salmon presence… I guess historically there were sockeye in that creek.

Joffrey Creek fish presence survey will continue to mid November. As well we’ll be at Wedge Creek this fall and winter time conducting more fish presence surveys.

The Birkenhead River Chinook Salmon will need one last survey; the Lil’wat Fisheries Technicians will cover the whole spawning area early next week. Most interestingly, Chinook were still sitting on their redds in Talifor Creek, so we’ll have to do one more survey on Talifor Creek next week as well.

A BIG THANK YOU TO THOSE WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS, including our Chief Lucinda Phillips, THAT CAME OUT FOR THE ANNUAL BIRKENHEAD RIVER CHINOOK SALMON BANK WALK! Yay! \o/

I’d like to take this time to thank and acknowledge all those that assisted in making our salmon season a positive success. A big Kukwstumckacw to Showna for her time and efforts, we are so glad you were here and sad to see you leave. Much appreciation to Matt, who shares such a positive attitude, commitment and humor to the tasks at hand.

Kukwstumkalap to the newbies for taking on this kind of work and for braving those long cold nights and early mornings on the river. I am proud to work alongside such wonderful people (So anyways, I’m getting emotional…)

Let’s welcome those coho salmon home!

Kukwstumulhkalap (we thank you all)
Nilh ti (that’s all)