OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
Truth and Consequences……..Or Not
Social media abounds with pictures of beach seined fish left to rot on the lower Fraser River in recent days. Several different people have posted the same or similar pictures taken at a location identified as Mountain Bar between October 12 and 14. For those who may have missed them, I’ve included several below. The photographer has asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.
When contemplating these pictures, remember they are the aftermath of what the Department of Fisheries and Oceans labels selective fisheries targeting chum. In other words, non-target and seriously depressed stocks like Interior Fraser Steelhead (IFS) are supposed to be released immediately and unharmed. Beach seines are touted as the selective fishing alternative to set nets and drift nets that would otherwise be employed when stocks/species of concern are likely to be encountered. We’re told that beach seine crews are doing great work out there and we should all be content conservation objectives are being met. You decide.
The point of this one was to emphasize the fact there were many more discarded fish in the water than there were on the adjacent beach.
A photo (Sept 27 near Aggasiz) from the Face Book page of a prominent First Nations leader anxious to demonstrate selective fishing via beach seines. Does this do anything for anyone’s confidence in pronouncements about conservation of weak stocks and species? Is it evil to suggest otherwise?
Of course, one is guaranteed to be accused of bias, racism, bigotry, unreasonableness……..for daring to raise an objection over the conduct of fisheries that produce such carnage and waste. Our governments have set us up for that. But, lets look a little more carefully at the real damage done here. Yes, the methods are less than selective, the people less than vigilant and honest in terms of what they do and how they go about it and yes, waste is disgraceful. But, what really bothers me is the complacency of DFO. The comments of wannabe fisheries politicians and process junkies are a bit over the top as well. My point in raising these issues has nothing to do with race. Its all about attempting to raise the level of awareness around steelhead conservation. I think I’ve exhibited enough of that over the past 40+ years it ought to be obvious. But, shoot the messenger if you will.
What we’re talking about here and now is a modicum of protection for the few dozen remaining Thompson steelhead. Those are the last of the Interior Fraser stocks. I grow tired of reminding the boardroom participants it is already too late for Nahatlatch, Stein, Bridge, and even Chilcotin. We could add Quesnel to that list but who even knows there were once steelhead there? If we are serious about conservation (isn’t that what the COSEWIC review and recommendation for listing was all about?) everyone must bite the bullet. Those who believe pronouncements about selective fishing when engaging in all the planning sessions and consultation forums need to get out on the water and see how that is working. Forgive another cliche but talk is cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey. Conservation is obviously bad for business but it sure does create a perfect environment for those who never met a microphone they didn’t love.
Show me some accountability around the above photos. Show me the formal DFO catch reports that bear any resemblance to what actually happens in the fisheries they sanction, let alone the clandestine fisheries commonplace throughout the lower Fraser. (The DFO catch records for the lower Fraser FN fisheries to date reveal a reported steelhead catch of one steelhead since the first week of June.) Show me credible steelhead catch reporting data from the commercial sector as well (I’m unable to find any data on the 2018 commercial catches to date). Explain the video clips I’ve posted here previously that clearly demonstrate just how lethal gill nets are when supposedly deployed to catch sockeye and only sockeye. Show me the evidence 13 years worth of investment in Wild Salmon Policy1 since it was finally released made a hill of beans difference to the status of a long list of salmon and steelhead stocks throughout the Fraser now in various stages of COSEWIC and SARA processes. Make me believe WSP2 is going to be the salvation of any of them. Tell me again why anyone with a modicum of grey matter should believe the report by Premier Horgan’s Wild Salmon Advisory Council holds any hope for moving the wild steelhead abundance needle. Remember, that august group’s origin was the speech in the provincial legislature on the status of Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead. Find me the word steelhead anywhere in the recommendations of that report. For another example of government inertia dare I the Cohen Commission process and implementation?
More simplistic cliches – If we don’t change direction we’ll end up where we’re headed. Recognition of a problem is the first step in addressing it.
