Link to Original Story

Showdown set over declining sockeye stocks

The Canadian Press

July 29, 2008 at 3:15 PM EDT

Globe and Mail

Vancouver — A dramatic decline in the return of sockeye salmon to British Columbia's iconic Fraser River has set the stage for a renewed showdown between First Nations and sport fishermen.

Aboriginal bands say anglers should be barred from the river, along with commercial fishermen, in order to preserve precious stocks for conservation and the native fishery.

Stol:lo Nation Chief Clarence Pennier says estimates for the early summer run and the mid-summer run on the Fraser River are down, and that means the Department of Fisheries and Oceans should close the river to all but the aboriginal fishery.

So far, the department is going ahead with a planned 48-hour sockeye opening for sport fishermen.

But Chief Pennier says the anglers have no special status or legal protection, like aboriginals do, and that the sockeye sport fishery should be shut down immediately.

He says all the sockeye are required to replenish spawning beds and to meet the needs of the 94 First Nations who fish on the Fraser River.