First Nations Sign Deal with DFO to Sell Sockeye

[Whole in the Water]

Members of Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations embarked on their first sanctioned commercial sales agreement for Somass River sockeye on Monday morning.

The long-awaited agreement was hammered out on Thursday, and is the first time in 10 years that a pilot sale agreement has been reached, allowing commercial buyers to set up shop and purchase fish directly from the harvesters. On Monday, David Hilborn of Saanich Holdings had the dock to himself at Clutesi Haven Marina.

"It looks like I'm the only buyer here, but that's going to change. It's going to be really busy," Hilborn said.

The Monday morning, the price was a relatively low $1.50 per pound, but Hilborn said that would likely change as competition for the fresh sockeye ramped up.

"There's a lot of fish coming onto the market now, and it's all about supply and demand," he said. "But this is fresh-market fish, and it's going to Vancouver."

Con Charleson brought in his overnight catch to Clutesi Haven, and was a little surprised at the low price. Charleson said aboriginal fishermen have been selling their catches, but the sales agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada streamlines the process.

"I recently took a load of sockeye over to Vancouver and got $3 a pound," he said, adding, "I was taking food fish for the white people."

Charleson said he and his son Henry specifically target the highest-quality fish to obtain the best prices. That means moving further out into the Inlet to get the recent arrivals.

"We fished off China Creek with a five-inch mesh, so we get the big fish," he said, pointing out a tote full of big, silvery-sided sockeye on the scale.

Last week, DFO upgraded the sockeye run to 1,050,000 fish, from the preseason forecast of 600,000. There was no Area D gillnet fishery last week, because the fleet had achieved the 60,000 quota based on the preseason estimate. With the new numbers, the gillnetters were scheduled to begin a four-day opening today at 2 p.m., with a target of 60,000 sockeye. The fishery will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. each day, in the area between Polly Point and Bilton Point.

On Sunday, July 3, 20 Area B seiners began a three-day opening in Alberni Inlet, with a target of 105,000 fish.

As of June 29, DFO estimated the recreational catch at 22,000 sockeye, with 18,662 ocean-caught and 3,350 at Papermill Dam. Those numbers are expected to climb rapidly as the run reaches its peak over the next few weeks, although some sport fishers reported the catch declined somewhat with all the new net activity. The recreational catch limit is four fish per day in Alberni Inlet and two per day at Papermill Dam.

With a run size of 1.05-million fish, the escapement goal has been set at 443,000, leaving 562,000 fish available for harvest by all sectors.

Through June 29, total sockeye escapement was estimated at 220,700 adults, with 122,500 to Sproat Lake and 98,200 to Great Central Lake.


Source:
http://www2.canada.com/albernivalleytim ... e21e4bdd06


Hmmm..... Do you think this might impact future opportunities for recreational fishers to catch sockeye in the Alberni Canal....

I can see it now, sporties can have whatever sox are left after the First Nations and commericial guys have caught and sold all "theirs"

IMHO I think we are moving closer to a model where DFO supports a First Nations commerical fishery FIRST, and then SECOND a small non-First Nations commericial fishery to placate Jimmy Pattison et al. Only then MAY Sporties be allowed to fish for a small amount of whatever is left just like they get to do back on the east coast.

We need to keep fighting for our common propperty fishing rights to prevent this!!!

 

[alwaysfishn]

I wonder what kind of a system is in place to ensure that the food and ceremonial catch doesn't get mixed in to the commercial catch. Or maybe this is a way to legalize selling all the fish they catch... Either way it will have an impact on the recreational and commercial catches.

 

[alwaysfishn]

I don't know whether they have always had a commercial fishery on the island but in the lower mainland they never had a commercial fishery till this last year. I believe it allowed them to stockpile their food and ceremonial fish and sell them in the commercial catch. Evidence of this is some of the public complaints from band members indicating they didn't get enough fish for food in spite of the bands experiencing record catches.

