Derby
Crew Member
Bruce Cohen presented his report, The Uncertain Future of Fraser River Sockeye, on Oct. 31, 2012.
Photograph by: Jason Payne, PNG Files , Vancouver Sun
The Harper government, accused of an "unacceptable" delay in responding to the Fraser River salmon inquiry report issued a year ago, insists it's following Justice Bruce Cohen's recommendations.
Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said the government has, in the past year, announced a $10-million program to support local fisheries conservation projects. The 2013 budget included more money for the Pacific Salmon Foundation, a non-profit group involved in salmon conservation.
"Our government has long recognized the importance of protecting sockeye salmon in the Fraser River," Shea said in a statement, adding that's why the government set up the $26-million Cohen commission. "We will continue to take action that is consistent with the recommendations of the Cohen Commission."
Former Tory Fisheries Minister John Fraser and a group of conservation proponents complained about what they saw as a delay in a letter to B.C. Conservative MP John Weston earlier this week, after a summer that saw sockeye runs at half the level predicted by scientists.
The letter to the MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country said Ottawa hasn't come close to responding adequately to Cohen's sweeping recommendations - or even indicated whether it will even discuss its views of the report.
"This is unacceptable, especially when significant salmon fishery closures have occurred on the Fraser River once again this year, along with predictions of high in-river mortality of migrating sockeye," stated Fraser, Randall Lewis of the Squamish First Nation, and Dave Brown, vice-chairman of the Squamish to Lillooet Sportfish Advisory Committee. "Action needs to occur to ensure the management of Fraser sockeye and other salmon is improved via implementation of the Cohen Inquiry recommendations, which were so thoroughly researched," the letter said On Wednesday, Brown rejected Shea's statement: "It doesn't go anywhere near taking Cohen's report seriously.
Fraser River sockeye salmons' future looks grim if this is the way the minister is addressing the report."
Brown said the government still needs to respond to several key issues raised by Cohen: The report encouraged Ottawa to remove the promotion of salmon farming from its mandate due to concerns about a conflict of interest in its role in protecting wild fish stocks. Migrating sockeye are vulnerable especially while "on their out-migration route in the Discovery Islands area where there are over 20 farms in relatively tight channels," says Brown.
"Therefore, according to Cohen's recommendations, there should be a peer-reviewed re-evaluation of the risk of farms and if the risk is more than a minimal risk of serious harm to Fraser River sockeye, the farms in the Discovery Islands need to be removed."
Cohen called for expanded habitat protection measures, even though earlier in 2012 the Harper government brought in new legislation that "degraded" Fisheries Act protection for fish and fish habitat.
That the government create a staff position and provide funding within the Fisheries Department to push through a Wild Salmon Policy "with the primary purpose of it is to ensure the protection of salmon biodiversity throughout B.C."
Fraser, fisheries minister in the government of Brian Mulroney in the 1980s, praised local MP Weston's efforts in helping conservationists set up meetings with government officials. And Fraser said he supports the initiatives cited by Shea.
But he said the Harper government's silence on the broad thrust of the Cohen report for almost a year - the findings were released Oct. 31, 2012 - is baffling.
"I'm a lifelong Tory, I'm not against the present government on everything," Fraser told The Sun. "But I'm very, very concerned with where we're going on fisheries and habitat conservation. I don't believe you can be a real conservative unless you're a conservationist."
poneil@postmedia.com
Photograph by: Jason Payne, PNG Files , Vancouver Sun
The Harper government, accused of an "unacceptable" delay in responding to the Fraser River salmon inquiry report issued a year ago, insists it's following Justice Bruce Cohen's recommendations.
Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said the government has, in the past year, announced a $10-million program to support local fisheries conservation projects. The 2013 budget included more money for the Pacific Salmon Foundation, a non-profit group involved in salmon conservation.
"Our government has long recognized the importance of protecting sockeye salmon in the Fraser River," Shea said in a statement, adding that's why the government set up the $26-million Cohen commission. "We will continue to take action that is consistent with the recommendations of the Cohen Commission."
Former Tory Fisheries Minister John Fraser and a group of conservation proponents complained about what they saw as a delay in a letter to B.C. Conservative MP John Weston earlier this week, after a summer that saw sockeye runs at half the level predicted by scientists.
The letter to the MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country said Ottawa hasn't come close to responding adequately to Cohen's sweeping recommendations - or even indicated whether it will even discuss its views of the report.
"This is unacceptable, especially when significant salmon fishery closures have occurred on the Fraser River once again this year, along with predictions of high in-river mortality of migrating sockeye," stated Fraser, Randall Lewis of the Squamish First Nation, and Dave Brown, vice-chairman of the Squamish to Lillooet Sportfish Advisory Committee. "Action needs to occur to ensure the management of Fraser sockeye and other salmon is improved via implementation of the Cohen Inquiry recommendations, which were so thoroughly researched," the letter said On Wednesday, Brown rejected Shea's statement: "It doesn't go anywhere near taking Cohen's report seriously.
Fraser River sockeye salmons' future looks grim if this is the way the minister is addressing the report."
Brown said the government still needs to respond to several key issues raised by Cohen: The report encouraged Ottawa to remove the promotion of salmon farming from its mandate due to concerns about a conflict of interest in its role in protecting wild fish stocks. Migrating sockeye are vulnerable especially while "on their out-migration route in the Discovery Islands area where there are over 20 farms in relatively tight channels," says Brown.
"Therefore, according to Cohen's recommendations, there should be a peer-reviewed re-evaluation of the risk of farms and if the risk is more than a minimal risk of serious harm to Fraser River sockeye, the farms in the Discovery Islands need to be removed."
Cohen called for expanded habitat protection measures, even though earlier in 2012 the Harper government brought in new legislation that "degraded" Fisheries Act protection for fish and fish habitat.
That the government create a staff position and provide funding within the Fisheries Department to push through a Wild Salmon Policy "with the primary purpose of it is to ensure the protection of salmon biodiversity throughout B.C."
Fraser, fisheries minister in the government of Brian Mulroney in the 1980s, praised local MP Weston's efforts in helping conservationists set up meetings with government officials. And Fraser said he supports the initiatives cited by Shea.
But he said the Harper government's silence on the broad thrust of the Cohen report for almost a year - the findings were released Oct. 31, 2012 - is baffling.
"I'm a lifelong Tory, I'm not against the present government on everything," Fraser told The Sun. "But I'm very, very concerned with where we're going on fisheries and habitat conservation. I don't believe you can be a real conservative unless you're a conservationist."
poneil@postmedia.com