Social media abounds with pictures of beach seined fish left to rot on the lower Fraser River in recent days. Several different people have posted the same or similar pictures taken at a location identified as Mountain Bar between October 12 and 14. For those who may have missed them, I’ve included several below. The photographer has asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.
When contemplating these pictures, remember they are the aftermath of what the Department of Fisheries and Oceans labels selective fisheries targeting chum. In other words, non-target and seriously depressed stocks like Interior Fraser Steelhead (IFS) are supposed to be released immediately and unharmed. Beach seines are touted as the selective fishing alternative to set nets and drift nets that would otherwise be employed when stocks/species of concern are likely to be encountered. We’re told that beach seine crews are doing great work out there and we should all be content conservation objectives are being met. You decide.
The point of this one was to emphasize the fact there were many more discarded fish in the water than there were on the adjacent beach.
A photo (Sept 27 near Aggasiz) from the Face Book page of a prominent First Nations leader anxious to demonstrate selective fishing via beach seines. Does this do anything for anyone’s confidence in pronouncements about conservation of weak stocks and species? Is it evil to suggest otherwise?
Of course, one is guaranteed to be accused of bias, racism, bigotry, unreasonableness……..for daring to raise an objection over the conduct of fisheries that produce such carnage and waste. Our governments have set us up for that. But, lets look a little more carefully at the real damage done here. Yes, the methods are less than selective, the people less than vigilant and honest in terms of what they do and how they go about it and yes, waste is disgraceful. But, what really bothers me is the complacency of DFO. The comments of wannabe fisheries politicians and process junkies are a bit over the top as well. My point in raising these issues has nothing to do with race. Its all about attempting to raise the level of awareness around steelhead conservation. I think I’ve exhibited enough of that over the past 40+ years it ought to be obvious. But, shoot the messenger if you will.
What we’re talking about here and now is a modicum of protection for the few dozen remaining Thompson steelhead. Those are the last of the Interior Fraser stocks. I grow tired of reminding the boardroom participants it is already too late for Nahatlatch, Stein, Bridge, and even Chilcotin. We could add Quesnel to that list but who even knows there were once steelhead there? If we are serious about conservation (isn’t that what the COSEWIC review and recommendation for listing was all about?) everyone must bite the bullet. Those who believe pronouncements about selective fishing when engaging in all the planning sessions and consultation forums need to get out on the water and see how that is working. Forgive another cliche but talk is cheap, it takes money to buy whiskey. Conservation is obviously bad for business but it sure does create a perfect environment for those who never met a microphone they didn’t love.
Show me some accountability around the above photos. Show me the formal DFO catch reports that bear any resemblance to what actually happens in the fisheries they sanction, let alone the clandestine fisheries commonplace throughout the lower Fraser. (The DFO catch records for the lower Fraser FN fisheries to date reveal a reported steelhead catch of one steelhead since the first week of June.) Show me credible steelhead catch reporting data from the commercial sector as well (I’m unable to find any data on the 2018 commercial catches to date). Explain the video clips I’ve posted here previously that clearly demonstrate just how lethal gill nets are when supposedly deployed to catch sockeye and only sockeye. Show me the evidence 13 years worth of investment in Wild Salmon Policy1 since it was finally released made a hill of beans difference to the status of a long list of salmon and steelhead stocks throughout the Fraser now in various stages of COSEWIC and SARA processes. Make me believe WSP2 is going to be the salvation of any of them. Tell me again why anyone with a modicum of grey matter should believe the report by Premier Horgan’s Wild Salmon Advisory Council holds any hope for moving the wild steelhead abundance needle. Remember, that august group’s origin was the speech in the provincial legislature on the status of Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead. Find me the word steelhead anywhere in the recommendations of that report. For another example of government inertia dare I the Cohen Commission process and implementation?
More simplistic cliches – If we don’t change direction we’ll end up where we’re headed. Recognition of a problem is the first step in addressing it.
