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[alwaysfishn]

BTW, what happened to the Cohen inquiry and what 'constructive' decisions came out of it??

I believe the report has been delayed till September 2012.

[skaha]

--Recreational opening expected to start July 28th in Osoyoos...
--This fishery would not be happening if not for the efforts of the Okanagan Nation Alliance and efforts in USA allowing for Dam passage of these fish.
--Some unique opportunities exist in the commercial line fishery portion of the quota... The Codfather of Kelowna will be marketing and promoting commercial line caught quota fish. More information on this fishery and Partner guides can be viewed at http://www.okanagannationfishing.com/

--There is also expected to be a non-guided recreational opportunity... starting July 28th

[RainbowMan]

I believe the report has been delayed till September 2012.

Right, and it may even get further delayed until after the BC elections next year. Another sign that there is a lot of politics involved in the Sockeye issue. Why would it take over 3 years to finalize a report like this? It can't just be because of the technical/scientific constraints... Maybe I'm too skeptical??

[alwaysfishn]

Right, and it may even get further delayed until after the BC elections next year. Another sign that there is a lot of politics involved in the Sockeye issue. Why would it take over 3 years to finalize a report like this? It can't just be because of the technical/scientific constraints... Maybe I'm too skeptical??

Or maybe not...   

[troutbreath]

--Recreational opening expected to start July 28th in Osoyoos...
--This fishery would not be happening if not for the efforts of the Okanagan Nation Alliance and efforts in USA allowing for Dam passage of these fish.
--Some unique opportunities exist in the commercial line fishery portion of the quota... The Codfather of Kelowna will be marketing and promoting commercial line caught quota fish. More information on this fishery and Partner guides can be viewed at http://www.okanagannationfishing.com/

--There is also expected to be a non-guided recreational opportunity... starting July 28th

That would be great to fish for Sockeye there. I know what would work as well. Might have to give it a shot on my way to Alberta in August. I read the okanagannationfishing  site and they sure seem to know how to pull things together in a positive way. Good omn them.

[ynot]

The early stuart run was 40,000 1n 2008 now 180,000 a good return, the chilliwack is estimated at 170,000 sockeye dont know how it got that big. if the summer run comes in the same way there might be an opening mid august for a week or 2.

[Brook Trout]

The early stuart run was 40,000 1n 2008 now 180,000 a good return, the chilliwack is estimated at 170,000 sockeye dont know how it got that big. if the summer run comes in the same way there might be an opening mid august for a week or 2.

It's a good sign at the very least to see healthy numbers on declining runs 

[AnnieP]

letting the natives take over a million fish for 'food' is a good place to start looking at why the run is dismal

Commercial fishers foresaw the wipe out of Fraser stocks in the future when Mulroney started the AFS. I'm no fan of John Cummins but he initiated a protest against the AFS and the government position on aboriginal fishing. The sad thing was it hurt a lot of commercial fishermen many of them First Nations. Commercial fishers said at the time it was a government strategy to dump the blame for poor management of the fishery on Native shoulders. The Stollo & Musqueam   natives to this day still don't get they were government pawns. When there are poor returns NO ONE should be fishing regardless of race .  I was a gillnetter in the river during the times some  native fishers loaded their boats with food fish then made deals with commercial fishers to sell the catch for a portion of the money. I know for a fact it happened because we were approached more than once after the close of a food fishery to do that very thing and know others who were also approached . It was commonplace prior to the AFS being introduced which allowed river  natives to legally sell their catch.

[AnnieP]

Natives... Where do I begin... Maybe I shouldn't...  

http://www.psc.org/NewsRel/2012/Announcement11.pdf  Today's Fraser panel announcement.......... Notice it's USA natives only fishing.

[AnnieP]

You can ridicule the fact that you shouldn't have to work your 7 acre plot with a hoe, but the argument is totally irrelevant. There are restrictions already in place limiting the technology that the FN are allowed to use. The current FN sockeye fishery in the Vedder limits the equipment to seine and dip nets....

The technology used allows the FN to catch many times what they require for food and ceremonial purposes with a fraction of the manpower that their traditional methods allowed. A fraction of the fish caught is used for their personal consumption, the rest is sold illegally for non-taxable cash. That's the problem. The constitutional rights they have do not include the commercial sale of the salmon.

