banger17
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Commercial salmon deal reached
BY JUDITH LAVOIE, TIMES COLONIST JULY 6, 2011
After years of conflict over sockeye salmon sales by First Nations in the Alberni Valley, commercial sales will now be legal under an agreement signed this week by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.
The deal, based on First Nations receiving 33 per cent of the commercial sockeye catch in Alberni Inlet and the Somass River, is a victory, said Tseshaht fisheries manager Andy Olson.
"We haven't had a commercial sockeye agreement for 10 years," Olson said.
"We had one before that, but the problem has been the allocation formula."
The pilot sales agreement, started in the 1990s, was supposed to be renegotiated every year.
But for the past decade, the DFO has demanded a sliding scale, with the aboriginal commercial fishery receiving a decreasing percentage during good runs and the bulk going to the non-aboriginal commercial fishery.
That was unacceptable, but 33 per cent is a better offer, Olson said.
"Now we have been able to reach an agreement with DFO that allows Somass First Nations to commercially sell sockeye, chinook, coho and chum," he said.
The deal was approved last week by Tseshaht members in a 49 to nine vote.
Some aboriginal fishermen are likely to sell their catch to commercial fish buyers, but others will put their fish on ice and sell at roadside stalls, Olson said.
The roadside sales, which have continued despite the lack of an agreement with the DFO, have been an annual bone of contention.
Although it is a good sockeye run this year, with a prediction of more than one million fish, prices are low, and the aim will be to get the best price for the product, Olson said.
"We are working on getting a brand so we can market fish on our own," he said.
That could include commercial ventures such as smoking or canning fish.
Somass First Nations, like many other coastal B.C. bands, claim their economy historically included fish sales and argue they should be allowed to sell salmon as well as catch food, social and ceremonial fish.
Tseshaht and Hupacasath were not part of a Nuu-chah-nulth lawsuit, led by Ahousaht First Nation, which in May saw the B.C. Court of Appeal affirm the right of five First Nations to sell fish in their traditional territories, but it has had an effect, Olson said.
"It forced DFO to come to the table with a more reasonable allocation offer," he said.
No one from the DFO was available to comment Tuesday.
In the 1990s, the SomassAlberni agreement with First Nations drew accusations of a race-based fishery and protest fisheries by opponents, including thenReform Party MP John Cummins.
jlavoie@timescolonist.com
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Commercial+salmon+deal+reached/5057060/story.html#ixzz1RLCWB4K0
BY JUDITH LAVOIE, TIMES COLONIST JULY 6, 2011
After years of conflict over sockeye salmon sales by First Nations in the Alberni Valley, commercial sales will now be legal under an agreement signed this week by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Tseshaht and Hupacasath First Nations.
The deal, based on First Nations receiving 33 per cent of the commercial sockeye catch in Alberni Inlet and the Somass River, is a victory, said Tseshaht fisheries manager Andy Olson.
"We haven't had a commercial sockeye agreement for 10 years," Olson said.
"We had one before that, but the problem has been the allocation formula."
The pilot sales agreement, started in the 1990s, was supposed to be renegotiated every year.
But for the past decade, the DFO has demanded a sliding scale, with the aboriginal commercial fishery receiving a decreasing percentage during good runs and the bulk going to the non-aboriginal commercial fishery.
That was unacceptable, but 33 per cent is a better offer, Olson said.
"Now we have been able to reach an agreement with DFO that allows Somass First Nations to commercially sell sockeye, chinook, coho and chum," he said.
The deal was approved last week by Tseshaht members in a 49 to nine vote.
Some aboriginal fishermen are likely to sell their catch to commercial fish buyers, but others will put their fish on ice and sell at roadside stalls, Olson said.
The roadside sales, which have continued despite the lack of an agreement with the DFO, have been an annual bone of contention.
Although it is a good sockeye run this year, with a prediction of more than one million fish, prices are low, and the aim will be to get the best price for the product, Olson said.
"We are working on getting a brand so we can market fish on our own," he said.
That could include commercial ventures such as smoking or canning fish.
Somass First Nations, like many other coastal B.C. bands, claim their economy historically included fish sales and argue they should be allowed to sell salmon as well as catch food, social and ceremonial fish.
Tseshaht and Hupacasath were not part of a Nuu-chah-nulth lawsuit, led by Ahousaht First Nation, which in May saw the B.C. Court of Appeal affirm the right of five First Nations to sell fish in their traditional territories, but it has had an effect, Olson said.
"It forced DFO to come to the table with a more reasonable allocation offer," he said.
No one from the DFO was available to comment Tuesday.
In the 1990s, the SomassAlberni agreement with First Nations drew accusations of a race-based fishery and protest fisheries by opponents, including thenReform Party MP John Cummins.
jlavoie@timescolonist.com
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Commercial+salmon+deal+reached/5057060/story.html#ixzz1RLCWB4K0
