Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Fish Assassin]

Makes you wonder why DFO make such a big show of being on the river this season when they don't enforce the illegal fish sales. Big friggen deal 

We must keep up the pressure. We are receiving vibes from inside the department but it has been a known fact for sometime by most that the present Government is very afraid of another Burnt Church and other incidents from past years. With a minority government the Liberal have to play it this way as they donot want anything else to blow up in their face with a election not that far away. My take on it anyway, what do other think?

The illegal selling of fish is a recent phenomena. It's was happening when there was a majority government in power.

[Rodney]

There was a Cheam First Nation incident today with DFO. I'll provide more when I get all the facts straight.

Below is a letter sent in from Bill Otway of Sportfishing Defence Alliance regarding what took place today.

August 13, 2005

Honourable Irwin Cotler
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Government of Canada
House of Commons,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6   and:

Honourable Wally Oppal
Attorney General
Province of British Columbia
East Annex
Parliament Buildings
Victoria, B.C.
V8V 1X4

Honourable Ministers:

I write to you today on behalf of the members of the Sportfishing Defence Alliance and many concerned anglers and citizens of British Columbia.

This afternoon I received the second reports in the last few days of illegal drift gillnetting and the threat to the well being and lives of the officers of Fisheries and Oceans Canada who were trying to enforce the law and protect the resource. These incidents are taking place in the Cheam fishing area immediately upstream of the Aggassiz/Rosedale Bridge in the Cheam Native Band fishing area.

Officers moving in to deal with the illegal operations are having their boats swamped, rammed and being swarmed by native persons and boats putting them very much in danger. In fact I am instructed that today they were forced to abandon their enforcement efforts due to the danger.

You two gentlemen have control and direction of the R.C.M.P. in this province and we are asking that you move immediately to have that agency take immediate action to protect and assist the Fishery Officers to carry out the law and protect the dwindling fish stocks currently in the river.

We would advise that failure on your part to take such action to control law breakers and protect enforcement staff will result in the death or serious injury to these brave people or a fish loss similar to what took place in 2004 in the Fraser River. That action means no fishing at all in 2008, a similar action this year would continue that disaster on into 2009 and possibly beyond.

A precious and extremely valuable natural resource, (capable of generating in excess of $100 million annually for Canada and B.C.) lost for future generations. And; with the allowance by government, through lack of strong action, for anarchy to rule on the river, the assurance that future stocks and economic benefits will be lost from all other years in the cycle runs.

Time is of the essence and we urge you in the strongest possible terms to act forcefully and act NOW!

Yours in conservation:

Bill Otway, President
Sportfishing Defence Alliance
Personal contact
P.O. Box 326 Merritt B.C.
V1K 1B8
Phone 604 313-7480
E mail waycot@shaw.ca

[fishin for life]

So the judge has felt that the injunction had no merit. This is a good thing. Here are a few things to ponder. Where did life on earth come from? In any way that you believe all peoples on earth came from the same. So wht does that give the right for the Natives to fish and not the rest of society? We must be all related so there for we should all be allowed to fish. On a more serious side. I will like to see if the DFO does what they should after the judge has ruled and noted that the Cheam are over fishing and selling. If they do not step in now they never will.      To all the fishers out there fishing for a spring. It is not your right to play a sockeye out. Bring it in as fast as possible and release it in the water. Ask for help if required don't try to be so macho. I have found over the years that if you fish nearer the middle of the river you are less likely to catch a sockeye. Shorten up your drift and do not drift so close to shore and you will catch just as many springs and far fewer sockeye. The rule I use is stop drift at about the 45 degree mark. By doing this I have been on the river and watched people all around me hook sockeye and I have hooked none. Then they all ask what I am doing different when I catch the spring.     Tight lines everyone can not wait for steelhead season and get out of this Fraser BS.

[chris gadsden]

Makes you wonder why DFO make such a big show of being on the river this season when they don't enforce the illegal fish sales. Big friggen deal 

We must keep up the pressure. We are receiving vibes from inside the department but it has been a known fact for sometime by most that the present Government is very afraid of another Burnt Church and other incidents from past years. With a minority government the Liberal have to play it this way as they donot want anything else to blow up in their face with a election not that far away. My take on it anyway, what do other think?

The illegal selling of fish is a recent phenomena. It's was happening when there was a majority government in power.

Right illlegal fish sales have gone on for years and it seemed to be an accepted practice to buy them in years pass. They were called Fraser Valley Chicken. I am sure readers of this forum may have bought them also.

