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[Rodney]

Angry B.C. salmon fishermen stage protest fishery on Fraser River

Canadian Press

September 4, 2005

VANCOUVER (CP) - Angry salmon fishermen staged a protest fishery Sunday on the Fraser River after Ottawa closed the river's lucrative sockeye fishery.

Dozens of boats reportedly took part in the three-hour protest, monitored by an RCMP helicopter and enforcement officers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, who ticketed several boats that illegally hauled in nets filled with fish.

The protest capped a week of outrage from the troubled commercial salmon-fishing industry, whose members are angry they were ordered to tie up their boats all season while aboriginal fishermen continue to catch salmon.

"We're basically protesting because of mismanagement of the fishery," fisherman Glenn Budden said. "Everybody has gotten to fish on this run of sockeye except for the Canadian commercial fishermen.

"There's actually right now enough fish on the books according to the Department of Fisheries to have a small opening but they still have neglected to give us a small opening."

The battle over Fraser River sockeye has gone on for years, with commercial fishermen alleging the Fisheries Department turns a blind eye to the reselling of aboriginal food fish.

"I'll give you an example," said one unidentified fisherman. "I'm going to catch more in half an hour than I can eat in 10 years and the natives fish two, three days a week for six months. This shows you how absurd and out of control it is."

Sto:lo Grand Chief Doug Kelly said his people understand economic hardship.

"We understand the difficulties associated with earning a living, especially earning a living from the fishery," he said. "But taking out action like they are today threatens the future of Cultus (Lake) sockeye and I would encourage them to respect the closure."

But commercial fishermen, noting the legal aboriginal fishery taking place along side their protest Sunday, said if the closure was about conserving the threatened Cultus Lake salmon run then the fishery should be closed to all.

Fisheries scientists have estimated the Fraser River summer sockeye run at about six million fish but it was initially forecast to be about 11 million.

It also arrived several weeks later than expected, raising concerns it would mix in with later endangered runs, such as the Cultus Lake run.

© The Canadian Press 2005

http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.html?id=0ca4ed54-4642-4557-8dec-36616dd2f723

[Fish Assassin]

I don't blame the commercial guys a bit.

[Rodney]

Received an email from the commercial sector last night. The fishery protest that they planned last Wednesday was scratched because DFO said they were closing
the native fishery and it would not reopen it on sockeye.

The Musqueam Band received a 12 hour opening today. Burrard Band received a 12 hour opening yesterday, and another 12 hour opening today.

[Fish Assassin]

DFO implemented a bait ban on the Fraser to protect the Thompson River cohos. I can only surmise that the nets will have no impact on the returning stocks. 

[FISHIN MAGICIAN]

the chief is a LIAR!

[phatwop]

Do the fishijg boats who got ticketed also still keep the fish they netted?

[Steelhawk]

Received an email from the commercial sector last night. The fishery protest that they planned last Wednesday was scratched because DFO said they were closing
the native fishery and it would not reopen it on sockeye.

The Musqueam Band received a 12 hour opening today. Burrard Band received a 12 hour opening yesterday, and another 12 hour opening today.

This is just the kind of double standard management policies from DFO that we hate to see.  On the one hand they say they are worried about Cultus Lake Sockeyes (so they only open sockeye for us on the Fraser above Vedder mouth), on the other they open FN food fisheries again in the lower Fraser as if they have not caught enough fish for food yet, knowing those nets are going to take Cultus fish indiscriminately.  I don't blame the commericial boys a bit, realizing that they are receiving such a biased & unjustified treatment. In the end, the fish is the real loser.  Time for DFO to realize their policies must be fair to all Canadians.

[Fish Assassin]

Do the fishijg boats who got ticketed also still keep the fish they netted?

No, in all likelihood it will be confiscated.

[rerigger]

the commercial guys have to hold a protest .
the only way the laws will be changed is in the courts,
as our parlimentarians have no political will to act.

[keithr]

Situation in BC:

Commercial fishermen--this is what we do for a living, out of our way, we're working here.  We know where they are and how to catch 'em.

First Nations--we're getting all we can while the getting's good, everybody else stand back.  Rules are for the rest of you people.

