10 bucks a fish

Blackmax

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what to think about this , I have older relatives that can not get out to fish anymore plus are on a fixed income. They are buying sox for 10 dollars a fish and I don't know what to think really, I do give them the odd fish. These are fish sold by the natives and are from what I hear all large. Maybe what bugs me is it probobly costs us $50.00 a fish.
 
what bugs me , isn't native fish supposed to be for the tribe? or are they allowed too sell it ? and if so wouldn't they need a retail license?
 
what bugs me , isn't native fish supposed to be for the tribe? or are they allowed too sell it ? and if so wouldn't they need a retail license?

Even if the fish all anglers pay for in license, tags and in taxes, as well as extra enhancement programs individuals participate in, and the natives net by the masses are supposed to be for their own subsistence. Who is going to do anything about it!!??
We don't need to get started on this topic. It gets beat to death and nothing ever happens.. jm2c.....
 
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I'm not sure what to think about this , I have older relatives that can not get out to fish anymore plus are on a fixed income. They are buying sox for 10 dollars a fish and I don't know what to think really, I do give them the odd fish. These are fish sold by the natives and are from what I hear all large. Maybe what bugs me is it probobly costs us $50.00 a fish.
Tell them to buy as many as they can afford. I have family members as well, who cannot get out to fish and r buying from the Natives. FNs r allowed to sell a certain amount of their catch. I believe they had an opening yesterday or the day before...
 
Tell them to buy as many as they can afford. I have family members as well, who cannot get out to fish and r buying from the Natives. FNs r allowed to sell a certain amount of their catch. I believe they had an opening yesterday or the day before...

Yup, economic opportunity fisheries are in place for many Bands. I don't see why they should not be able to sell something they sold and bartered for, for hundreds of years, prior to our Government declaring they could only take for food, social and ceremonial purposes, especially Fraser bound Sockeye that are in abundance. Better they have enough customers to buy them so they don't go to waste and get dumped.

By the way, if you are paying $50 for a fish it better be a big whole Spring or a large Halibut. I bought a fresh Sockeye at my local grocer yesterday for 20 bucks. It was a 6 pound fish dressed, pretty decent deal for a Sockeye, unless you happen to live near the mouth of the Fraser and have a boat and can catch some on your own.
 
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I wouldn't buy it. If not for other reasons, how do you know how long it's been in the cooler? Saw sockeye fillets for $12 a side in the grocery store. That's a pretty good deal.
 
So long as they've been handled and processed properly - i.e. cleaned and bled, stored on ice, etc. Fish out of someone's trunk that's been kept in garbage bags is not only likely to be FN's FSC fish, which is illegal to sell/buy, it'll be crawling with bacteria and not be the best quality. If the fish is in proper fish totes on ice, it's more likely to be from the FN commercial fishery and, regardless, should be of top quality.

Ukee
 
I'm not sure what to think about this , I have older relatives that can not get out to fish anymore plus are on a fixed income. They are buying sox for 10 dollars a fish and I don't know what to think really, I do give them the odd fish. These are fish sold by the natives and are from what I hear all large. Maybe what bugs me is it probobly costs us $50.00 a fish.

I got offered that a few weeks ago and told the individual to rotate. He was given it as food fish from his band from one of the Frasier tribes... It makes me ill but nothing you can do. just don't support it.
 
I got offered that a few weeks ago and told the individual to rotate. He was given it as food fish from his band from one of the Frasier tribes... It makes me ill but nothing you can do. just don't support it.

This is where the confusion is, how do we know the circumstances for sure? The natives and government should organise it so people can buy without the worry of doing something wrong.
 
This is where the confusion is, how do we know the circumstances for sure? The natives and government should organise it so people can buy without the worry of doing something wrong.

Good point, even though many Bands have a right to sell, many don't. I would say its buyer beware, just like fish that are sold in the supermarket. How many of them are legit and/or fresh?
 
Big GM. What the poster of the topic meant is if we put all the costs together it's costing us like 50$/fish, buying off the natives can be risky as the care if there fish could be suspect, bled? Stored on bottom of boat in 30.c temps? Tell whoever is buying to be aware
 
I don't think FN should ever have the ability to sell it commercially unless they pay the same as others for a license. If they do they should pay same commercial license as everybody else. I do though accept as most so that fish can be harvested for noncommercial and food/ceremonial purposes only if the stocks are healthy to allow.That has always been my view. Unfortunately lawyers have created a huge mess from things that should have been dealt with long ago.

