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[Trout Slayer]

In total, DFO gave the Cheam and the Sto:lo more than $800,000 for the 2004/2005 fiscal year.  The lobby group, the BC Aboriginal Fisheries Commission received more than $1 million.

Break the law and get rewarded...rediculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fishherron]

Thanks for your post fishherron. To start I always try to respect others people's opinions as in most cases everyone has good points that can be made on any subject be it fishing or otherwise.

As I started the FVSS many years ago (20) I along with many other dedicated volunteers have been involved in getting all species of salmon open on the Fraser River and many other local rivers. I will even say that the hard work of many executive members of the FVSS led to other salmon openings on rivers throughout British Columbia. Our initial success was to get the Fraser open once again for the retention of adult chinooks after they were closed to the recreational sector for a few years. To me that was unfair as all other user groups were harvesting them while the ones in those days with the least impact sat on the river bank.

(The next pargragraph may seem a bit sappy to some and off topic but I will leave it in even though maybe I should delete it.)

Personally I treasure all the good times bar fishing with family and friends since the chinook fishery was reopened, to me they are priceless times. The cementing of relationships made with my two sons during years of camping trips while bar fishing over their developing years was something that I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life. I just have to pull out a video and watch once again relive the great times we had together. I never get tired of watching once again the enjoyment and excitement they  got from landing a beautiful chinook that was two days from the ocean.

 In my mind all the work to get a chinook fishery once again was well worth it for I truly feel without the formation of the FVSS we and many others would not have every experienced a freshwater chinook salmon fishery on the Fraser River ever again. Everytime I hook into a chinook while bar fishing I think, would I be out here enjoying nature and good friends if it was not for the FVSS.

Yes the FVSS was the ones that lobbied the government to get a sockeye opening that was successful a few years back and I was part of it. Everyone knows my stand on the sockeye fishing so no need to bring that up as both sides of this issue has been debated several times on this and other forums.

I now will direct you to the FVSS web site at http://members.shaw.ca/fraservalleysalmonsociety/ that will answer some of your and others other questions I am sure.

I now look forward to the first of May opening for chinooks on the Fraser River, I can hear that bell ringing now, how sweet a sound it is.

Thanks Fraser Valley Salmon Society.

Oh Chris. Not that I don,t have great memorys also, on the Bowmen bar. The Vedder also where I caught Rainbows to two lbs on rotten wood. I think you missed or ingnored my point.

[chris gadsden]

I did neither as I understand perfectly where you are coming from.

 I just attempted to point out the positive of what the FVSS has done the last 21 years to retain a type a fishery I and a number of other enjoy very much.

Also I might add, 3 spin off organizations from the FVSS, the Chilliwack River Action Comittee, The Sport Fishing Defense Alliance and the most recent the Chilliwack/Vedder River Cleanup Coalition Coalition have done in my mind a lot of positives as well. A number of the key initial organizers of these groups came from the FVSS excutive and members.

 The SDA has done a lot to preserve fishing opportunities as well for the recreational angler and have been a watch dog to try and keep FOC accountable for their actions or inactions.

CRAC and CVRCC have both worked hard in preserving fish habitat and keeping the Chilliwack/Vedder River clean. If one had the opportunity to sit in on any one of these three organizations meetings you would be hard pressed to meet a more dedicated group of volunteers doing the best they can to preserve our precious fish stocks and the environment they live in.

I hate to think where we would be if we did not have these 4 first class organizers doing the best they can. We and the fish would be a lot worse off, I would bet my pension on that.

I will stop here as I am doing a good job of hyjacking my own thread.

[2:40]

Fishherron

In my mind, it seems damned if you do, or damned if you dont.

The FVSS kept fishing opportunites open for us and also work to conserve. The groups that spung from the FVSS work the same goals.

Sure the sockeye floss fest is, in my eyes and apparently yours as well, is a 'negative' part of the fishing opportunities created by the FVSS that as a whole we all enjoy. How I see it though is that it is better to HAVE the right to fish and have a few 'bad apples' (poor description) then to have nothing at all. At least now we can all fish and, I hope, educate people how to utilize the right many have worked so hard to create.

You cant win it perfectly, but my hat goes off to those who hung around and stuck with it. They are very frustrated with the negative aspects and lack of enforcement and all the rest, but work hard all the same as angling is worth so much; ranging from food on a table, econmics, environmental stability and even spiritually.

Think its bad now how sports anglers and the fish themselves are treated? Just think what it could be like if nobody (FVSS, SDA etc) did not exist.

Now Im not sure if I missed the point on the FVSS as you asked. Please let me know if so and make it more clear what you are getting at.

Quick and respectfully intended asked question(s) for you. You asked for ten good things the FVSS has done in a manner that you would be surprised to hear one good thing.

What is your opinion on what the solution could/should be for angling opportunity and conservation? What was going on that was so good you didnt stick with it way back before the FVSS was created? Why was the FVSS necessary to open up fishing opportunities for anglers when your group was around?

[fishherron]

Fishherron

In my mind, it seems damned if you do, or damned if you don't.