Authorities--everybody be nice please and cooperate please.  Who's doing what?!  Oh dear oh dear oh dear.  Perhaps banning hooks with points would be a good idea.  Perhaps one-lb test leaders. Perhaps titaniam sinkers. 

Sports fishermen and women--may we wet a line somewhere sometime, please.

The rest of BC--how much is fish?  how about if you get it out of the back of a pickup  truck?  When are we going to stop opressing the first nations and let them have what's theirs?

Me--don't make the mistake of buying a license to fish for salmon next year.

 

[pepsitrev]

good for the commercials they deserve to fish also. damm natives are getting greedier each year.

[Rodney]

good for the commercials they deserve to fish also. damm natives are getting greedier each year.

Not so much about that. If I've been permitted to go and net for 12 hours, I'll probably be out there too.

The point is that the management policy for each user group appears to be contradicting each other. While a closure is implemented for one group due to conservation concern of a very small stock of fish that maybe intercepted, another group has been given the green light to use the same fishing method that the other group uses to harvest the same water.

[fishingbuddha]

my two cents...

like others have noted before numerous times, if the dfo is really concerned about cultas lake stock then why are the natives still fishing the fraser. more importantly why are they letting the natives net fish the mouth of the vedder. why does cultas lake continue to be one of the busiest rec. lakes in the lower mainland with campers and boaters everywhere. do they not think that this will have an impact on the fish as well?

i'm begining to think its almost better for the government to give the first nations bands about a million dollars each to buy their fish from the commercial fishermen. therefore, the fisrt nations get food supplemented by the government, the commercials get to fish and make some money, the fishery will definately be healthier (less commercial than native fishermen) and overall can be more regulated.

i would also prefer to see the commercials get a couple of 12 hour openings and closing down the native fishery for a couple of days so that its fair otherwise i fear that the dfo will compensate the commercials in the fraser and let them fish for the chum salmon which i think would be more detrimental to other precious species (steelhead and coho). the commercials also won't make as much money with this type of fishery. oh yeah but instead they are going to put a bait ban on the fraser for sportsfisherman to protect the steelhead and coho.

i agree that the dfo doesn't have an easy job but lets get dfo people who know what they are doing and making educated decisions rather than *$%^#@ decisions they are making now.

one last beef. i read in the report that the rcmp were out in plain clothes and unmarked cars to arrest, ticket and confiscate fish from commercial fishermen who fished out of protest.  where are these rcmp when natives are selling fish illegally? like i said before, the dfo is only one agency which can help monitor native fishing.

ok one more beef. i really got to vent. on the topic of dfo not knowing what they are doing. i once was fishing the lower fraser using a bar rig and roe in a tidal area when the dfo arrived on the scene. after watching about ten of us fish he came to the conclusion that he needed to speak to me and my friend because he thought we were fishing illegally. after talking to him i had to explain to him that we were actually the only ones fishing legally and the others were using snag lines. after discussing it with his partner he decided to let us go because he just moved from the maritimes and wasn't to famillar with the different types of sports fishing.  not a big deal but what i thought funny was after that they didn't even do anything about the others who were snagging.

sorry must of woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

[freddy2596]

It was said best by one commercial fisherman on the six o,clock news last night and i quote........
"In one set with his net he claimed to have more sockeye then his entire family could eat for a year" His question was what were the natives doing with the fish they have been harvesting every day for the last six months!! Valid question I think.........

[newsman]

15 years ago one morning while I was spending a weekend fishing springs at Martell Junction I spied a coyote retrieving a dead fish from the river. Now this coyote had the most beautiful coat I had ever seen on such an animal. I was so impressed that I want back to our tent and woke up my wife and daugter to have a look at this animal. They were impressed too. Then my dog woke up and saw the coyote. With a lot of barking the chase was on. Then we watched as the coyote led my dog in a big circle around the camp. After about 10 laps the coyote ran out of the circuit to a near by bush, where he watched my dog continue barking and running laps around our camp. After the coyote was sure that he had my dog fooled, he troted off into the bush and emeged down by the beach again. With a quick look he made sure my dog was still running laps, then grabbed his fish and leisurely troted off back into the bush.

The above true story has a message for us; and it is this: the DFO now has us all pointing fingers at each other and aguing over whats right, whats wrong, and whats fair. So while we are doing this what is the DFO really doing?