scott craven
Well-Known Member
Endangered status, ecosystem study demanded for Cowichan chinook
By Peter Rusland - Cowichan News Leader Pictorial
Published: November 25, 2010 6:00 PM
Updated: November 25, 2010 8:44 PM
Naturalists and sports fishermen are through talking about dwindling Cowichan Chinook stocks.
They want the breed immediately listed endangered to underline its potential extinction.
After last week’s Stewardship Roundtable in Duncan, the Cowichan Valley Naturalists and sports fishermen applied for Cowichan chinook’s emergency listing through the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
COSEWIC spokesman Alan Sinclair was unavailable for comment by press time Thursday.
Further, the two groups want huge reductions in the West Coast salmon fishery, plus a massive community- and ecosystem-based plan to rebuild stocks in the Cowichan-Koksilah Chinook Conservation Unit.
“The time for chatting is long since past — we want a community-involved, ecosystem- based rebuilding plan,” said sports fisherman Paul Rickard.
“Even the lesser label of ‘threatened’ (versus endangered) requires the rebuilding plan, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has to control the chinook harvest,” he said.
Susan Farlinger, DFO’s regional director general, who failed to return calls by press time yesterday, could order Cowichan’s chinook rebuilding plan.
Failing the plan being ordered, shut down the West Coast salmon fishery — and patrol federal waters — to let stocks recover from overfishing and habitat loss, group members tell the DFO.
“Cowichan chinook are going to be toast,” said the Naturalists president Eric Marshall.
“We’re really aiming to make sure the government realizes the chinook population here is at risk.”
His group wants to prod the federal DFO into action to save wild chinook stocks after years of basically fruitless studies and meetings.
“We’d like DFO to come up with a strategy,” Marshall told the News Leader Pictorial.
The Naturalists, Cowichan Tribes and others have supported salmon restoration work in recent years, he noted.
“There needs to be a reduction of the fishery off the West Coast to allow salmon to get back to rivers where they spawn.”
About 1,000 fall-run chinook have been returning during the past five years, Naturalists numbers show.
But this is a steep decline from recent averages of around 5,000 spawners of the previous 20 years. Historic levels were 25,000, the group states in a press release.
Marshall doesn’t want a West Coat repeat of eastern Canada’s fishery collapse.
“The DFO did not much on the East Coast cod fishery and it’s toast. “Scientists make (conservation) recommendations but politicians say those will mess up fishery jobs — and industry has big pull lobbying the government.
“In the end, it finishes with nothing for anyone.”
Right, said Rickard.
He too cited the Tribes’ salmon-saving support in recent years.
“Out of that, we got support to get a Cowichan chinook rebuilding plan, but that was five years ago.
“Since then, all that’s happened is DFO put together a steering committee for the rebuilding plan but the committee only met twice.”
Fisheries also formed a technical support committee to rebuild the plan “but it’s only met three times,” he said.
And like Marshall, Rickard’s sick of federal foot dragging while local chinook stocks shrink.
“What we want is a comprehensive ecosystem-based management plan that will rebuild the Cowichan chinook,” Rickard said, urging big community input.
However, Rickard applauded federal action in the coast’s Area G where the troll limit was halved due to the Salmon Commission Treaty, and in concern for island stocks.
At least 40 per cent of Cowichan chinook are harvested in the ocean by sports and commercial fishermen, and in the U.S. by-catch, he said.
Rickard and Marshall saw this year’s spike in coastal salmon returns as likely a blip on the recovery radar.
“This year’s upswing is one reason we didn’t get the endangered ranking,” Rickard said.
“One strong return does not make a trend.”
And despite what sports and commercial fishermen do, Rickard noted Natives have the legal right to harvest food, social and ceremonial fish.
“Cowichan Tribes said this year ‘You can fish seven days a week.’
“In the past they voluntarily reduced their catch, but their fisheries committee seems to work independently.”
DFO cannot ask Tribes to limit their harvest, he said, unless the feds stopped all marine harvest or reduce it to minimal levels.
“The only way Cowichan chinook would be further helped would be a shut down of salmon fishing on the West Coast, which no one wants — it’s a huge economic contributor,” said Rickard.
One option is to say ‘No harvest of wild fish, only fin-tagged hatchery fish’, like in the U.S., he said.
