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[Eagleye]

NEWS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release
2005ENV0077-000793
Sept. 7, 2005
   
Ministry of Environment


FRASER RIVER STURGEON BENEFIT FROM LIVING RIVERS GRANT

 
CHILLIWACK – A provincial government Living Rivers grant of $150,000 to the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society (FRSCS) this fiscal year will support recovery projects for Fraser River white sturgeon and recovery planning initiatives for all stocks of white sturgeon in B.C., Environment Minister Barry Penner and Man In Motion Rick Hansen, chair and founder of the FRSCS, announced today.
 
            Penner and Hansen made the announcement after catching and releasing white sturgeon in the Fraser River during a tagging expedition.
 
“Those of us who live in the Fraser River area know how important the white sturgeon is to our province’s heritage,” said Penner. “Rick Hansen and the FRSCS have shown great dedication to this species.”
 
            “The Living Rivers grant helps us continue in our goal of stabilizing and restoring wild white sturgeon stocks and habitats in the lower Fraser River to healthy, self-sustaining levels,” said Hansen. “The FRSCS’s initiatives in the Fraser include a continuation of our volunteer-driven monitoring and assessment program, the development and implementation of a watershed-wide conservation plan, and an interactive First Nations stewardship program.”
 
            Fraser River white sturgeon were driven to near extinction by an aggressive commercial fishery a hundred years ago. Although commercial fishing was halted, the remaining population has been fighting to recover over the past century under increased pressures from urbanization. FRSCS volunteers have tagged and released more than 22,000 live white sturgeon in the past five years as part of a monitoring and assessment program.
 
            A portion of the Living Rivers grant will also be used to extend leadership, planning, and stock recovery initiatives across all six stocks of white sturgeon in B.C. through the establishment of a provincewide white sturgeon recovery process and strategy.
           
“Our government is committed to the recovery of the white sturgeon throughout the province,” said Penner. “Thefunding for the project is from our government’s Living Rivers Trust Fund, which supports healthy watersheds, sustainable ecosystems and thriving communities.”
 
             “For over a decade, the provincial government has increased its leadership and support of white sturgeon stock assessment and recovery,” said Hansen. “The most important next steps are to follow through with key actions identified by the recovery teams, which include the identification and protection of critical habitats, reduction of various fishery interceptions and mortalities, and continued monitoring of populations and stock structure.”
 
            Hansen founded the FRSCS in 1997 with a mandate to conserve and protect Fraser River white sturgeon and their habitat. The society includes representatives from provincial, federal and First Nations governments.
 
            The Living Rivers Trust Fund is a long-term strategic effort to undo past damage and improve the health of B.C.’s rivers and watersheds.
 
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To download a photo of Environment Minister Barry Penner and Rick Hansen with a sturgeon, go to:
http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/pac/taggingsturgeon.htm

Media
contact:
   
Dan Gilmore
Communications Manager
Ministry of Environment
250 356-0202
   

[Eagleye]

It sounds like Barry Penner is "hooked" on protecting White Sturgeon.  Maybe someone should take him Salmon fishing 

I wonder how the recovery teams will decide on how to go about

the identification and protection of critical habitats, reduction of various fishery interceptions and mortalities, and continued monitoring of populations and stock structure.”

The $150 000 is a step in the right direction but will this be enough to protect and replenish the mighty white sturgeon stocks? How do they expect to enforce any outcomes of this initiative with DFO being so underfunded?  I think the money is a nice gesture and desperately needed but we need our governments to put forth some serious funding and support to strengthen the backbone of DFO, get rid of fish farms, improve fish habitat to help replenish our wild stocks thus benefiting all creatures dependant on them  (sturgeon, seals, eagles ,bears, us, etc, etc.)  I wonder if the low return of eulachons has anything to do with those fish farms.  Since juvenile salmon are so vulnerable to sea lice infestation I would assume this is true for the eulachons because of their comparable size.  Since they are a very important food source for the sturgeon they should be protecting them as well.  Sadly protecting the sturgeons food sources are not one of the initiatives stated in the news release.

[Sam Salmon]

In terms of protection it all starts with information-the grant will go some ways toward expanding the data base the society now has.

I wish they'd get a communications grant so they could do a decent web ste-the work those guys have done to date is fabulous but more people need to hear about it.