Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
Many years ago when I was working at the Big Qualicum hatchery on the chum spawning channels , I got given a dose of reality from Chief Jim Sewid from Alert Bay. I had worked on his seine boat tagging chums offshore . As a result when he visited the BQ project we immediately started talking chums. There was a crew at the bottom fence pitching spawned-out chums into a farmers truck for fertilizer. With a big grin on his face, Chief Sewid said to me " You guys dont know what you are missing !" WUT????? And what does that mean ? I asked. He pointed out that some of the does were still kicking and were in good shape-- no rotting flesh, no fungus. He told me that in his culture they sometimes selectively harvested spawned out fish and put them in the smoke house. I was pretty doubtful, but stored the lesson away in the back of my brain. Fast forward to 10 years later when I was assisting the salmon enhancement program at the Alouette River Corrections facility . They started with a chum incubation box project, which later turned into a multi species hatchery and rearing project. A number of the inmates were Native and they asked if they could build a smoker and smoke a few of the better brood fish for the inmates. The Chief Corrections Officer at the institution asked me if this was healthy and feasible. I related my discussion with Chief Sewid. Next day the smoker was up and running. It gave the guys behind the fence something extra to look forward to. Well-- they got away with smoking chums for two seasons before the Health Dept in Victoria issued a cease and desist order. The chums were not from an approved or inspected supplier !! No kidding ! It convinced me that there IS a place for tradition customs . I dont hesitate now to smoke and eat saltwater and river chums. Glad you found this out before you started listening to the naysayers here FishDoc !