“Keep the hatchery fish and let the wild ones go.”
Published: November 25, 2010 6:00 PM
Updated: November 25, 2010 8:44 PM
Naturalists and sports fishermen are through talking about dwindling Cowichan Chinook stocks.
They want the breed immediately listed endangered to underline its potential extinction.
After last week’s Stewardship Roundtable in Duncan, the Cowichan Valley Naturalists and sports fishermen applied for Cowichan chinook’s emergency listing through the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
COSEWIC spokesman Alan Sinclair was unavailable for comment by press time Thursday.
Further, the two groups want huge reductions in the West Coast salmon fishery, plus a massive community- and ecosystem-based plan to rebuild stocks in the Cowichan-Koksilah Chinook Conservation Unit.
“The time for chatting is long since past — we want a community-involved, ecosystem- based rebuilding plan,” said sports fisherman Paul Rickard.
“Even the lesser label of ‘threatened’ (versus endangered) requires the rebuilding plan, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has to control the chinook harvest,” he said.
Susan Farlinger, DFO’s regional director general, who failed to return calls by press time yesterday, could order Cowichan’s chinook rebuilding plan.
Failing the plan being ordered, shut down the West Coast salmon fishery — and patrol federal waters — to let stocks recover from overfishing and habitat loss, group members tell the DFO.
“Cowichan chinook are going to be toast,” said the Naturalists president Eric Marshall.
“We’re really aiming to make sure the government realizes the chinook population here is at risk.”
His group wants to prod the federal DFO into action to save wild chinook stocks after years of basically fruitless studies and meetings.
“We’d like DFO to come up with a strategy,” Marshall told the News Leader Pictorial.
The Naturalists, Cowichan Tribes and others have supported salmon restoration work in recent years, he noted.
“There needs to be a reduction of the fishery off the West Coast to allow salmon to get back to rivers where they spawn.”
About 1,000 fall-run chinook have been returning during the past five years, Naturalists numbers show.
But this is a steep decline from recent averages of around 5,000 spawners of the previous 20 years. Historic levels were 25,000, the group states in a press release.
Marshall doesn’t want a West Coat repeat of eastern Canada’s fishery collapse.
“The DFO did not much on the East Coast cod fishery and it’s toast. “Scientists make (conservation) recommendations but politicians say those will mess up fishery jobs — and industry has big pull lobbying the government.
“In the end, it finishes with nothing for anyone.”
Right, said Rickard.
He too cited the Tribes’ salmon-saving support in recent years.
“Out of that, we got support to get a Cowichan chinook rebuilding plan, but that was five years ago.
“Since then, all that’s happened is DFO put together a steering committee for the rebuilding plan but the committee only met twice.”
Fisheries also formed a technical support committee to rebuild the plan “but it’s only met three times,” he said.
And like Marshall, Rickard’s sick of federal foot dragging while local chinook stocks shrink.
“What we want is a comprehensive ecosystem-based management plan that will rebuild the Cowichan chinook,” Rickard said, urging big community input.
However, Rickard applauded federal action in the coast’s Area G where the troll limit was halved due to the Salmon Commission Treaty, and in concern for island stocks.
At least 40 per cent of Cowichan chinook are harvested in the ocean by sports and commercial fishermen, and in the U.S. by-catch, he said.
Rickard and Marshall saw this year’s spike in coastal salmon returns as likely a blip on the recovery radar.
“This year’s upswing is one reason we didn’t get the endangered ranking,” Rickard said.
“One strong return does not make a trend.”
And despite what sports and commercial fishermen do, Rickard noted Natives have the legal right to harvest food, social and ceremonial fish.
“Cowichan Tribes said this year ‘You can fish seven days a week.’
“In the past they voluntarily reduced their catch, but their fisheries committee seems to work independently.”
DFO cannot ask Tribes to limit their harvest, he said, unless the feds stopped all marine harvest or reduce it to minimal levels.
“The only way Cowichan chinook would be further helped would be a shut down of salmon fishing on the West Coast, which no one wants — it’s a huge economic contributor,” said Rickard.
One option is to say ‘No harvest of wild fish, only fin-tagged hatchery fish’, like in the U.S., he said.
“Keep the hatchery fish and let the wild ones go.”
