A number of fishery stakeholders got together with DFO in Vancouver to tell some fish tales last week, and the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board is a little put out that they didn’t get an invitation to the party.
Last week what is called a Ministerial Roundtable on Resource Sustainability was held, described as an open exchange of ideas and views around the salmon fishery. Included on the invitee list to share ideas with Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, were members of the First Nations community, provincial government members, members of conservation groups and representatives of the fishing companies.
Besides the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board members also left off the guest list, were members of UFAWU, the union that represents the interests of the workers in the province’s fish plants and the fish plants. A situation that the union suggests has a lot to do with their opposition to plans by the government to invoke quotas on the pacific region.
No details on the deliberations of the round table have been provided yet, which will only serve to stir the pot of conspiracy a little faster. Leaving local fish industry participants off of any consultation project seems to be a foolhardy decision and hardly one which is factoring in the impact any decisions will have on those that make their living from the industry.
Last week what is called a Ministerial Roundtable on Resource Sustainability was held, described as an open exchange of ideas and views around the salmon fishery. Included on the invitee list to share ideas with Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn, were members of the First Nations community, provincial government members, members of conservation groups and representatives of the fishing companies.
Besides the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board members also left off the guest list, were members of UFAWU, the union that represents the interests of the workers in the province’s fish plants and the fish plants. A situation that the union suggests has a lot to do with their opposition to plans by the government to invoke quotas on the pacific region.
No details on the deliberations of the round table have been provided yet, which will only serve to stir the pot of conspiracy a little faster. Leaving local fish industry participants off of any consultation project seems to be a foolhardy decision and hardly one which is factoring in the impact any decisions will have on those that make their living from the industry.
By keeping them on the outside it will only make those in our community anxious to learn more about the fate of their industry and their jobs and very suspicious of those that are supposed to be watching out for the state of the resource. Considering the importance that the industry has to the North coast, keeping not only the fishing industry but the general public and our elected officials better informed and included in the process should be a priority for the government.
The Daily News featured an examination of the meetings and the reaction locally from those that weren’t invited.
Big DFO roundtable meeting excluded opponents’
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Monday, October 15, 2007
Pages one and five
The Commercial Salmon Advisory Board is wondering why it was not invited to the recent Fisheries and Oceans Canada meeting with Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearns.
Last week, a Ministerial Roundtable on Resource Sustainability was held in Vancouver where various stakeholders met for what the minister described as an ‘open exchange of ideas and views’ around the salmon fishery in British Columbia.
However, despite inviting some members of the First Nations community, provincial government, and conservation groups, members of the commercial sector were not asked to attend.
“We don’t know anyone from the commercial salmon industry that was invited, except for the Native Brotherhood of B. C.” said Joy Thorkelson, UFAWU-CAW northern representative.
“The Commercial Salmon Advisory Board, which represents all of the different salmon associations, wasn’t invited. And the union wasn’t invited, so other than the companies or the Brotherhood, nobody was invited.”
The UFAWU has been in opposition to quota fisheries in the salmon industry, and the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board has been split on the issue and is not making any recommendations on quotas, both standpoints that Thorkelson believes led to their exclusion from the DFO meeting.
The Daily News featured an examination of the meetings and the reaction locally from those that weren’t invited.
Big DFO roundtable meeting excluded opponents’
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Monday, October 15, 2007
Pages one and five
The Commercial Salmon Advisory Board is wondering why it was not invited to the recent Fisheries and Oceans Canada meeting with Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearns.
Last week, a Ministerial Roundtable on Resource Sustainability was held in Vancouver where various stakeholders met for what the minister described as an ‘open exchange of ideas and views’ around the salmon fishery in British Columbia.
However, despite inviting some members of the First Nations community, provincial government, and conservation groups, members of the commercial sector were not asked to attend.
“We don’t know anyone from the commercial salmon industry that was invited, except for the Native Brotherhood of B. C.” said Joy Thorkelson, UFAWU-CAW northern representative.
“The Commercial Salmon Advisory Board, which represents all of the different salmon associations, wasn’t invited. And the union wasn’t invited, so other than the companies or the Brotherhood, nobody was invited.”
The UFAWU has been in opposition to quota fisheries in the salmon industry, and the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board has been split on the issue and is not making any recommendations on quotas, both standpoints that Thorkelson believes led to their exclusion from the DFO meeting.
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“Because we don’t support the Pacific regions quota program, the union is iced from the table. Certainly, we represent the largest number of organized fishermen and shoreworkers in British Columbia,” she said.
“We’ve written a letter asking why both groups were excluded from the meeting with the minister, but we don’t expect to get an answer back.”
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen isn’t surprised to hear that members of the commercial salmon industry are upset with the minister or DFO. He said the government is now complicit to the ruin of another coastal fishery.
“No kidding, sectors of the industry are not happy with the minister, he’s been very weak,” said Cullen. “They’ve thrown a little bit of money at a very big problem, and they won’t go to the root of the matter which is that DFO has to give up a little bit of control.
We’re watching the East Coast play itself out on the West coast, and it’s baffling to people why the government hasn’t learned from past mistakes. This minister is from the East Coast, I would expect him to have the emotional and intellectual experience of a collapsed fishery.
