ROB BROWN

Worm in an apple

he gripe that the money generated
from the sale of angling licenses
goes into general revenues instead
of a fund dedicated solely te the
management of fish is heard often in sportfish-
ing circles. This complaint is ill-founded for a
number of reasons. First, it is by no means
cerfain the sum of money spent by anglers for
the privilege to fish would cover the costs of
management. Despile the recent brouha over the
increase in sportfishing license fees, a permit to
fish the waters in this province is pathetically
inexpensive and, if it is to be done effectively,
managing such a diverse and complicated thing
as our fisheries is enormously expensive. '

Secondly, when the funding for a government
department is tied to the number of licenses sold
there’s a powerful temptation before the man- .
agers of the fisheries to try to increase license’
sales or ensure the number of licenses doesn’t
decline, This institutional symbiosis is prevalent
in our society. Where it exists there are difficult,
persistent problems.

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans ,
was created to take care of Canada’s fish. Early
on in its history, fisheries people looked down
from their lofty position atop the DFO hierar-
chy, surveyed the political landscape and con- |
cluded that the best interests of their institution’
— its growth potential, its power and _ its
prestige — were bound up in the interests of the
fishing industry. Since then the DFO has-served

the interests of the market -fishery,:despite, ef. ;.

forts of many well-intentioned people working
within it, and contrary what it calls its mandate.
This phenomenon has a great deal to do with
the collapse of castern cod as well as the
perilous state of many west coast salmon stocks,
. Many sportsmen will argue that the interests
of anglers are congruent with the interests of
fish, using the example of groups like Trout or
Ducks Unlimited. These fishers will say that a

‘lot of precious habitat has been saved by the

hunters and anglers who spend money and
labour to mainlain the creatures they pursue.
While it’s true that much good has been done by
these organizations, it is also true that the lobby

‘of sportsmen and its resonance in Fish and

Game departments has caused a lot of mischief.
For example, anglers prize the fighting quality

_of :ainbow trout. As a result of that bias —~ and

the fact that many game managers are also avid
sportsmen -—- all kinds of indigenous fish
species in Jakes all over this province were
poisoued to introduce rainbow trout. Similarly,
in game management, we have seen wolf cull-
ing programs, and other anthropocentric initia-
tives designed not with the environment in mind
but to provide more game to shoot.

Most people who fish simply want to catch
lots of fish. They are more interested in the taste
and size of their quarry than its life cycle and
habitat requirements. If your goal is to sell more

_licenses, making more fish available will

achicve that goal. Hatcheries produce a lot of
fish, and hatchery fish are not subject to no-kill
regulations, Unfortunately hatcheries are ex-
pensive and biologically questionable,

On the rivers of Northwestern United States,
hatcheries were seen as a quick and elegant’
technological solution to declining stocks and a
growing demand for more fish by fishers, Now,
decades later, scientists are discovering that
hatchery augmentation has led to genetic pollu-
tion and a decline in evolutionary potential in
fish populations. Fish managers now know that
hatcheries increase expectations among sport
and commercial fishers and fuel a demand that
can’t be met because hatchery bred smalts are
genetically and behaviorally ill-prepared for life

_in the wild where they are culled at an alarming

rate because they fail to recognize food or
predalors. Instead of augmenting wild stocks, it
tums out that hatchery juveniles pose a sig-
nificant threat to wild stocks.

Hatcheries provide jobs, Very soon after it is
built, a hatchery acquires a staff which will
struggle to maintain its vested interest and an
institution inimical to the best interest of the en-
vironment afloat,

The fact that the Ministry of Environment and
the departments charged with fisheries manage-

-ment within it have been inadequately funded

has little to do with what is done with license

' {ees- and everything to do with government

priorities. Thanks to the loss of millions in fed-
eral transfer payments, our provincial govern-
ment has to make some difficult choices. Since
the population tends ta value things like bealth
care more than fishing, the money flows in that
direction. =i

ERRACE- STANDARD |

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 18, 1997 - BS

FOUL BALL! A Terrace PeeWee player just misses knocking one out of the park

at the Zone Playdowns here two weeks ago. Terrace kicked butt in this game,

TERRACE BLUEBACK
swimmers have once again
made the national long
course swim rankings.

