, Hatchery deserved |
better treatment

os t ‘On Tune 30 Shirley Hartis-'

: ‘Sule will no longer have a
‘fob. ,

On. “the’ same date Don

‘ “Nordstrom will be looking for
“work: and so- will Bill. Mid-
pdletone:

Grant’ Hazelwood will seek.

; - ing alternate criployment too.
-. | Together. Grant, Shirley, Don

— and Bill, were the people who

made the Deep Creck Hatchery
+the- efficient : little: facility it
“Was ;
The: ‘hatchery became opera-
tional’ some eight years ago un-
der. the: acgis of . the’ Terrace
‘Salmonid ‘Society. The fund-
* ing -for: it was provided by
o senator Ray Perreault...
J.-A growing, body. of scientific -
‘ knowledge Seems to indicate
» that hatcheries, since they -un-
« dermine the genetic integrity —

“of species of fish and are prone.

‘|. technological al
‘| declining fish stocks they were
. Originally thought to be.

‘|. to accidents as well: as ‘the

spread of disease, are not the
‘panacea “to

But the Deep Creek facility
was different because, from the
outset, its board of directors in-
sisted it remain small and be

weed only. to augment. the
. depressed stocks of troubled

streams.

/As part of the ‘Canada - - US"

fishing treaty, the Department

_ of Fisheries and Oceans desig-

| nated certain races of fish as
: "Key Stream” populations.

The giant chinook of the Kit--

-]. sumkalum River were given

this designation. Each year
crews working out of the Deep
Creek Hatchery netted adult
chinook whose offspring
would be reared and then

‘marked wilh Specially coded
Wire tags,

Ultimately these fish would
provide valuable data on high
seas interception,

‘routes and spawning escape-
ment for the Department of
Fisheries and Oceans.

: The so-called Kaltum Project
ensured funding vital to the
hatchery’s operation and pro-

well,

migration -

The Skeena
Angler

by Rob Brown

students and unemployed
members of our community, |
Students benefitted in other

-.-ways.-from. the -hatchery as |.
‘teachers’ often. .
brought their classes to Deep '
| Creek to’ see the hatchery in -
. operation and-to walk the trails = -
.. reduction to SEP is. such that-a

One of the main oni of ihe v decision ‘to close some enhan-

- Local

alongside the creck.’

Salmonid Enhancement Pro-

giam was to increase’ the’ in-. °°
volvement of communities. inv
this province with salmon. ~

The Deep Creek Hatchery was

certainly a resounding: success _

‘in that régard..

So why has the funding for -
the Deep Creek facility been.
. terminated? ;
Was it too costly to continue

operating the-hatchery? Hard-.

_ly, the big cement installations. -
like the Kitimat hatchery are

‘the real money sinks.
Was the hatchery. doing -a’

poor job? The hatchery crew
felt they. were doing just fine.

and their assessment was
echoed by the Department of

Fisheries who praised the work | ..-

they did many times (and did’

_ 80 again in the fax notifying ©

Terrace . Salmonid “Enhance-
ment Sociely President’ Doug
Webb that the little’ hatchery
was going to get the chop).

The official reason for giving
ihe hatchery the gas pipe was
this: "In. the portion of the

review conducted in the Sal- .

monid Enhancement Program
(SEP), the economic value of

‘all current operational com- *

ponents was assessed. Local
fish stock.
alternative options for enhan-

_, cement | through management
~ initiatives, contribution ‘to? feu

 avoidable.",
AS nearas I can: make out,
this‘ -plece.

strengths and —

partmental objectives for na-
tive fisheries needs’ and
employment, public participa-

tion values. -assessment contri- ;

bution ::and°support.to other

Program’ elements ‘were also

taken -into consideration. Un-:
fortunately, . the- . scale of the

cement facilities ‘was un-

of ‘bureaucratic

bullwool Means that some

“bean counting civil servant has -
made a political decision with’.

‘no. real’ appreciation. of. the

_ emotional and social repercus-

sions of his/her actions.

There’ was’'no consultation -

with the people affected by the
hatchery closure: No op-

‘portunity was given the Sal-

monid Society to explore ways

_of, Arimming their already tight

budget.- .