Take Port Alberni for example some food fish was granted and not sold so it was dumped in ditch just last month.. Pissed locals off big time. We see this time again as its an abuse of a privilege/or right. You want to make a difference don't buy these fish period. By doing that your adding to problem. That's just my view.
 
I've heard prices dropping to as low as $6 a fish. Many smoke houses and processing facilities are full and not taking any more fish right now.
 
With this many fish coming, everyone who wants sockeye in the freezer should be able to buy fairly cheap fish off the boats or from fresh ice totes. The debate goes on but bottom line is that these are BC's fish and everyone deserves to share in the bounty.
 
FA is right. Processors are full.. Took some sox into St Jeans for canning and was told to expect a 3 month wait til done! Just in time for Christmas...
 
They are wiping out the stocks on the fraser. This raping and pillaging needs to stop.round the clock sweeps of drift nets above the Harrison, grassy,spring bar and other areas. Not to mention the set nets in every back eddy from cwak to Spuzzum. How many interior steelhead/coho plus weak sockeye/ spring stocks Are going to die just so they can sell there non iced 6 $ fish. If you buy fish from the natives ,don't ever ***** about lack of fish returning or ****** fishing cause you are part of the problem
and what is different than any other year? I hate to say it but it would be wise to give all commercial licences to FN. no more nets in the river and they could have all the food fish they need. I would bet that they would then lease out the licences because they would not find enough of their own people to fish them.
 
and what is different than any other year? I hate to say it but it would be wise to give all commercial licences to FN. no more nets in the river and they could have all the food fish they need. I would bet that they would then lease out the licences because they would not find enough of their own people to fish them.

That's actually not a bad idea, Doug.

Steelheader1, right now it's a harvest and there are way too many fish coming than needed for an optimal escapement to sustain the numbers. I agree, we need to be concerned about Wild Thompson Coho and Steelhead, but another week or so of this opening shouldn't have a huge impact. I don't floss Sockeye because I can't justify the three hour drive and 100 bucks in gas for two fish that I can buy for 30-40 bucks. If I lived in Chilliwack, you bet I would be going after them.
 
They are wiping out the stocks on the fraser. This raping and pillaging needs to stop.round the clock sweeps of drift nets above the Harrison, grassy,spring bar and other areas. Not to mention the set nets in every back eddy from cwak to Spuzzum. How many interior steelhead/coho plus weak sockeye/ spring stocks Are going to die just so they can sell there non iced 6 $ fish.
Actually Steelheader, you should check the Pacific Salmon Commission numbers on who is actually raping the stocks.

Of the 5,080,000 Fraser sockeye caught so far, 4,147,000 have been caught by the commies. 851,000 have been caught by the FN's and only 80,000 have been caught by the sporties. The sporties numbers are usually out of wack until the season final report is done, but suffice to say that over 80% of the total caught have been by the commies. Now I too don't like what the courts are doing with the FN's and do not believe in separate race-based laws that grant certain privileges to people based on their racial heritage, but moreover I am a pragmatist and see the writing on the wall. rather than continue to fight the FN's and lose every time in court, its time we as sporties adjusted our outlook, and joined with the FN's to eliminate the commercial fisheries. You want unlimited numbers of fish available for sport fishing? Give the FN's the commercial licenses and help them to get up to speed on proper care and handling after the harvest. The FN's know what is necessary to keep fish fresh and safe to eat, but they lack the resources to have walk-in coolers and freezers available closer to the source of the harvest.
 
DFO is using the tiny but fast growing Okanagan sockeye fishery as a test model. There is no entrenched tradition and expectations from sporties and commies, and the FN have done the bulk of the research, passage and habitat work so they have the sole commercial licence. They in turn are downloading some of the actual fishing to local sporties in a trial program authorised and keenly observed by DFO. The 'test sporties' are given some training in modified commercial trolling methodology and then deliver their catch to the FN and keep 10% of it as their cut. There is no incentive to develop a permanent commercial fleet when the fishery is so specific, but projected growth will nbeed a lot more fishing power than currently available. Filling in with temporary trollers is one avenue they are exploring.

It's a different story when applied to long established and far larger Fraser fishery of course, but there are some possibilities there for a blended model with a strong FN element. For me, I could live with FN being the main licencees and downloading some of the fishing to existing commercial guys and temporary sporties. There needs to be some degree of centralisation though to minimise the number of 'truck by the highway with dirty coolers' scenarios.
 
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