 It was reported that everyone bought their yearly supply to can etc. As well the RCMP, judges etc.  bought them, it was said. Recently, meaning last year when 1.6 sockeye disappeared and a concern was raised that the stocks were in trouble the government was lobbied to do some thing to stop the slide of fish reaching the spawning grounds. Besides there was never a strong lobby group like the SDA that has become very vocal the last year to put pressure on the government to try to have them enforce the law of the land to help stem this slide.

[chris gadsden]

[
I then left the river and as you can appreciate upset that the Government and FOC refuses to enforce the law of the land. A double standard at its worse.

Working on getting a guide boat out to the Fraser this afternoon as a Chilliwack paper's photo journalist wishs some pictures out on the river. Phil was also working on getting Global TV to go out but have not heard from them yet so they maybe tied up with other stories today.

Note the words Sealand on one of the totes. Is that a fish processor?

For those interested the story of my day continues under the Fraser River First Nations Openings August 8 -14 th thread.

[Eagleye]

I commend all of you whom are standing up for our rights as sport fisherman.  I will be heading to Berrys when I get a chance to donate a pinky to SDA.  I agree with alwaysfishing's idea to ban the cheam from drift netting for the reasons he has stated and I implore all of you to call dfo if you see natives selling fish and demand they do something about it.

It is not your right to play a sockeye out. Bring it in as fast as possible and release it in the water.

This is a very good point and I shall add that anglers should have a pair of forceps or pliers on hand to easily release the fish unharmed and in the deep water not close to shore.

Shorten up your drift and do not drift so close to shore and you will catch just as many springs and far fewer sockeye. The rule I use is stop drift at about the 45 degree mark. By doing this I have been on the river and watched people all around me hook sockeye and I have hooked none. Then they all ask what I am doing different when I catch the spring.

by doing this you will also decrease your chances of foul hooking a fish or catching someone else's line. At the end of my drift I pull up on my rod and reel as fast as I can so that my weight will go over top other peoples line.  I also hold my rod straight out in front of me so that my line is not in anyone's face and when I reel in my setup is 11.5 feet (the length of my Trophy rod) in front of everyone and under the water.  I hate it when guys try and do it the easy way by pointing their poles down stream causing their line to be in front of my face constantly which inhibits my casting and makes me cringe when there hook comes sailing by a foot in front of my crotch!   

[chris gadsden]

Have received word today the Cheam is drift fishing today during a closure with several nets going full stream, not sure what FOC is doing about it. Too bad for once again the sockeye stocks are being hit just like last year.

[Steelhawk]

Anarchy on the Fraser - that is what the Cheam wants.  DFO gave in last time when their brave officers got pepper-sprayed by the Cheam, and now this bandit band is getting bold that this strategy pays.  What they are doing is to intimidate DFO again and see who blinks first.  If DFO & the Liberal government let this go on, the Cheam will eventually be so emboldened that they will trash every law Canada imposes on them as citizens, and declare independence.  By then, watch out for snipers when we go fishing.    I cannot imagine when other bands follow suit.  The government should act fast & swift with these law breakers of the Cheam.  They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  It is now or never.  We cannot let 300 natives hold this mightly country captive.

[grandpa]

Since they won't co-operate with DFO perhaps it is time that Indian Afairs starts to take economic steps against the band - IE decrease grants drasticaly  ,

[chris gadsden]

Anyone with info on what they may have seen in this area over the weekend? PM me if you wish.

[allwaysfishin]

i will be on the river tomorrow with camera in hand, also will report on any fish sales i encounter.

[chris gadsden]

If you see anything phone me on my cel. Will PM it to you. Good work in advance but be careful as things are getting pretty rough up that way.

[chris gadsden]

I have just been told some heavy drift netting took place today, reported to Observe and Report line. No respose at this time by FOC. Activitives were video taped I have been told.

[pepsitrev]

great work all i too am heading out with camera in hand and hopefuly will get some shots of fish selling.

[chris gadsden]

It is Monday and illegal drift netting going on. To top it of apparently FOC has given one Cheam Band member a commual license to harvest 20 sockeye. Can you believe that FOC could do that in face of all the illegal  netting that has gone on the last few days since they did not win the injunction. How many fish do they need.

As most know I do not fish sockeye but I fear for the resource so much.

It is getting so close to the point and I thought I would never say this, is it time to do a drift of our own off Island 22. Would be a good media event and I have never seen the inside of a jail cell as I am sure if we did they would not hestitate to arrest us. Frank said if we were to do this he and I would be the only ones there, I donot think so. It is called being a martyr isn't it. Then this act would but us in the same scheme of things that are going on up river so it seems at this point to be a no win situation. However it would prove there is two laws in this country. Shameful. I have sent off several e-mails asking for some answers to the inaction of FOC and todate they continue to hid behind their computers and answering machines. That is shameful, shameful to the nineth degree. One day it will catch up to them.