Conservative MP informed that British Columbia’s near record salmon run is being closed to commercial fisherman soon. John Cummins said that this s the right time to make some money because it is a windfall and they should be given every opportunity to fish. Refusing to keep the fishery open longer could threaten future Salmon runs, he said, and “wastes a valuable resource.”
The MP also told that he has been receiving phone calls from commercial fisherman who are upset that they can’t be out on the water this weekend, while First Nations fisherman are permitted to continue fishing. Cummins said that commercial fisherman will be allowed back in the water on Monday, before the fishery is closed for the season.
Ernie Crey of the Stolo First Nation defended the laws governing sockeye salmon fishing in the Fraser River, saying the law is the law. He added that the policies that the department of fisheries is pursuing, where our fishery is concerned, have been upheld by the highest court of the land.
About 9.6 million sockeye salmon have been pulled from the Fraser River so far this year. The Pacific Salmon Commission said in late August that it expects more than 30 million sockeye to run British Columbia’s Fraser River this year. In response, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans increased the total allowable catch for commercial fishermen by more than 60 per cent to 10.2 million sockeye, from 6.2 million.