In fact a number of local
swimmers made Canada’s
top 25 in their age groups,
And coach Mike Carlyle
“says it’s a tice boost as the
albletes prepare to head
south for the provincial
finals,

“Tt feels good to get in the

Local player scores in U.S.

beating Smithers 41-3. The girls now

May Barat eas AD only

tankings,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s
definitely something to
build on.”

go ta the Provincials July 4-6.

‘

Tristan Brown, 14, was.

Terrace’s most recognized
swimmer, He was listed as
17th in the 50 metre
freeslyle, 22nd in the 100
metre freestyle, 24th in the

200 metre butterfly, and

15th in the 100 bulterfly,
Bryan Palahicky, also 14,
was ranked 15th in the na-

lion for his 100 metre
breaststroke.

And 16-year-old Chris
Kerman placed an im-
pressive seventh in the 100
metre backstroke.

The club’s relay teams
also. made the rankings.
Bryan Palahicky, Tristan
Brown and Kyle Narzt
teamed up with Rupert’s

Arened Stanhuis to rank .

fifth in the 4x50 medley.

Chad Wilson follows NHL dreams

HE PLAYS hockey
where fans throw fish at
the opposing bench
whenever Harvard visits,

They chant, _ they
scream, and they follow
the team to every away
game.

They’re nuts and he
loves it.

“Ts bizarre,’’? ss says
Cormell University defen-
ceman Chad Wilson. “The

larly sell-out games. They
even have a contingent of
fans, known as the Line of
Faithful who follow the
team everywhere.

“The crowd is crazy,”

Wilson says. ‘‘But they
really help get you
motivated, ’’

The Big Red proved to be
a force again this year in
eastern college hockey.
They were defending ECAC
champs and proved that

fans here are amazing, This , wasn’t just luck by repcat-

“It's bizarre. The fans here are amazing. This
has to be the worst possible place for visitors to
play.”’ -Chad Wilson on Cornell University-

has to be the worst possible
place for visitors to play.’

Wilson grew up in Terrace
and played minor hockey
here. At 17, he moved io
Powell River to play in the
Juniors, where he was
recruited by Corneli Univer-
sity, situated in Ithaca, New
York.

“Tvs been a great four
years,’’ Wilson says, having
just graduated from the Ivy
League school. ‘'College
hockey is amazing. It’s so
much faster than the Juniors
because you can play until
you're 24. Major-Juniors
only goto 21,”' .

Cornell’s: hockey. %cam,
Big Red, is a big draw at the
‘university and they regu-

ing their performance this

_ year.

Wilson certainly helped
his team along to that title
by leading his squad - in
goals scored (13) — an
amazing feat for a defen-
cemian,

‘I dike to play an of-
fensive defence style,” says
Wilson, who also plays for-
ward occasionally. “‘I love
scoring goals, it’s fun as
hell.”’

Wilson says fis strengihs
lic in skating and offensive
production — which he says
is aided by the lack of a red
line in college hockey, That
opens up the game to longer
passes and grealer specd,

His offensive style pushed

Wilson to 22 points on the

year. And he’s hoping to
continue his hockey success

with either the NHL or the

Canadian Olympic team.

“Ideally, I’m hoping to
end up in an NHL camp,”
he says. “But you never
know what will happen until
after the draft.’’

Until then, Wilson says
he'll workout and train in
Ithaca, although he’s plan-
ning on coming home to do
the hockey school in Au-
gust.

