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| January 14th,
2005: 2004 Post-season Southern Salmon Fishery Review
From Fisheries and Oceans Canada: Vancouver, BC - On behalf of the Review Committee, chair Bryan Williams today announced the schedule of public hearings for the post-season review of the 2004 southern salmon fishery. Hearings will be held in Richmond, Prince George, Kamloops, Nanaimo and Surrey. The purpose of the review is to assess the performance of the 2004 southern B.C. salmon fishery, and in particular factors that led to poor sockeye and other spawning returns on the Fraser River relative to DFO expectations. The resulting report will make recommendations for fishing plans for 2005 and beyond for the southern fishery, incorporating activity from the Northern tip of Vancouver Island to the United States border. Interested parties and individuals are encouraged to share their views with the independent committee at any of the public hearings listed below or via e-mail, fax or mail. "We strongly encourage the public to participate in this independent review; particularly given the extraordinarily large number of 'missing salmon'. This discrepancy represents a very serious concern for the future of the resource and it is my hope we can find out what happened and recommend appropriate action for the future", said Bryan Williams. Mr. Williams explained that several possibilities have been advanced regarding the discrepancy in salmon numbers including illegal fishing; extremely elevated water temperatures that are lethal to sockeye; and the possibility of unreliable fish counts. The committee hopes to hear more about these and other potential causes from the public during the review process. Schedule of Public Hearings: RICHMOND PRINCE GEORGE KAMLOOPS NANAIMO SURREY RICHMOND Members of the Review Committee will be present at each hearing to accept written and oral submissions in person. Participants who wish to give evidence will be asked to do so under oath. Those who are unable to attend a hearing in person are invited to participate through written submissions. The deadline for written submissions is 12:00 noon on Thursday, Feb. 24, at any of the following: Mailing address: 2004 Salmon Review The Review Committee is comprised of representatives of commercial, recreational and native fishers and marine conservations caucus (environmental interests). Chair Bryan Williams is former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of BC from 1996 to 2000 and now associate counsel with the Vancouver law firm Miller Thomson. The committee will review all submissions received as part of this process and then prepare a report which summarizes its findings and makes recommendations for the future. The Terms of Reference provide that the report be filed by March 31, 2005. Contact: From Bill Oatway: To all - Please find attached a copy of the news release put out today regarding the operation of the 2004 Salmon Review Committee. Please note the change in dates for the first meeting in Richmond.
Also I would remind all that while we are concentrating on the Fraser for the first part of this review it is not limited to Sockeye, we will be looking at information on Chinook, Coho and Chum as well. So keep that in mind please.
I urge all anglers if you have an information, thoughts or recommendations regarding the 2004 fishery and it's management please bring them forward. |