The FVSS kept fishing opportunities open for us and also work to conserve. The groups that spung from the FVSS work the same goals.

Sure the sockeye floss fest is, in my eyes and apparently yours as well, is a 'negative' part of the fishing opportunities created by the FVSS that as a whole we all enjoy. How I see it though is that it is better to HAVE the right to fish and have a few 'bad apples' (poor description) then to have nothing at all. At least now we can all fish and, I hope, educate people how to utilize the right many have worked so hard to create.

You cant win it perfectly, but my hat goes off to those who hung around and stuck with it. They are very frustrated with the negative aspects and lack of enforcement and all the rest, but work hard all the same as angling is worth so much; ranging from food on a table, econmics, environmental stability and even spiritually.

Think its bad now how sports anglers and the fish themselves are treated? Just think what it could be like if nobody (FVSS, SDA etc) did not exist.

Now Im not sure if I missed the point on the FVSS as you asked. Please let me know if so and make it more clear what you are getting at.

Quick and respectfully intended asked question(s) for you. You asked for ten good things the FVSS has done in a manner that you would be surprised to hear one good thing.

What is your opinion on what the solution could/should be for angling opportunity and conservation? What was going on that was so good you didnt stick with it way back before the FVSS was created? Why was the FVSS necessary to open up fishing opportunities for anglers when your group was around?     answer to 2;40 sorry this got mived in with your quote. Not that good at putors. Maybe Rod can fix it.                         S---t, Maybe I am just to old. I along with other commercial guys,sport guys and gals have done enhancement work on the sunshine coast and lower mainland.I Am still doing my share I think, as I am having the creek that runs through my property graveled by the dfo this fall. Hoping that more Coho will return. Last fall I saw eight spawner's. Over the years I have seen a lot more take then put back. The FVSS open up a whole new fishery. Almost like a gold rush. And we all know what happens when the gold runs out. This could be a renewable fishery you may ask? But you and I both know that ain't never going to happen under the ongoing  situation that exists on the river. Ask the people moving in up and around the Adams River what they want, land or fish.When the clean waters goes so do the fish. How many little streams in the lower mainland did we try to save?  Every year they just keep getting worse. Yeah we didn't do much before FVSS came on the scene. Well at least it don,t look like now.

[Addicted To Steel]

First off, I want to thank the people who take the time and energy to post valuable information about our fish and their state of affairs here in B.C. Most of us do not have the time or knowledge of where to look this info. up. As long as it is true and accurate, the value of it is priceless. Most of us seem to share the belief that our wildlife and lands are most precious to us all and are worth whatever fight it may take to save them.
 We can rant and rave, and turn a blind eye, if chosen to. It is the easiest thing to do. It is the people who take a stand and make others take notice who will inevitably have the most effect on a positive change for the future. These people will also most probably have a great number of obstacles in their way and many frustrations which can immensely deter and detract a person from following his/her hart and sole in battling this much needed fight. The people who chose not to give up or forget are the ones who can save us and our nature from these horrible state of affairs.

 It is also a very realistic fact that without a government who cares, acts, and enforces in natures best interest, the fight is going to be very very hard and drawn out. I've said it before, MONEY is the largest contributing factor. No matter how we look at it, from every angle. It comes down to this. Why doesn't the government want to fight the Cheam or Stolo's or other bands? Do you think the gov. wants to foot the bill on more Native needs. The natives are creating an illegal supply of huge amounts of money for themselves. A fight would cost huge money, as well as paying for all of the related aftermath. I don't mean violence, I am referring to the economic problems. There is such a degraded relationship between the natives and non-natives. We must share a common goal of fixing these dire straights or it will get much worse very soon. It is obvious to me and many others that the goal of fixing this is very one sided. There must be a very dramatic stand by our governments in order to deal with these problems. The native have without a doubt been treated horribly by previous governments, and the "whiteman", but this is neither here nor there. It is time to step up and fess up.

 A good friend of mine is a commercial fisherman in Maple Ridge. His uncle, also a commercial fisherman was moving his boat at their float on the Fraser a couple of days ago. While he was moving the boat only a couple of hundred meters, the Fisheries pulled up along side him and demanded to see the holding tanks and gear. Of course he obliged and let them do their thing. They thourowly searched everything, looking disappointed they didn't find any illegally caught springs. The comm. fisherman told the fisheries they might want to check the three native boats who were drift netting over the past three days just above their float. The Fisheries fellas had no comment to that.
 It is good to see there is enforcement on the river. But are they after the wrong people? Come on guys, grow some damn balls allready. I do not know for a fact how many openings the natives have had over the last couple of weeks. But I do know for a fact, three native boats have been drift netting the Maple Ridge/Mission are of the Fraser on and off for the past couple of weeks. There has been the legal test boat as well, but I am not talking about that boat. If they are illegal boats then this is just crazy. It is only April and we're off to a horrible start. I did not know about these boats at their time of fishing, so I could not report it. I was just told about it last night. This  comm. fishing family has completely given up about reporting native violations. There are four generations of commercial fisherman to have fished the river on that sight, and they have seen it all. They have at no previous time been more disgusted with how the way things are on the Fraser now.