“Ideally, I'd like to own

my own business,” he says.
“T want the freedom to be
creative. I guess that’s what
drew me to marketing.”’
'“T do miss Terrace some-
times,”’ he says. ‘“Especial-
ly the lake in the summer
and the mountains. I look
out my window here and all
I see arc liltle hills and eight
months of winter,”’

Wilson has been keeping
in touch with fellow Cornell
alumnus Joe Nicuwendyk
for training tips and career
advice, He also has an agent
poking around for interested
NHL or European teams.

And although he has NHL

dreams, Wilson. is very
praginatic. .
“You have to be

realistic,’ he says, ‘‘That’s

why I wanted to go-to col-

lege? °
Wilson graduated with a

Four Terrace teams
gear up for Provincials

YOU KNOW your team is doing well when you can score

a triple offa bunt.

Or maybe the other team’s just having a really bad day.

Bither way, the result was victory for Terrace al the
PeeWee girls fastball Zone Playdowns two weekends apo,

The win means the girls head for the Provincial
Championships in Prince George July 4-6.

In fact, four of Terrace’s fastball teams are heading to the
Provincial Finals following victory at the Zones.

In Terrace, the PeeWee girls were up against a Smithers
squad that never really stood a chance.

Terrace’s bats were on fire. Aud error after error by a
disheartened Smithers team resulted in a whopping 41-3

victory for the home team.

The second best-of-three match was a blow-out too,
though not to quite the same ludicrous extent, Terrace won

that one 20-10,

838-7283

Tt seems like the calibre of ball has increased
dramatically over the last three years. Programs
like winter pitching practice have really helped.
That’s why we have so many teams going to the
Provincials.”’ -Nolan Beaudry-

Meanwhile in Kitimat, the Terrace Squirt boys lost their
first game of the playdowns to the hometcam 28-11,

“They really didn’t perform well the first game,’’ says
coach Nolan Beaudry, ‘‘But they were ready to play by the
second and by the third they were pumped. It was fantas-

tic.”

The boys came back to take the next game 13-11, and the

Tubber match 11-6.

Now they are getting set to head to their Provincial

Finals in Richmond.

Two other tcams are also on their way to the Finals, The
Midget girls, aged 16-18 are going to the Provincials in
‘Sooke, while our 14 and 15-year-old Bantam girls will
“play in the Provincials here July 4-6.

‘It scems like the calibre of ball has increased dramati-
cally over the last three years,” says Beaudry. ‘‘Programs
like winter pitching practice have really helped. That’s |

-. .. why we have 50 many teams going lo the Provincials,”’

uy

Bluebacks make national rankings

Look for results in an up-
coming Standard,

The Kitimat meet will be
the last regional competition
for swimmers before the
Provincials, July 11-13 in
Richmond,

Carlyle says he hopes to
bring 10 or 11 swimmers to
the Championships. He cx-
‘pects three or four of ihem
will make il to the final
round,

NHL team or bath.

CHAD WILSON of Terrace has just graduated from
Corneil University after leading his team In goals,
Now he's hoping to head to the Olympics, play for an

nee ee

ail
ott

Dylan Evans, Kyle Narzt,
Tristan Brown and Arened
Stanhuis placed 18th in the
4x50 metre free relay.

Meanwhile Chris Kerman
and Seth Downs, with 14-
year-olds Bryan Palahicky
and Trisian Brown, placed
18th in the 4x50 metre free
relay for boys aged 15-17,

This past weekend the |
Bluecbacks were in Kitimat
for the Eurocan Invitational.

Bachelor of Science, major-
ing in Business Manage-
ment and Marketing. He
says he would like (o go into
management if his. NHL
career doesn’t pan oul, or
even after his hockey: career
is over. ;

_ Cornell University offi-
cials are actually pursuing
another Terrace player right

now. — £9-year-old Dave
Kozier. And Wilson gives
Cornell a thumbs up for
anyone interested in college
hockey.

“This is a really good
school,” be says. “And like
I said, the fans are out-
rageous.  Serlously, you
wouldn’t believe it.’* |