The Kitwanga River is a tributary of the Skeena River located approximately 250 km inland from the ocean near the villages of Kitwanga and Kitwancool. Its riverbanks are home to First Nations People of Gitksan descents, who have inhabited the watershed for thousands of years. In the past the Gitanyow and Gitwangak People harvested salmon from the Kitwanga River in large numbers, a practice that determined the size and location of the villages. Sockeye salmon was the species of choice, making up the main staple of their diets until the 1970’s when the fishery was abandoned due to extremely low ocean escapement of adults.

Historically, Kitwanga sockeye returns to the Kitwanga River were in the tens of thousands. More recently, sockeye escapement counts have shown drastic declines to the point where in some years only a few hundred fish made it back to spawn. Exploitation rates on the Kitwanga River sockeye stock over the last one hundred years have been high, which has no doubt impacted the stock. Another factor contributing to the decline is habitat changes within the watershed caused by poor forest harvesting activities. These changes are believed to have affected spawning and rearing areas in a negative manner within Gitanyow Lake, the only known spawning and rearing areas for sockeye salmon within the Kitwanga Watershed.

This plan will form the basis of the Kitwanga Sockeye Salmon Recovery Strategy. An expert panel made-up of First Nation, federal and provincial government agents and other public bodies with a vested interest in Kitwanga sockeye, has been formed to review the available data discussed in this report and to recommend options to rebuild Kitwanga sockeye. Therefore, it is anticipated that this report will be updated as the rebuilding framework for Kitwanga sockeye salmon becomes apparent.