And to make matters worse,
the henchmen from the Depart-
ment of Fisheries and Oceans’
enhancement division didn’t
even have the guts to come and
explain the decision in person.

There wasn’t even a. formal

leiter, just a pink slip on oily

fax paper - the quick: ‘and ditty
route, :

I think Webb and I and the
test. of the Enhancement
Societies. ‘Board of directors

_ deserved better than that. . :
Don, Bill)-Grant and Shirley .

deserve much, much . better

‘teeatment. |

What could be’ the last An-
nual General Meeting of the
Terrace Salmonid Enhance-
meni Society will be held at

' the Inn.of the West, June 24 at
Th 20 pit iri. 3 7

-. vided seasonal employment for |

:

T.V.°V.C.R.°STEREO

$ 2 9 MONTH OAC

poi

HELP US!

We are overstocked
on our fine line of

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products. Low, low prices and
high quality sound equipment.
Taking the best from our showroom
| fo your living room.

Terrace Furniture Mart

4434 Lakelse Avenue, Terrace

638-0555

Terrace Standard, Wednesday, June 17, 1992 — Page C3

THs Is THE PLACE. Stove Cox is now on duty at the front desk of the Skeena a Valey’ Triathlon of-

fice on Lazelle Ave., next ta the Credit Union, He's there to take entries for the July 12 event, ans-

_ Wer any questions potential entries might have and is also more than happy. to’ hear, from

volunteers who are ready to help make the race a success. The triathion Is:also the provincial

SKEENA VALLEY TRIATHLON: |

‘championship this year which gives local entrants have a chance. to. be. named the province! 's best.

portunity knocks |

- This year *s Skeena Valley Tri-
athlon is also the provincial
championship.

But that, emphasize, organizers, ’

should not scare people off.

In fact, the special designation
for the July. 12 event gives local
athictes a special opportunity -- to
be officially recognized as onc
the province’s best.even if they
don’t break the tape first. |

That, says race organizer Dale

Greenwood, is because an indi-
vidual entrant not only competes
in his or her open class, they are
also entered in the. appropriate
age category competition.
- There are 10 age class groups:
under 19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34,
-35~39, 40.44, 45-49, 50- 54, 55- 59
and 60 plus.

Be one of the first two across
lhe line in your age group and
you eam the right to represent the
province in that group at the na-
tional championships.

Break the tape before anyone
else in that age. are and you.can
rightfully ¢ cl aim

rovincial

Dale Greenwood

champion.
In other’ words,

regardless..of where they might
finish overall.

That set-up also. gives ‘Jocal

‘Masters’: a particularly good
shot, he adds.

In. addition to the. above, the
normal entry classifications for

the 6th annual: Skeome Maleotbeo

athlon apply.

: Greenwood »
‘points out, racers can qualify” -

‘There will: be prizes" atid
trophies for the first’ three: fin-.
ishers in the open male, pen fe-
male, junior (15-19 years) male
and female and the male, female:
and mixed relay teams.

Top male and female overall
will receive a $1, 500 cash purse
each,

The entry deaittine: is. Monday,
Tune 30. Entry fee for individuals:
is $65 and relay teams pay $130. :

The. weekend’s - event gets un-
derway Saturday, July 11-at the.
Terrace arena when. competitors,

must present. themselves. for the.

maridatory bike and helmet safety.
inspection. «

' “That mins! 15 pm. ‘and. is fol-
lowed'by a pre-race meeting for
registration ‘and explanation of
the race rules and ‘course, ©

- The Starting” “guin. for the Tri-
‘athlon itself j "goes. off at 9 a.m. at
the Furlong Bay beach.

And. ‘Heartbrea Hi pill t be
Waiting SVEN

The Race

Is On..

JUNE 20 1:00 PM. |
Tricycle Races

Bring your own trike

You Could Be On Your Way Tol |

wee Re

: “VANCOUVER 5

=\. CANADIAN {

August 28 - 30 |
ENTER AT ANY MALL MERCHANT —
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

| Draw For A Trip For 2 To Vancouver

Molson Indy To Take Place

Saturday, June 20 - — - 5. P. Me