I know several members of 2 FN bands and they have told me that more than 90% of their catch is sold. The numbers may be lower as you go farther up the Fraser, but the majority of the catch from Hope to the coast is caught and then sold illegally.

Either the authorities need to stop the illegal sales of salmon by FN (which will never happen) or limit the technology they use to catch salmon.

The AFS brought in by Mulroney and the original Conservative government allows Fraser River Natives to sell their catch. They call it a "scientific permit " or something along that line. A similar deal was struck in Port Albernie. Natives further north cannot legally sell food fish.

[alwaysfishn]

The AFS brought in by Mulroney and the original Conservative government allows Fraser River Natives to sell their catch. They call it a "scientific permit " or something along that line. A similar deal was struck in Port Albernie. Natives further north cannot legally sell food fish.

All FN have the right to sell fish caught under an economic opportunity fishery only..... no natives can legally sell fish caught in a food fishery. 

Now whether that law is enforced or not is another story....   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/09/first-nation-salmon-fishery-investigation_n_1195220.html

[mikeyman]

So it is illegal for Natives to sell sockeye from a food fishery and there is nothing done about it? Why do you hear story's of "regular" people (non-status) buying fish off of them, and they get fined or charged and the Native selling the fish get nothing? I watched the nets out from Fort Langley on Saturday, they did probably a hundred drifts while I was anchored up sturgeon fishing the other day. They looked like most were doing well. It is very easy to investigate the issue, when an ordinary person can find fish to buy for $10 bucks each without even trying. Fish that are not handled or packed on ice properly and sit in totes till the quality expires. In low number years, every fish counts...where is the common sense and the logical big picture thinking here? If the numbers are low, nobody fishes...simple. Natives have so many rights and all they are is a minority in an ever changing society. Human beings have been migrating across the globe since the beginning of our existence. Giving certain groups rights over others just doesn't make sense anymore, especially when we are talking about fishing such a valuable resource out of existence. Am I wrong?

[typhoon]

Take the vehicles of people buying illegal sockeye. It may not eliminate the problem but it will drive it far enough underground to minimize the impact on the stocks.
There is no point trying to punish those with nothing to lose.

[Bassonator]

So it is illegal for Natives to sell sockeye from a food fishery and there is nothing done about it? Why do you hear story's of "regular" people (non-status) buying fish off of them, and they get fined or charged and the Native selling the fish get nothing? I watched the nets out from Fort Langley on Saturday, they did probably a hundred drifts while I was anchored up sturgeon fishing the other day. They looked like most were doing well. It is very easy to investigate the issue, when an ordinary person can find fish to buy for $10 bucks each without even trying. Fish that are not handled or packed on ice properly and sit in totes till the quality expires. In low number years, every fish counts...where is the common sense and the logical big picture thinking here? If the numbers are low, nobody fishes...simple. Natives have so many rights and all they are is a minority in an ever changing society. Human beings have been migrating across the globe since the beginning of our existence. Giving certain groups rights over others just doesn't make sense anymore, especially when we are talking about fishing such a valuable resource out of existence. Am I wrong?

In one word...yes

[skaha]

--its a quota and I'm last on the list so of course I don't like it
--we need better numbers in order to give at least an assessment that is realistic to the actual numbers.. without the assessment (rightly so) the chances of an opening... especially when numbers are low will be erred on the side of conservation.. in some cases this means surprise more fish and we could have had an opening or at least an opening with more certainty.
--I try to put my efforts into getting better numbers rather than arguing over the crumbs.
--First nations have an interest in conservation of the stock and they can decide to limit their catch in low number years as well.

--If I was a first nations person.. I think first I would be suspicious of the return numbers given.. I would also feel that if I did not take my portion of the catch that it could be taken away and given out to commercial or recreational interests. I to would want better prediction numbers and more scrutiny of other participants.

-- I am hopefull that an end fishery such as that at Osoyoos where we have a much more accurate count... plus the fish are not going elsewhere that we can continue to fish in a more cooperative atmosphere.
-- I actually enjoyed fishing Osoyoos and having my catch recorded as we fished with no hassles.