Although they have always sold their fish it was illegal. Once they had a commercial fishery it was impossible to charge anyone as there was no way of differentiating the fish.

 

[alwaysfishn]

what a messed up system....holmes*

Agreed! As soon as you provide special race related "rights" and don't have the ability to monitor them, the whole system is open to abuse. The white man looks at it with cynicism' and says if they can do stuff that is illegal and get away with it, then I will do illegal stuff and just be careful not to get caught.

Suddenly the resource takes a beating.

 

[Derby]

Commercial salmon deal reached





By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist July 6, 2011





After years of conflict over sockeye salmon sales by First Nations in the Alberni Valley, commercial sales will now be legal under an agreement signed this week by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.

The deal, based on First Nations receiving 33 per cent of the commercial sockeye catch in Alberni Inlet and the Somass River, is a victory, said Tseshaht fisheries manager Andy Olson.

"We haven't had a commercial sockeye agreement for 10 years," Olson said.

"We had one before that, but the problem has been the allocation formula."

The pilot sales agreement, started in the 1990s, was supposed to be renegotiated every year.

But for the past decade, the DFO has demanded a sliding scale, with the aboriginal commercial fishery receiving a decreasing percentage during good runs and the bulk going to the non-aboriginal commercial fishery.

That was unacceptable, but 33 per cent is a better offer, Olson said.

"Now we have been able to reach an agreement with DFO that allows Somass First Nations to commercially sell sockeye, chinook, coho and chum," he said.

The deal was approved last week by Tseshaht members in a 49 to nine vote.

Some aboriginal fishermen are likely to sell their catch to commercial fish buyers, but others will put their fish on ice and sell at roadside stalls, Olson said.

The roadside sales, which have continued despite the lack of an agreement with the DFO, have been an annual bone of contention.

Although it is a good sockeye run this year, with a prediction of more than one million fish, prices are low, and the aim will be to get the best price for the product, Olson said.

"We are working on getting a brand so we can market fish on our own," he said.

That could include commercial ventures such as smoking or canning fish.

Somass First Nations, like many other coastal B.C. bands, claim their economy historically included fish sales and argue they should be allowed to sell salmon as well as catch food, social and ceremonial fish.

Tseshaht and Hupacasath were not part of a Nuu-chah-nulth lawsuit, led by Ahousaht First Nation, which in May saw the B.C. Court of Appeal affirm the right of five First Nations to sell fish in their traditional territories, but it has had an effect, Olson said.

"It forced DFO to come to the table with a more reasonable allocation offer," he said.

No one from the DFO was available to comment Tuesday.

In the 1990s, the SomassAlberni agreement with First Nations drew accusations of a race-based fishery and protest fisheries by opponents, including thenReform Party MP John Cummins.

jlavoie@timescolonist.com

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist


Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Commercial+salmon+deal+reached/5057060

 

[fish4all]

well i give the run about 4 years and we won't have to worry about it. it will be done. With no real monitoring the natives will catch and sell the entire river.Conservation has never and will never be in their vocabulary. Why worry about the future when you can put your hand out for money again and again and again. Very sad day when our country is being divided up by skin colour.

 

[Fishing Guide]

Cheers All,

Strange to see fish4all complaining about commercial fisheries! Last time we chatted was he not all for commercial halibut fisheries?

Wonder how long it will take for the commercial sockeye fishermen to realize that they just lost 33% of their income.

Having said that may I also state that I am in agreement with his statement: except I am not so optimistic as to 4 years!

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

well, on a positive note, this may stop the piles of rotting fish.. hopefully.

 

[fish4all]

Cheers All,

Strange to see fish4all complaining about commercial fisheries! Last time we chatted was he not all for commercial halibut fisheries?

Wonder how long it will take for the commercial sockeye fishermen to realize that they just lost 33% of their income.

Having said that may I also state that I am in agreement with his statement: except I am not so optimistic as to 4 years!

I believe in well managed fisheries. There is a difference. All fisheries rec, commie, native need to be properly monitored or there will be nothing left.

