Monthly Update
“Monthly updates” are not always necessarily updated on a monthly basis, because being fishermen, we are out fishing sometimes!!! Or maybe fixing the boat or getting ready for Christmas, or just trying to have a life! However issues threatening the existence of the small boat fleet, and even the fish themselves continue to grind away, so for the month of February our first initiative is a letter that will appear as Petition Letter 3, and call for action to protect wild salmon and their migration routes from farmfish parasites, as well as calling for moving fish farms to closed containment immediately. This letter is a follow up to Alexandra Morton’s presentation on fish farm threats to wild salmon that took place before a full house crowd of 600 at the Qualicum Beach Civic Center Jan. 30. Seeing that crowd made me optimistic that this is one battle where the tide is turning. We are starting to win this one, and we owe Alexandra big time for her unceasing efforts.
Update for July 20 concerns non-retention of chum salmon in Area 3, a great waste of fish and and opportunity, see letter no. 4.
In addition the fleet continues to come under fire from intrest groups such as Skeena Steelhead Alliance. To respond to their drive to remove you from the water, see letter 1.
Let’s take action! Write your comments.
I could not agree with this letter more. Well written! If we the people lose our small boat commercial fishers we stand to lose our most precious food source. Diminishing the fleet is not the way to go. This resource is what this province has been built on and now it is being greatly mishandled and abused.
There’s an old saying: “There is a way that seems right to a man until he hears a second voice.” Be the second voice!
Thanks for this site. I just wanted to let you know that last year (2008) the Skeena steelhead escapement was 60,000+ fish (the number of fish which swam past the commercial fleet).
The ‘green light’ or Maximum Sustainable Yield number is 24,000 steelhead. The number required for inadvertant mortality (sports and bear kills) is 8,000 more. This increases the “green light” number to 32,000.
The Steelhead Guides demanded that the gillnetters be shut down early. The Province demanded that the gillnetters take extra-ordinary measures to avoid or revive steelhead.
But…. wait…. if 32,000 is the maximum spawners needed and 60,000+ was the escapement - then why did the steelhead guides and Province demand the gillnets get shut down?
Go figure. (by the way, all those numbers are Ministry of Environment numbers - not mine!)
Minister Shea - It seems almost impossible to believe that while the federal gov is spending billions of dollars to stimulate the economy, that dfo would be trying to shut down the salmon fishing industry. Our once healthy industry has been brought to it’s knees, not by a poor global economy or our currency but by the mismanagement of the resource by the dept in charge of protecting it. The fishing industry doesn’t need millions or billions of taxpayer dollars to survive it just needs proper management, management based on science NOT on political agendas. I realise that the current minister should only be responsible for a small portion of the current crisis as several of her predacesors must bear the brunt of the responsibility. Having said that however I would advise minister Shea to read some of her own depts policy papers like the wild salmon policy which quite clearly state that the fisheries minister is directly responsible and accountable to parlament for conservation and sustainable use of the resource. By giving funding to the fish farm industry Minister Shea has made herself liable for any adverse impacts on the wild resource by these farms. Adverse impacts on wild salmon from open pen fish farms are well documented world wide. It is only Canadian politicians who continue to ignore warnings, even from our own scientists. Gail Shea will have to decide if she wants to go down in the history books as the fisheries minister who was at the helm when the industry collapsed and died or the minister who saved the resource and industry. I would like to think that as a representative of Canada the minister will choose to do the right thing.
5 Responses to “Monthly Update”