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Fishery closed
Scarce sockeye prompts DFO to close section of Fraser river to sports fishing, other closures may follow
Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, August 16, 2007
All sports fishing on the Fraser River between Mission and Hope will be halted indefinitely as of midnight Sunday in a move to spare B.C.'s dramatically declining sockeye salmon stocks.
That section of the river was chosen for closure because that's where sports fishing has the biggest impact on sockeye, Debbie Sneddon of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials said today.
Sneddon said she wasn't sure how long the recreational fishery would be closed, but there would have to be a "significant increase in run size" for it to reopen.
Other areas could be closed later, depending on sockeye levels, she told a conference call with first nations members today.
The government has already closed the commercial fishery for sockeye on the Fraser River as the summer run shapes up to be one of the worst in 40 years.
The DFO had expected 45,000 fish in the season's first run but only 13,000 showed up, while only 120,000 of 169,000 anticipated fish arrived in the second, or early summer run.
It also forecast 2.4 million fish for the late Fraser run, but that has now been downgraded to 750,000.
The decision to close the recreational fishery above Mission followed calls by first nations in the past month for DFO to take that action.
The Sto:lo Tribal Council said the collapse of this summer's sockeye runs has created a "hardship" for first nations communities.
During the conference call, first nations members asked why it took the government so long to halt recreational fishing when first nations are struggling to catch enough fish to meet their food, social and ceremonial needs. They also argued that the entire sport fishery in the lower Fraser should be closed because the anglers will just move to a new location; many are already fishing in the Fraser Canyon, they said.
Ernie Crey, fisheries adviser to the Sto:lo Tribal Council, said after the conference call that sport fishermen are on the river ostensibly to fish for chinook but end up snagging hundreds of sockeye.
Sneddon said during the call that there is a limited amount of fish available for all first nations and urged band leaders to find ways to share the available catch amongst themselves.
"We do not have enough fish to meet everyone's needs," she said.
Sneddon acknowledged the closure was short notice, as such a salmon shortage wasn't expected until 2008.
The depleted stocks have prompted the Tsleil-Wauthuth First Nation, also known as the Burrard Band, to voluntarily agree to a sockeye embargo on the Fraser because of concerns that taking any fish could jeopardize future stocks.
But other band leaders argued it shouldn't be up to them to put an allocation plan in place.
Yale band chief Robert Hope said the government has failed to consult his band about the fishery closures.
"I understand there are 81,000 TAC [total allowable catch] out there and I'd like to explore all the options of how we can access these fish," Hope said. "We haven't even determined our share. "I suggest we get to the table and talk; we're going to go out and take our fish."
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Topic: Fraser Closing ??? (Read 15465 times)