Commissioner examining collapse of B.C. salmon run gets extra month for report

VANCOUVER – The judge leading the inquiry into the collapse of the 2009 sockeye salmon run on British Columbia’s Fraser River has been given another extension to submit his final report.

In a posting on its website, the commission says that Justice Bruce Cohen now has until Oct. 29 to file the report.

The commission says Cohen asked for more time because of the amount and complexity of the material that resulted from the lengthy inquiry.

It began in August 2010 and ended in December 2011 after 10 million fish were expected but only one million actually returned to the river.

According to the commission’s website, Cohen has had previous deadlines of June 30 and Sept. 30 to submit his report.

The commission has said 160 witnesses testified at the evidentiary hearings portion of the inquiry, resulting in 14,000 pages of transcripts and 2,100 exhibits.