C4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February 12, 2003 ROB BROWN Lousy Fish t first I was less than enthusiastic, ' sometimes downright irritated, about the return of the Little Hooked-Nosed, Humpbacks and their female counter- parts. The river would fill so full of them that a fisherman couldn’t make a cast and a drift for fear of snagging one ‘in the flank or in a fin, or, " most often, in one of those humped backs. After one of those foul hookups an arduous battle would ensue thanks to the fact that a fish . hooked in a place other than its mouth is devil- ishly hard to controi and a ticket to ruptured ‘tackle. We cursed them derisively called them , flap jacks and Ping-Pong paddies and, when “they ripened and began dying off, we winced ‘and waved our hands in front of our faces to ward off the sulfureous smell of their decompo-. sition and the irritating little flies with big teeth that are attracted to it. Nicknaming the smallest of the Pacific Sal- “mon Little Humpbacked Man or Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha, with an obvious affection borne of understanding, was the responsibility of Russian ichthyologists. When I passed the juvenile stage in my development as an angler, I came to ap- preciate the wonder of humpies too. Steelhead survive on strength and aggression. Some of their race are willing to brave the nar- row, threatening confines of the river at all times of year. These qualities and the fish's re- lative scarcity have driven up their value and . after by ardent sports fishermen, -- sockeye, and chum have select backed salmon or pink has opted for abundance to ensure its survival. Thank Nature it has. Pink salmon abundance is miraculous. Jn her _ three pound body, a female pink salmon may carry as many as 1,900 epgs. When this number . of potential fry is multiplied by the amazing numbers of female fish returning, you start to_ get an idea of the reason pinks have done so well this far along their evolutionary path. Fifty-three million pounds of pink salmon were taken in B.C.’s commercial fisheries in 1970. On a strong year over a million pinks will ‘return to the Lakelse River alone where they ‘will directly or indirectly feed every creature in ‘the valley and fertilize the vegetation alongside ithe stream. The influence of pinks is profound; the little flesh of the diminutive humpback is funda- mental to the overall health of thousands of ri- vers on this coast the thread that holds the fa- bric of wilderness together. Since the well-being of wild salmon stocks is so linked to the well-being of this extraordinary ‘edge environment and generator of life we sim- | ‘ply call the coast; and since pinks are such an important player in that environment, a force threatening the health of pinks cannot be tolera- ‘ted. Thanks to the work of Alexandra Morton, and no thanks to the machinations of biostitutes in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the overt and covert encouragement of the so- called “Liberal” Government of B.C., it has been proven that the sea lice infestations brought on by the presence of fish farms have. led to a disaster ia the Broughton Archipelago. Last year Chris Bennett, a fishing guide and _, conservationist who has worked the central, - coast for many years, brought lousy pink salmon , smolts he’d discovered in the waters inside the Broughton Archipelago to biologist and writer . Alexandra Morton. Morton proceeded to sample! ,;the sea with a long-handled dip net, quickly confirming that there was a lice infestation that i became greater in the proximity of fish farms. . Knowing full well that lice have been a ser ‘jous issue in fish farming since the dawn of the’ industry in Norway some 30 years ago, FOC alias DFO, appears to have spent more time and energy trying to discredit Ms. Morton and other citizens sharing the same concern for wild Broughton pink salmon. Morton predicted catastrophe and it occurred in a magnitude greater than she had anticipated — 99 per cent of the run did not return. Millions of pinks disappeared, yet DFO will not acknow- ledge the obvious cause. , The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, whose head, former speaker of the house, M.P. and Minister of Fisheries, John Fra- , ser, knows the politics of fisheries intimately , and is a conservative in the true meaning of that word, sides with Ms. Morton. “(T]he agencies governments establish ' should have been on to this, but they weren't,” he said. Next week the greatest threat to our fish. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN __ stamped O. Mykiss with a cachet much sought “abundance as survival strategies. The" hump-" SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN ON TUESDAY mornings David. Martens is the first person to ar- tive at the Terrace Curling Club - TERRACE STANDARD. the opportunity to get some exper- ience playing other teams and show what they’ve got on the ice. The athletes are thrilled to be sometimes he even beats the rink going to the event — their sole manager there. It’s all because he loves to curl and he's dedicated to playing the game with other Special Olym- pics athletes, Seven athletes curl each week for an hour and their enthusiasm is evident in their cheers and competition of the year. The only downside of the tour- nament is that only four of the seven athletes can go to the event. “I was hoping to take all our curlers,” Scales says. “But we just didn’t have any smiles. These athletes are