/ Commies plan to improve After the strong returns of hatchery-reared steelhead to the Kitimat River last Spring, we will soon begin hearing a clamour for hatcherles on the Skeena. The loudest noises will. - come from: the commercial fishing lobbyists who have long been exerting. presstre’ upon managers of federal fisheries to enhance summer steelhead. -The logic of the commies, is simple: after filling the Skeena and her’ tributaries with -hat- chery summerruns, the fleet can: ‘ continue fishing in the biologically reprehensible way it has for over a century, while the ’ sporties — especially those who like to bring more fish flesh home — can escape the straight © jacket of restrictive regulations, Everybody save for those cur- mudgeonly steclheading purists — those doomsayers who decry the wonderous works of 20th century techno-man — will be smiling. But Ja it that simple to achieve nirvana in fishdom? We:-.can © find the answer in Washington ‘State where hatchery-reared steelhead have been-on stream since the early 1950s. In Skamania County, the land of Mount Saint Helens and Bigfoot, run what were, due to. a mild climate and~ superb habitat provided . by. coastal rainforests,, the richest: salmon ‘and © steelhead ‘streams® in ‘the ‘world, °° 20: The Washougal was one of the. most abused. of - those streams. The first. blows were -. dealt it in the early years of this century-by forest fi irés: that left ‘the upper watershed in ruins. During that time several miries began pumping tailings i into the river,.a practice that continued © into the fi fties. Logging com- The Skeena Panies floated logs down the Washougal until,” inevitably, they jammed. The jams were then dynamited, tearing up the bottom . and scouring it while filling. much of the tiver with mud, uo. The Bonneville Dait which blocks the once, mighty ren steelhead had ‘to ascend. One in their home stream, ‘they had to deal with three more. If all that were not enough, the effluent from the Camas paper mill — equivalent to a city of 1,155,000 © people — poured j into a channel at the river's mouth. Despite these environmental horrors ap- proximately 1,500. steelhead. returned to the Washougal in. 1953, a testimony. .to the strength and resilience of Ma Nature and the fecundity of the river, The fish had not yet en-— countered their strongest foe: in 1956 the Skamania Hatchery : Program was begun: By the early years of the 1980s the burn had healed, min- ing had ceased, the dams (save chemicals for the Bonneville of course’ had all been removed, but the - runs of steelhead continued to. plummet: in * 1985,. 89. fish returned, in 1986, after ‘the im- position. of catch-and-release regulations, there were still only 233 noble summerruns left. The - hatchery had spawned fish “and. an overkill fishery, More fishermen than the river could handle were drawn to it ‘by’ the” promise of fabulous . fishing... Kidney disease then stole i into the.-hatchery and wiped out thousands of juveniles; in 1984 clogged screens accounted for 450,000 more. Another more in- sidious hatchery phenomenon, the narrowing of genetic diversi- ty in the juvenile populations of steelhead, guaranteed the hat- chery would become more ex- pensive and less productive each year. Terrace Standard, Wednesday, Aptl 18, 1990 — Page 01 on nature Enhancing Skeena summer-: runs would invite all these pro: : ‘blems and ‘more. In’ Skeena ._ 1,600 early-riin fish would have to be captured to bring: back 20,000 adults — a formidable'if - not impossible’ task. Even ifthis. - obstacle “were overcome; the fish would have to be held’ ‘for, nine months, unlike ‘Kitimat: fish which are spring run:: ‘And,. . if all these problems weré sure’ mounted; there. would still be. the problem. of trucking’ the juveniles back to their: natal’ Streams. This ' boondoggle: : would cost a fortune andthe mixed-stock - fishery at.: mouth of the Skeena would per- 7 sist’ insofar as the nets would” not be able to distinguish: bet- ween Wild and hatchery fish. When all is said and ‘done, any. proposal for artificially enhancing Skeena steelheads is fishy _ a red herring. ‘JEFF NAGEL 638-7283 SPORTS NEWS _ TERRACE STANDARD -SPORTSCOPE- Set for the nO ers —~ It's the nor- thw 5 ‘Ditget annual curl- ing extravaganza, and organizers say it’s all set to go. The first rock is thrown in the Loggers. Bonspiel tonight, as. the first few rounds of play get underway. After that it’s round-the- clock action through to the finals on Sunday. Sixty-four rinks — 256 curlers — are registered and several more are on the waiting list in case anyone crops out. - Soccer ~ league Those interested in playing in the Senior men’s soccer league have until April 19 to sign up by registering at the recreation department of- fices in the arena building or by phoning Ricky Fagen. A $10 deposit is required at the time of registering. League officials say the final cost for participants will be decided at the player draft meeting to be held April 22. Birdie bashing Senior badminton from Caledonia Senior Secondary matched expecta-— tions of a top-eight perfor- mance at the B.C. Cham- pionships. - They placed eighth in the 16-team competition after being eliminated 6-5.in the playoff round by Crawford Bay. ‘Coach Robert Cooper said ] it was. the fourth top-eight d finish inthe past “sixth year: ‘| Last. year the mixed -team placed second overall, their strongest performance ever. A “One of my. boys was in- jured in the first match,” Cooper noted, adding the in- -jury probably, cost: them a: higher position’ in ‘the’ ‘stan- dings. “Without the injury: we probably would. have “been sixth or seventh.” ~ ' Cooper said the girls played’ extremely; well; and ‘noted the ‘schools they were playing were much larger | and -more specialized. “We were fighting really tough teams, but all things considered our. kids- did: very. well,” he said. ; : Sentinel beat St. Georges: Crofton to take first overall. The Sentinel players play at a ‘pilvate club, Cooper: added, |) ‘and one of them is ranked third. in Canada in’ men’s division. . “ TERRACE — So you have an eight-year-old who wants to play tennis? Your neighbour's nine-year-old loves to hit balls with his father’s racquet, but needs some stroke develop- ment? The Terrace Tennis Club and Terrace Parks and Recreation are trying to start a Junior Ten- nis Club this Spring for children eight years of age and older, Volunteers will be needed to _ help organize the club, register TYLER ALLAN, -in Grade 8, some rays Saturday as he races to catch his opponent's lob. catches FOR JUNIORS the children, plan the schedule and coach the kids. Programs and lessons could range from a grass roots pro- gram for starters and a Canada Award Program for those with 4 bit of skill, to training for the very competitive who want to play the B.C, Summer Games circuit, The club could open up the game of tennis to children who have never picked up a racquet before. But first it ‘needs volunteers, Organizers say a volunteers’ meeting will be held Tuesday April 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the arena’s. banquet room. For more information call Elaine at 638-1174 or Grant at 635-9406 after 6 p.m. Thrower goes to nationals _ TERRACE — The clocks went forward April | and so did local dart player Bill Robinson — to the national finals, One of four Terrace players taking part in the provincial finals in Prince George, Robin- son arrowed his way to a second place finish in men’s singles and ~ ‘a spot on the B.C. team to go to - Toronto‘in June. - “Although he has run up a str- ing of successes in this season’s Terrace, Prince Rupert and Kitimat Opens, Robinson left fo doubt the provincial result ‘.was the highlight of the year, "I'm walking on air, I still haven't come down,” he admit- ted the following day, ae: ‘Apart from vying for the Canadian singles title, Robin- - son said the tournament format "will see him teamed with provin- = > dal winner and’ fellow nor- thwesterner Brian Reeves in. * men's doubles competition, From Granisle, Reeves has been the scourge. of nor- thwestern dart tournaments for ‘the past several years ~~ last ‘month he notched up his fourth consecutive Kitimat Open men’s singles title. ‘We've got a really. - good: chance,”": Robinson sald, . " tdding victory jin Toronto would mean a. ap ‘to one lt CELEBRATING a provincial dart championship finish that earned him a shot at the National title in June, Bill Robinson (centre) is flanked by Terrace teammates Bob Bennett (left) and Pat: Robinson. ‘pect. A praising the performance uf his teammates in the provin- jals, he pointed out Pat Camp- ell had fallen only five wins _ ‘hort ofa B.C, berth while Bob ‘lonnett: (Robinson's long time ublled partiier) had dispatched ome: formidable opponents in a i at gt winning 39 of 63 round robin games. He also: ‘acknowledged the support the team had received from the Terrace’ Mens Dart League, Apart froma direct contribution towards. their ex. penses, the league raiséd further ~berth:“o money. through a special mini- tournament, The northwest will also be represented on the women’s side at the Canadian Dart Cham- : pionships by Kitimat’s Barb Saulnier whose. performance at - the provincials ‘eartied . her | hie? eighi nbe: team. ‘positive side is at Jeff Sharples A year of deals TERRACE — After _ being bounced around between three different NHL teams ° this season, Terrace’s Jeff Sharples says he’s ready" to come home for the summer. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to Terrace and running the summer hockey school,’’ he said last week, ‘‘I don’t think they’re going to trade me,”’ The 22-year-old defenceman, who was drafted by the Detroit. Red Wings, was traded to Ed- monton as part of the six-player Jimmy Carson deal. Sharples recovered from a separated shoulder and was called up just once before the Oilers traded him to the New Jersey Devils for defenceman Reijo Ruot- salainen last month. Since then he’s been playing on New Jersey’s minor league farm team — the Utica Devils. “This year I've been in some unfortunate — cir- cumstances, It's been a matter of being in .the wrong place at the wrong time.” Although he hasn’t been call- ed up, he says he’s getting more experience with Utica than he would as a New Jersey ben- chwarmer for the — playoffs. “Pm getting loads of ice time here,” he added. ‘‘And things have actually been rolling really good lately,’ He said New Jersey’s two Soviet defencemen — Fetisov and Katasonov — will probably make a trip up to the NHL unlikely for him this year. As for his trading record this season, he says he still believes he is being traded because teams want him, and not just as a commodity to sweeten up a deal. . “This year I’ve been in some unfortunate circumstances,’’ he said. “‘It's been a matter of be- ing in the wrong place at the wrong time.” ; He said the trades and the uncertainty this season has been. ‘brutal!’ at times. ‘But. the least somebody wants you.” He says he plans to talk to the Devils ‘management when the season {s. over and aitcuss his . ni AL ec rato th.