This year has had an extraordinary return of Chum salmon, the biggest in decades. Just looking out on the water in Q Cove , I've seen occasional jumpers and finners, late in the run and after almost all of the commercial fishing is finished. The seiners had a massive haul last week, and still there are lots of fish.
A sealion or two has been cruising inside the Cove , and catching chums regularly. This isn't a spot you'd expect to look for chums. The sealion thrashes his catch on the surface and the seagulls come in for loose scraps.
Note that there is a seal ( in the third photo ) keeping an eye out for a bite. The sealion seems to be able to catch these salmon , while the seal cannot. That is the way it looks.
For more information on the numbers relating to the chum run, see Jeremy Maynard's blog /. http://www.theardentangler.com/index.php/blog/. Jeremy gives the deeper background information about salmon resource management and sport fishing, and is always worth reading.