The sockeye fishermen are well aware of what has gone on. the difference here is that gov bought up over 50% of the licenses for this purpose. The difference again is monitoring... and not that so called self monitoring bs.

 

[weedeater]

The dfo is just plain to f@@@ing scared of the natives and their threats if they dont get what they want, its easier to give it all to them than try to enforce them as they shoild be. I guess thier time in better spent nailing some tourist here spending money for catching a coho they shoudnt have , than a bunch of natives destroying runs, once again thumbs up to you dfo guys, just another bunch of fing spineless bs. Im soooo proud to be a fourth generation 2nd class bc citizen!!??

 

[fish4all]

so in saying the govt, what u really mean is us?, the canadian tax payer?....holmes*

you got it holmes. just got another package in the mail $120million to be spent buying up commercial fishing assets for the natives under the picfi program. This is getting sickening... the majority of all the halibut bought over the last few years for the natives is the largest part of the leasing program... what to do with the moccasin skippers??

 

[Islandgirl]

The Cluetsi Launch now looks and stinks like a fish packing plant.
It is disgusting.. I should have taken pics yesterday of the scene there.
They apparently took 20 000 fish, but some people say higher. No one really knows.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Well-- just remember John Duncan is the minister for this farce

 

[Islandgirl]

Well-- just remember John Duncan is the minister for this farce

Well said C.L.

 

[Steelhead S2]

I think we all agree that most First Nations communities are facing serious social and economic problems, largely resulting from past programs aimed at assimilation. To me it makes sense to start solving these problems by turning away from assimilation and encouraging legitimate economic development in areas and industries that First Nations people are knowledgeable about and interested in.

Fish in the ditch is a clear sign that these Alberni natives will catch and sell fish no matter what. By giving the fishery legitimacy maybe enforcement will be more forthcoming. This is an allocation of commercial fish that would be harvested anyway, so i don't see any threat to my recreational access to Alberni sockeye. And now that it is a legitimate FN harvest, maybe influential community members will encourage their friends and neighbors to fish within the law so that the fishery remains legitimate. I'm not going to pass judgment on this new program until there is evidence to base my judgement on.

F4A's statement that natives don't understand conservation is, among other things, racist. It is also incorrect. Just like any other community, there are good and bad. Once a season or two have gone by, we'll know how this fishery is run. But just like the argument that reserves would be better maintained if residents owned their homes, maybe having a real stake in this fishery will encourage native fishers to fish responsibly.

One thing is for sure, First Nations communities need economic development and stimulation in a way that other Canadian communities don't. I, like others, hope this fishery is well managed. Based on history, I have reservations (pun not intended). But I won't pass judgment on this program based on my assessment of the race of its participants. I will judge based on actual results. Time will tell.

 

[fish4all]

F4A's statement that natives don't understand conservation is, among other things, racist. It is also incorrect. Just like any other community, there are good and bad. Once a season or two have gone by, we'll know how this fishery is run. But just like the argument that reserves would be better maintained if residents owned their homes, maybe having a real stake in this fishery will encourage native fishers to fish responsibly.
.

SS you are correct that was a racist remark made out of frustration and more directed at this quote from the cohen joke ""We do have the right to take the fish and what we do with it is to be determined by us," he said, adding that "our people know what is right and what is wrong, and behave accordingly."

I have been involved in many fisheries on all parts of this coast, and it is my experience that when anyone has been given unmonitored access to a finite resource, every single one of those fisheries have been decimated. That being said these actions are not limited to natives. I am sure that if those rights were given to others, reguardless of race, there would the same abuse the of the system.

Again I will go back to my previous statement that whom ever is fishing, rec, native, commie there has to be proper monitoring and recording of the catch.

 

[weedeater]

I think we all agree that most First Nations communities are facing serious social and economic problems, largely resulting from past programs aimed at assimilation. To me it makes sense to start solving these problems by turning away from assimilation and encouraging legitimate economic development in areas and industries that First Nations people are knowledgeable about and interested in.

