Letter to the editor, Prince Rupert paper

Here'a sample of what people are thinking about the current situation on Skeena. Enjoy.

Editor:

As I sit here July 30, 2009, I find the present situation with the Skeena River Sockeye gillnet fishery to be obscene - Sorry I can’t describe it any other way!

There are scads of sockeye out in the Chatham Sound. Yes I know, today the escapements are up, the escapements are down 26,000 yesterday but Fisheries and Oceans goals in this “War of escapements” is totally unrealistic. 1.1 million sockeye “Up the River” before any opening!

Ridiculous!

The First Nations food fishermen have been bringing in large catches - 100 to 200 sockeye a set in very few hours - this is the measure that one can go by. However, Fisheries calls the food fish number anecdotal so does not use them.

As one seems an unholy alliance of sports fishermen, so-call environmentalists, lodge owners and, unfortunately, some up river First Nations bands have ganged together to promote an up-river fishery that simply robs the Skeena gillnetters of any chance to make a living - in fact any chance to even make expenses!

Don’t get me wrong here the up-river interests have a right to a decent living.

However this ESSR up-river “Catfood” fishery does nothing for quality or decent fish prices. It simply ensures a cheap supply of “third rate” sockeye for the cans of whichever company that buys them.

But this fishery does please people such as Terry Glacens and Vicky Husband who have promoted the beach seining of the sockeye for many years. And of course the Steelhead gang, the oversize trout gang, are the origins of a lot of this nonsense. And of course the phony coho crisis a legacy of Caligula Anderson

Even the Americans who had to be pleased with Anderson generally questioned this example of Anderson’s bizarre performance.

The Coho were shuttled off to the sports sector (and the commercial trollers) and the fishermen were stuffed off into fifth place - the untouchables of the fishing industry.

And the farce still goes on!

(name deleted)

Clearwater, BC
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