truly money.” dedicated to the game. “They're faithful and they’re keen,” says Mardy Scales, one of three volunteer coaches who train the athletes. “They don’t miss uniess it’s something serious and that to me is dedication.” There’s not a lot of deep stra- tegizing or sneaky shots. In fact, sometimes there’s an eruption of ‘cheers just for getting the rack to the other end of the ice. But there is an overwhelming sense of sportsmanship, excite- ‘ment and fun on the ice. The weekly games aren't so much about winning or losing - though everyone loves to win ~ they’re about developing skills and enjoying what's becoming one of Canada’s favourite games with other people. “I'm just here to have fun,” says David Martens. “And also to get to know the curlers more.” Martens and three of his his teammates, Janis Sharyk and Michael Stra- chan, are heading to the Smithers Special Olympics Invitational The meet ' ‘brings’ ‘together’ cur-- ling’ and’ BSWling “teams throughout the northwest to com- pete in a fun setting. The meet gives the athletes Laudie Andrade,, - Meet'Feb: 22:23. 0 6 from“ place,” Sharyk says. “They’re faithful and they’re keen. They don't miss unless it’s some- thing serious and that, to me, is dedication.” Lack of cash in the Terrace Special Olympics pot has meant even the smallest of things, such as $1 broom rentals at the Terrace curling club, aren’t being covered, The Smithers invitational event is the perfect opportunity for ath- letes of all levels to take part be- Cause it’s focus is on fun, not so much on competition. And the athletes who are going to the event are brimming with excitement. This is Janis Sharyk’s second time to a Smithers bonspicl. Last year she was part of a Terrace tink that took part in a more com- petitive event there, “Hopefully, we .win because last * year’ we’ _came” in’ ‘second. fh ality Though she’s got her eye on the prize she agrees getting on the ice and having a good time is the ALL SET: David Martens, Janis Sharyk (back), Laudie Andrade and Michael Strachan (front) are ready for action as they head to the Smithers Special Olympics Invitational Meet Feb. 21-23. most important thing. “T like curling because my dad _ used to curl a long time ago so [ like curling for him,” SAYS, Sharyk; : ‘Martens is, jalso looking forward * “to the event because it means meeting new. people and having _ his brother in the stands cheering him on, a Sibling spirit TERRACE’S Campbell sisters hit the hard wood this weak: ‘laying for the Bella Bella women’s basketball team at the All Native. Basketball Tourna- ment. Amanda, Yvonne and Pam are shown above with the next gener- ation of Campbell hoopsters, Pam’s daughter, Grace. The sisters’ father, Lorne Campbell, is originally from Bella Bella which is how the women can play for that team. The action continues in Prince Aupert.all week with the finals in each of the tournament's four divisions: taking Place Saturday, Feb.-15, SARAH A. ZIMMRMAN PHOTO 7 : thers. Amos. . zones.’ president. dent. committee; °°". Prince Rupert's Ver Whittle is the new presi- Kitimat also has two Te- presentatives on thls year’ 8 Alex Gueguen is. trea He knows what to expect be- cause this is also his second year _ Kavelling to Smithers to play. : The .athletes and Scales -are. .. hoping there’ ll be more money for Special Olympics next year so all of the athletes can get a taste of healthy competition and the exci- tement of intercity play. Storm strikes on power-play THE TERRACE bantam rep hockey team was taught a lesson by its eastern rivals recently losing two games straight against the Smithers Storm. The boys were schooled by the Storm who dominated in the Jan. 31 and Feb.1 games. The matches started off with a 5-3 toss on the Friday night. Ryland Macdonald scored twice for Terrace and Cam Kerr picked up the other goal, but it wasn’t enough. The Storm’s Christen Vance scored twice and Zach Davies picked up a hat trick including an emply netter. Saturday’s game showed the Terrace team needs to buckle down if it’s going te have a real shot at the zone playoffs at the end of the month, . Smithers capitalized on Terrace penalty trouble scor- ing six power-play goals on the way to a [0-2 victory. Taylor Quinn picked up Terrace’s two goals. Kellin Stredlinski and Zach Davies each scored three goals and Christen Vance picked up two more for Smi- “We definitely have te be more disciplined against Smithers, they skate and pass very well and they capita- lize on their power-play opportunities,” says coach John “We have less than a month until zone play-offs and we better play more focused and more disciplined if we expect to have a chance of advance to the provincial championships in Dawson Creek.” Smithers has a very strong team with scoring leaders Davies and Vance also playing for this year’s U-16 Best Ever northwest zone team. “They're a good team,” Says Amos of the Smithers squad. They’ re going to be. the: team to. beat in the Senior natned | executive named TWO TERRACE seniors are on the new executive committee for the Zone 10 B.C. Senior Games team. A Roberta Perry will serve as the new. secretary and Betty Nordstrom is vice surer and Dorothy Cheyne, also from Kitimat, is the new zone director. regular . monthly meeting for the zone is scheduled for Feb, 15 in Terrace at the Happy Gang Centre at 1:30 p.m. , This year’s B.C. Senior ’ Games are happening over the Labour Day weekend in Chilliwack Sept, 3-6. "For? more ‘information: contact Betty Nordstrom at 7 : 635-3352, .