| Remarks |
Used to refer to sockeye salmon which return to local rivers, Copper River and Mathers Creek in the spring (April to July); also known as 'blueback'; were the first fresh salmon of the season and fishing rights in streams were carefully guarded; it was said that a trap owned by Chief Skidegate on the Copper River would catch one of the salmon species or steelhead all but ten days of the year; at one time, gillnets made from fireweed fibre were used to catch sockeye on the Copper River; sockeye were preserved and stored in boxes for the winter; fresh sockeye heads, backbone and roe were commonly cooked by boiling; the roe was sometimes smoked; sockeye fillets are a highly prized delicacy. In recent times, most Haida Gwaii sockey streams are fished with gillnets and the Haida Fisheries Program develops annual management plans in consultation with Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), operates a counting fence and fish trap on the Copper River, samples smolts and participates in lake hydroacoustic assessments to assess fry numbers. |