Over the past three years, salmon fishing associations across the province have been in strong opposition to the DFO policy of using quota fisheries as a way to self-regulate the industry, during which time the government has, for the most part, been unsuccessful.
“The department is promoting salmon quotas as a way to manage the fishery, when in fact it’s the most inefficient and ineffective way to manage the fishery,” said Thorkelson. “What id does do is create a situation where there has to be cannibalization, where the fishermen has to buy quota from another fishermen to remain fishing.”
Thorkelson says UFAWU has opposed quotas because they believe that DFO needs to set the limit of fish available in the fishery, and allow fishermen who want to catch those fish the ability to do so, without having to pay so-called “flipper-skippers” or “arm chair fishermen” for doing so.
“We object to fleet reduction by cannibalization, the fleet should not have to cannibalize itself. We’ve objected to that form the beginning, and that’s why we’re not invited to meetings anymore,” she said. “The policy on the East Coast says if you’re not involved in the fishery, you don’t get to lease your licence or your quota out, and you don’t get any money. So sad, too bad.
“On this coast it’s the other way around, the department encourages people to stay home and make money off a licence that they were give to for free, in most cases. So DFO regional level doesn’t want to talk to us because we disagree with their policies and we’re fighting against those policies. The new policy is, if you don’t agree with the minister and his policies, you don’t get invited to meet with him.”
When called for a comment, DFO North Coast Area Director David Einarson’s office directed the Daily News to the comments made by Minister Hearn about the meeting.
“We had an open exchange of ideas and views, said Hearn in an official statement made last week. “We need to continue this spirit of cooperation and collaboration in order to attain our goals to conserve salmon in B. C. and ensure the health of this remarkable fish.”
In the past two months alone, members of the Area “F” Gulf Trollers and the Area “H” Gulf Trollers Association have both written letters to the minister, either expressing outrage at the management of their fishery or asking for disaster income stabilization.
“When it comes to allocation, when it comes to quota, when it comes to steelhead management, all of that has not been up to scratch and we’re in real jeopardy of, within our lifetime, seeing the end of this fishery, and an end of a way of life,” said Cullen. “I don’t know why any government would be happy watching that happen on their watch.”
“Because we don’t support the Pacific regions quota program, the union is iced from the table. Certainly, we represent the largest number of organized fishermen and shoreworkers in British Columbia,” she said.
“We’ve written a letter asking why both groups were excluded from the meeting with the minister, but we don’t expect to get an answer back.”
Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen isn’t surprised to hear that members of the commercial salmon industry are upset with the minister or DFO. He said the government is now complicit to the ruin of another coastal fishery.
“No kidding, sectors of the industry are not happy with the minister, he’s been very weak,” said Cullen. “They’ve thrown a little bit of money at a very big problem, and they won’t go to the root of the matter which is that DFO has to give up a little bit of control.
We’re watching the East Coast play itself out on the West coast, and it’s baffling to people why the government hasn’t learned from past mistakes. This minister is from the East Coast, I would expect him to have the emotional and intellectual experience of a collapsed fishery.
Over the past three years, salmon fishing associations across the province have been in strong opposition to the DFO policy of using quota fisheries as a way to self-regulate the industry, during which time the government has, for the most part, been unsuccessful.
“The department is promoting salmon quotas as a way to manage the fishery, when in fact it’s the most inefficient and ineffective way to manage the fishery,” said Thorkelson. “What id does do is create a situation where there has to be cannibalization, where the fishermen has to buy quota from another fishermen to remain fishing.”
Thorkelson says UFAWU has opposed quotas because they believe that DFO needs to set the limit of fish available in the fishery, and allow fishermen who want to catch those fish the ability to do so, without having to pay so-called “flipper-skippers” or “arm chair fishermen” for doing so.
“We object to fleet reduction by cannibalization, the fleet should not have to cannibalize itself. We’ve objected to that form the beginning, and that’s why we’re not invited to meetings anymore,” she said. “The policy on the East Coast says if you’re not involved in the fishery, you don’t get to lease your licence or your quota out, and you don’t get any money. So sad, too bad.
“On this coast it’s the other way around, the department encourages people to stay home and make money off a licence that they were give to for free, in most cases. So DFO regional level doesn’t want to talk to us because we disagree with their policies and we’re fighting against those policies. The new policy is, if you don’t agree with the minister and his policies, you don’t get invited to meet with him.”
When called for a comment, DFO North Coast Area Director David Einarson’s office directed the Daily News to the comments made by Minister Hearn about the meeting.
“We had an open exchange of ideas and views, said Hearn in an official statement made last week. “We need to continue this spirit of cooperation and collaboration in order to attain our goals to conserve salmon in B. C. and ensure the health of this remarkable fish.”
In the past two months alone, members of the Area “F” Gulf Trollers and the Area “H” Gulf Trollers Association have both written letters to the minister, either expressing outrage at the management of their fishery or asking for disaster income stabilization.
“When it comes to allocation, when it comes to quota, when it comes to steelhead management, all of that has not been up to scratch and we’re in real jeopardy of, within our lifetime, seeing the end of this fishery, and an end of a way of life,” said Cullen. “I don’t know why any government would be happy watching that happen on their watch.”
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