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[Gooey]

A friend of mine told me that the government can't get in the way of a societies natural evolution into modern society.  By disallowing them to use modern tools, they would be putting up barriers, making them less competative with modern society and happering their societies development.

Frankly, their need for food (on a per person/household level) hasnt changed over the last 100 years.  so why are they allowed to harvest (legally and illegally) all those fish?

[Terry Bodman]

Simple. Governments are afraid of them.

[chris gadsden]

Some further info re yesterday's events that I received this morning.

The netting that started around 7:05 am was illegal .Later in the day, around noon Cheam asked for a "first fish" ceremonial opening as there had been a death in the Band so 20 more chinook were needed via a drift net or whatever the correct term I should be using.

This was granted with some hour restrictions but with a caveat to allow them to continue if they had not caught the 20 chinook by the evening.

Apparently FOC looked for a montor but could not find one but someone on the beach who said he was an acting monitor reported that only 2 fish had been caught. This means the fishery will be going on today and maybe into the weekend.

Apparently a FOC enforcement did respond to the scene but he did not know the opening was legal, talk about communication.

The saga continues.

[Fish Assassin]

Shouldn't the Cheam Band ask permission from DFO prior to commencing fishing ? What happens if there is a birth in the band ? Do they need another 20 fish for "ceremonial purposes"?

[The Gilly]

Only 2 !?  The Real Canadian Superstore has some "wild" Atlantics for sale. 

[Rodney]

<Spraying gasoline on fire>


Arrived in email not long ago:

Many of you who’ve attended meetings with DFO have heard the song and dance routine about NO money for anything. 

With respect to the Cheam Indian Band on the Lower Fraser:

a.                   Cheam fishermen have fought Fishery Officers with fists, feet and clubs;

b.                  When Fishery Officers did enforce the law, senior DFO officials suspended them;

c.                   Cheam poachers operated year-round and sold most of the fish illegally;

d.                  One Cheam poacher admitted in court that he caught more than 10,000 sockeye and 1,000 chinooks with his setnet in 2000;

e.                   DFO claims that budget problems prevent the department from doing proper enforcement and stock assessment.

What does this have to do with a concrete washroom?

In September of last year, DFO gave the Cheam Indian Band $20,000 to install two concrete washrooms at Cheam fishing sites.  I know this is hard to believe, so here is the excerpt from the DFO/Cheam agreement:

“Improvements to Cheam fishing and Catch Monitoring sites    $20,000.00                                                     

•   Installation of  2 precast washroom facilities at Cheam salmon fishing sites.  One facility will be erected at the CFN landing site located on the CFN reserve on the upstream side of the Aggasiz/Rosedale bridge on the southern shore of the Fraser River.  The second facility will be erected on the downstream side of the of the Aggasiz/Rosedale Bridge on the southern shore of the Fraser River.  Improvements to specific fishing sites including the Cheam catch monitoring station will increase the use of the sites for landing fish and improve the catch monitoring program.”

Not enough money to put gas in a patrol boat, but more than enough to build washrooms for violent poachers. 

This was part of a $60,000 grant to the Cheam.  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.

Regards,

Phil Eidsvik
BC Fisheries Survival Coalition
406-535 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC
V6C 2Z4
Phone:  604-638-0114
Fax:      604-638-0116
Email:    bcfish@shawlink.ca

[Fishin Freak]

Who are the idiots who keeping electing the Liberals year after year? Hopefully this will change when we get our conservative government and they actually make the DFO enforce the law! Imagine that!

[DragonSpeed]

Who are the idiots who keeping electing the Liberals year after year? Hopefully this will change when we get our conservative government and they actually make the DFO enforce the law! Imagine that!

All we'll be doing is trading one group of mealy mouthed idiots for another.

[Fish Assassin]

Who are the idiots who keeping electing the Liberals year after year? Hopefully this will change when we get our conservative government and they actually make the DFO enforce the law! Imagine that!

People vote for a particular party for a variety of reasons. Do you think the Conservatives, NDP's, Green, Communists have the guts to take on the Indians. I think not. Sad state of affairs !

[redtide]

the whole fraser river system should be turned over to the bc government. The feds should give us a grant to hire co's and patrol the fraser. Armed with over 100 officers and auxillary's the fraser and tribs can be patrolled  without the federals butting in. Fines would be hefty for violators and arrests would occur more often. Assests would be seized and used to refinance the patrol. After 2 years of no tolerance just maybe we can save the fraser. Someone please pinch me! this is just a dream.

[Lew Chater]

The Provincial WLAP is no better than the Federal Liberals and the DFO. At least the DFO has a feedback system in the SFAB (Sports Fishing Advisory Boards) that the sports fishermen have some input. It is not always followed, but we have had some influence on openings etc on the Fraser.
The provincial gov't has no such process. They won't listen to the warnings about sea lice from fish pens from people like Alexandra Morton or other world scientists, they have to do their own science and in the meantime the pink and chum smolt run is devastated again this year.
Provincially they also intend to put the Fraser sturgeon on the endangered species list, and a possible provincial  bait ban with little or no consultation with sport fishermen.
Our RIGHT TO FISH is being continually threatened without proper science being done. One of the  groups that is challenging to protect these rights is the SPORTS FISHING DEFENCE ALLIANCE(SDA). They are heading into court on some very big issues which requires major funding for lawyers and they collect their funding from nickel and dimes in plastic bottles in the sports tackle stores, while governments and FN have seemingly endless funding. Pretty frustrating for the SDA guys who are fighting for our RIGHT TO FISH.

[fishherron]

When are you guys going to figure it out. There ain' t one thing going to stop the natives from doing anything they want. Me thinks, if you keep yapping off about it, the only thing that will change is there will be no or very little sport fishing on the Fraser. As far as BC taking over that, is beyond funny. Gordon don't want no damn fish in the river anyhow. It cost a lot less that way. Look out for a dam coming into your area in the near future. I will bet amost anything it will get worse before it gets better. But Oh, buy the way good luck!!!!!!!

[chris gadsden]

When are you guys going to figure it out. There ain' t one thing going to stop the natives from doing anything they want. Me thinks, if you keep yapping off about it, the only thing that will change is there will be no or very little sport fishing on the Fraser. As far as BC taking over that, is beyond funny. Gordon don't want no damn fish in the river anyhow. It cost a lot less that way. Look out for a dam coming into your area in the near future. I will bet amost anything it will get worse before it gets better. But Oh, buy the way good luck!!!!!!!

If it was not for the efforts of organizations like the Fraser Valley Salmon Society, Sport Fishing Defense Alliance, British Columbia Federation Of Drift Fishers and many other organizations you and all the other recreational fishers would not be enjoying all the fishing opportunities on the Fraser River and other rivers that we presently have.

Mark my work these organizations and all their dedicated volunteers are not going to lay down and let these fishing hard won opportunities slip away.

[fishherron]

Chris.Many years ago I belonged to one of the oldest Fish and Game clubs in BC. I won't go into the different projects that we participated in. The list would be too long. All we did was put off the inevitable. As far as enjoyable, thats why I left that area. I saw way to much abuse and lack of enforcement every day I fished. If you want to thank the Fraser Valley Salmon Society thats up to you. There the ones that got the Sockeye open for sport fishing, thats really enjoyable, eh!  But the guides love them. If you can name ten great things that are still in effect from any of these great organizations I would love to hear them.

[chris gadsden]

 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.