The Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable has sent a petition to the Canada's Auditor General demanding to know why the federal government seems to be ignoring recommendations made to protect wild salmon as outlined by the Cohen Commission.
Bowen Island's Fish and Wildlife Club is a member of the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable, but there is only one signatory to the petition, a realtor from Whistler named Dave Brown. Brown is also an angler, and he played a key role in setting up the Fisheries Roundtable.
The background to the petition explains that concern surrounding the low number of sockeye salmon that returned to the Fraser River in 2009 led to the establishment of a commission of inquiry to led by Justice Bruce Cohen. The purpose was to investigate the causes of the decline and the Department of Fisheries and Ocean's policies in relation to salmon in the Fraser River. Over three years, Justice Cohen heard from members of the public at 10 forums and sat through 133 days of evidentiary hearings where 179 witnesses took the stand. At the end, Justice Cohen wrote a report and presented 75 recommendations for protecting wild salmon stocks to the federal government.
Dave Brown says the government has acted on only one of those recommendations: the money from salmon tags, which you purchase with your fishing license, is being donated to the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
The Bowen Island Fish and Wildlife Club is a part of the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable. President Tim Pardee says he was shocked to see a Vancouver Sun article last September quoting Fisheries Minister Gail Shea as saying that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans would continue to take action consistent with the recommendations of the Cohen Commission.
"I thought, what action? It had been a year since Justice Cohen presented his report, and I wasn't aware that there had been any action at all," says Pardee. "I think we need to know whether Shea's comment was just a sound bite?"
Question eight of the petition to the Auditor General asks for specific instances where DFO has taken action based on the recommendation, and how much money has been spent on each.
Pardee also points to question 16 of the petition which asks how habitat protection can continue to be protected on the West Coast when DFO staff responsible for the enforcement of habitat protection on the coast have been cut.
"The Salmon Enhancement Team with DFO has been an amazing partner to our work," says Pardee, explaining that this group worked with the federal government in the 1980s to set up salmon hatcheries and start salmon enhancement programs, and that they continue to offer both funding and expertise. "But I know there have been deep cuts in important locations within DFO, and those cuts include enforcement officers. I've been working on rockfish protection in Howe Sound and I know that people keep reporting poaching, but I am concerned about the level and effectiveness of enforcement."
Dave Brown says that the actions of the federal government and DFO indicate the protection of wild salmon is not a priority, despite having spent $26 million worth of tax dollars on the Cohen Inquiry.
"I think people need to understand that the clock is ticking for wild salmon," says Brown. "The health of sockeye in the Fraser is indicative of salmon stocks elsewhere, and the policy affecting them affects all other salmon. Last year, we had such an abysmal run in the Fraser that DFO had to shut down all commercial, recreational and First Nations Fisheries. We supported that move, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing."
Brown says that salmon spawning occurs in four-year cycles, so the abundant run of 2010 should be coming back this summer.
"There's no guarantee that the run will be a big one," he says. "But this might be our last opportunity to establish good policies and save what's left."
Following the receipt of the petition by the Auditor General and its translation into French, the fisheries minister will have 120 days to respond in full to the 19 questions by the Sea to Sky Fisheries Roundtable.
