Podunk Below the Masthead, Monday, June 1, 2009

DFO seeks to enhance the numbers of salmon, City Hall thanks the Health Advisory Board for their help but their services won't be required any more and a Cow Bay business operator is getting weary of the vandals. Some of the items from the Monday edition.

DFO ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR SALMONID ENHANCEMENT-- The Department of Fisheries begins its plans to restock the salmon population on the West Coast. Looking to impreove the returns from its facilities and those that are contract based community facilities. (see story below)

The City of Prince Rupert disbands the local health Advisory committee, turning instead to city staff to gather the required information. Mayor Mussallem offered up a rather cryptic ccmmentary on the decision, suggesting that the issues raised by the committe were all valid, but at the moment the city has enough issues to take care of. A worrisome attitude for those that care about the current level of care in the city. With a doctor's shortage, little to no progress on such social issues as a drug and alcohol rehabilitation or housing for the homeless, it leads one to wonder what the priorities of the Mayor and city council may be.

We explore this further on the blog, as well as including the article from the Daily News, which you can check from this link.

A Cow Bay business owner is more than a little frustrated at the brazen nature of the city's vandals, this after a number of plants from hs storefront planters have been destroyed or stolen. So far this season at least seven of his plants have been taken or destroyed, detracting from his bid to make the tourist area of Cow Bay more attractive.

The Sports section features a preview of the Seafest Volleyball tournament, set for Courthous lawn this year in a four on four format. Registration forms are available at the Special Events office, Charles Hays Secondary shool or on line at http://www.kivb.weebly.com/

Total pages in the Monday edition (12)

Front page, headline story:

DFO ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR SALMONID ENHANCEMENT
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Monday, June 1, 2009
Pages one and five

Steps are being taken by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to restock the salmon population on the West Coast

Through its Salmonid Enhancement Program, the DFO is upgrading its pacific region hatcheries, hoping that improved infrastructure will yield better results for its fisheries.

According to the director of the Salmon Enhancement' program, Greg Savard, the DFO took a look at the condition of its three DFO-owned facilities in B.C and the 21 contracted community facilities and came up with a plan for the ones that needed the most work. I

“The two categories we are looking at the most are improving the water Supply systems and then the second category is improving the buildings and infrastructure," said Savard.

Restocking the salmon population has become a major initiative for governments up and down the Pacific coast of the Americas.

According to the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), salmonid species on the west coast of the United States have experienced dramatic declines in abundance during the past several decades as a result of human-induced and natural factors.

In the 2009 Pacific Salmon Commission annual report released in February, the U.S. government had failed to report on its salmon enhancement activities between 2004 and 2007, while Canada released a report on its 2004 activities.

In the North, hatcheries had targeted a release of 204 million salmon eggs that year but had actually released 205 million.

The Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) plays a key role in DFO's work to conserve and manage Pacific salmon stocks. The program's activities aim to rebuild vulnerable salmon stocks, provide harvest opportunities, work with First Nations and coastal communities in economic development, and improve fish habitat to sustain salmon populations.

A total of $8 million was made available for the hatcheries and while there is not a DFO salmonid hatchery in Prince Rupert, some of the upgrades are targeted for the North, including the Kitimat River Fish Hatchery, where largely Chinook salmonids are hatched, Fulton river spawning channel and hatcheries in Bella Bella and Bella Coola.

In Prince Rupert, the Oldfield Creek Hatchery is not a DFO facility but a community-operated facility and because of that, funding was not made available.

The $8 million for the Salmonid Enhancement Program includes $5.4 million for 19 salmon hatcheries and spawning channels to refurbish their water supply and delivery systems, a critical component for hatchery operations. 1\venty-six SEP facilities will receive a total of $2.6 million to repair and upgrade buildings.

"In one fashion or another, all of our facilities are in need of an ongoing repairs and upgrades. A lot of our facilities are over 30 years old and a lot of the infrastructure in our facilities are 30-plus years old," said Savard.

According to Savard, there are different goals needed for the facilities and one is to produce fish that can then be harvested by different commercial, recreational and First Nations interests.

He estimated that the pacific facilities contribute up to 15-to-20 per cent of the average catch in the region's combined fisheries.