Fish in the ditch is a clear sign that these Alberni natives will catch and sell fish no matter what. By giving the fishery legitimacy maybe enforcement will be more forthcoming. This is an allocation of commercial fish that would be harvested anyway, so i don't see any threat to my recreational access to Alberni sockeye. And now that it is a legitimate FN harvest, maybe influential community members will encourage their friends and neighbors to fish within the law so that the fishery remains legitimate. I'm not going to pass judgment on this new program until there is evidence to base my judgement on.

F4A's statement that natives don't understand conservation is, among other things, racist. It is also incorrect. Just like any other community, there are good and bad. Once a season or two have gone by, we'll know how this fishery is run. But just like the argument that reserves would be better maintained if residents owned their homes, maybe having a real stake in this fishery will encourage native fishers to fish responsibly.

One thing is for sure, First Nations communities need economic development and stimulation in a way that other Canadian communities don't. I, like others, hope this fishery is well managed. Based on history, I have reservations (pun not intended). But I won't pass judgment on this program based on my assessment of the race of its participants. I will judge based on actual results. Time will tell.

Unfortunately po are dreaming, this will be corrupt, there will be a few in the band do well from this , and many will suffer, as now thier food fish has a cash value , buddy is not going to be comming by the house with a pickup load of sockeye for the , food cerimonial bla bla bla, because he can sell it immediately for cash not wait for some tourist to come by and but it off the side of the road, then bring the day old crap around for the others.

 

[Gunsmith]

This is not a rant,it is just an observation. The commercial catching and sales of any type of wild life fur, feather or scale is and always has been a recipe for disaster. It was the sports minded people that began the conservation and protection of hunted and fished species from market hunting and fishing. The biomass of all mentioned cannot handle the volume that marketing demands.In the end nothing will survive. Man has outgrown the earth's ability to feed him and his wasteful ways will prevail.

 

[fish4all]

This is not a rant,it is just an observation. The commercial catching and sales of any type of wild life fur, feather or scale is and always has been a recipe for disaster. It was the sports minded people that began the conservation and protection of hunted and fished species from market hunting and fishing. The biomass of all mentioned cannot handle the volume that marketing demands.In the end nothing will survive. Man has outgrown the earth's ability to feed him and his wasteful ways will prevail.

you may as well include the sports catching and selling of fish as well Gunsmith. I had a call today to sell commercial halibut(no nothing to do with the experimental licnese) to a man that just bought a fish and chip shack where the previous owner left him some untagged stock(all commercial landed halibut have a tag in the tail with a serial number) and phone numbers where to get cheap fish from the north island.

Rest assured those phone numbers will be passed along to the proper authorities as the new owner is trying to play by the rules.

 

[A Knotty Buoy]

you may as well include the sports catching and selling of fish as well Gunsmith. I had a call today to sell commercial halibut(no nothing to do with the experimental licnese) to a man that just bought a fish and chip shack where the previous owner left him some untagged stock(all commercial landed halibut have a tag in the tail with a serial number) and phone numbers where to get cheap fish from the north island.

Rest assured those phone numbers will be passed along to the proper authorities as the new owner is trying to play by the rules.

That is finally something decent to hear in this post! I have been biting my tongue about this matter and will keep doing so as far as my personal prejudice goes with the alberni ditch sellers. Buts it's extremely positive to hear of someone taking action on other serious offenders.

These topics are hard at best to keep politically correct about sometimes. As it's not so much a racial attack as much as a lack of policing that has drawn the negative feelings most of us share. I consider many of the natives from that area some of my closest friends, including Roy Henry Vickers whom I have had this debate with many times in the past decade. But as stated earlier, a few bad apples ruin it for everyone in every culture.

F4A be sure to pm that new fish and chip owners shop name as I will be a regular there when I'm in the area!! Once again great to hear and I hope his business thrives!

Mike