And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: "chris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Natives defy fishing ban, trouble lies ahead
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 11:23:28 -0400
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NATIVES TO DEFY BAN ON FISHING
The Cheam band avoided a showdown over sockeye catches, but trouble still
lies ahead.
Vancouver Sun 12 July 1999
Celia Sankar Vancouver Sun
After backing down from a confrontation with fisheries officers Sunday,
native Indian fishermen vowed to defy a ban on sockeye catches.
"This is far from over," said Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union
of B.C. Indian Chiefs. "There will be further action throughout the summer."
Fishermen from the Cheam band near Chilliwack pulled their nets from the
Fraser River at noon Sunday, shortly before department of fisheries and
oceans enforcement officers arrived.
Fifteen armed officers were sent to remove the nets after some of their
colleagues pulled out more than a dozen nets Saturday and five Friday.
The DFO has prohibited sockeye catches during the early Stuart sockeye run
for conservation reasons. And it has warned that those caught illegally
fishing will face charges.
Some 100 men and women dressed in army fatigues from various bands in the
province swarmed to the area to guard the nets and support the Cheam,
members of the Sto:lo nation.
Cheam Chief June Quinn said the band will continue to defy the DFO's ban.
"We looked at how much fish we had and we figured we didn't need any more
for the weekend, so we took out our nets," Quinn said. "We'll be looking at
our needs and whether we'll want to go out fishing next week."
She could not say how many fish were caught, but confirmed there were
sockeye among the haul.
Although the band removed the nets on their own, they will not escape
prosecution.
"We are collecting evidence and taking photos of fishing during the closed
time," said Terry Tebb, regional director of operations for the department.
"We do intend to pursue charges."
The native Indians are angry that while sport fishermen are already taking
catches, native fishermen are being told they cannot fish. This, Phillip
said, is a violation of the department's rules under which priority is to
be given first to conservation concerns, then to native fisheries, and
lastly to recreational fisheries.
"If the government isn't prepared to uphold their own laws, we will
undertake action to support our constitutional right," Phillip said. "We
wore the fatigues to make a political statement that we are not going to
stand idly by and let the government push us around at will."
Tebb said the DFO had placed enough restrictions on sport fishermen to
ensure that they do not harm the early Stuart sockeye run. The sport
fishermen are allowed to catch spring salmon but must throw back sockeye.
Native Indian fishermen argue that fish reeled in by anglers often die
after they are released. They want the entire recreational fishery in the
Gulf of Georgia and the Fraser River to be closed.
The DFO says in order to conserve the stock, 150,000 sockeye should be left
alone to swim up river to spawn. That is down from the department's earlier
call for 318,000 sockeye to be let through.
Delta-South Richmond MP John Cummins, an outspoken critic of native-only
fisheries, condemned the Cheam's actions.
"It's terribly irresponsible for the Sto:lo to be fishing these early
Stuarts," Cummins said. "They are being selfish in the extreme. They are
putting the stock at risk and they are harvesting fish that native bands
further up the river have to rely on."
Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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