2 Terrace Review — Wednesday, December 9, 1987 Public meeting brings = dismal news for sport | fishing enthusiasts business-like meeting than has been seen in previous years. . others. . Of general interest and con- cern to the local sports fisher- man was the announcement that coho spawning within the upper tributaries of the Skeena River are continuing to decline in. numbers to a dangerously low level. As a result, it was said that the ministry will be discussing how coho regulations can be ad- justed to produce a- greater escapement of coho in 1988. Also, Nass River chinook stocks are not rebuilding in a manner consistent with conser- vation measures implemented in the Canada/U.S. Treaty, a fact which may make further conser- vation. action necessary in 1989. Figures released on the 1987 | commercial catch indicate a late but average. steelhead run, a sharp increase in the number of pink salmon, the second highest in recorded history, but sharp declines in most other species. — to existing regulations included the closure of the Sustat River above Bear River and a length- ened closure from May 21 to Sept. 30 for chinook: salmon above the lower canyon on the Kitsumkalum River. It was also proposed that this would be combined. with a chinook clo- sure on Redsand Lake and Kit- sumkalum Lake and its tribu-: taries from May 21 to Sept. 30. Additional closures were pro- posed on the Bulkley River above the Morice River, July 1 to Nov. 30, the Cranberry River (including the Kiteen), Aug. 1 to Dec. 1, chinooks over 50 cen- timetres in the Ecstall River from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, the Ishkheenickh River with a total closure on chinooks and a. general closure from June 1 to Sept. 1, the Kitimat River for chinooks over 50 centimetres from Aug. 1 to'Dec. 31, the Shegunia River for chinooks in the area of the bridge designated by boundary signs for the entire _by Tod Strachan Emotions always run high when the sports fisherman ex- presses frustration over govern- ment controls and regulations and the depletion of fish stocks by a dominating commercial fishery, but this year’s chair- man, Chris Dragseth, Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans District Eight Supervisor, successfully encouraged the meeting to **stick to local issues’? before trying to solve universal prob- lems. Of key interest to the local fisherman was the announce- ment of an expanded fishing regulations booklet (now 104 pages) and the proposed changes and additions suggested by local fisheries officers in their contin-. ~ wing effort to build fish stocks in- some areas and maintain them in The sockeye, coho, chum and chinook catch figures indicated lower-than-average catches of . between 40 and 75 percent. Some of the proposed changes C-31 applicants not able to move back year, the Tseax River for chin- grace Branch 13 of the Royal Canadian Lagion, re resented by Ro ooks from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, Greening (right), and the Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary represented by Martina the Seaskinnish. River for all Koch, were among numerous local organizations that recently helped Cap- tain John Harker kick off the Salvation Army's annual Kettle Drive to raise angling from July 1 to Sept. 15, and the Kutzeymateen and fends for needy families in the local area. See story on page 24. Kwinimass Rivers, which may be closed by public notice, depend- ing on run strengths. Additional catch quotas, to be advertised by public notice, were proposed for the Dala, Kildala, o~ June Halpin 635-7585 © ~_) Alma Joachim 638-1204. Bill C-31 was désigned to allow non-status natives to ob- tain their status, be reinstated in- to their bands and return to the reserve. But according to Kit- sumkalum Chief Counsellor Cliff Bolton the money to pro- vide services for the returning band members isn’t available. by Tod Strachan ‘“‘The government said it was going to provide funding through Bill C-31 for lot devel- opment, property development and housing. It was quite a bit more than what we're getting for our status people right now and _ it was a very attractive figure,’’ he said. ‘‘After we discussed it a number of times, we were en- couraged to do an impact study and get all the facts and figures on how many people were com- ing back and what was coming in the future.”’ However, Bolton said that by the time the study was finished, they were out of money for that fiscal year, He explained that there was money on paper in Ottawa until. the 1990 program deadline but the government had been stall- ing and, ‘“‘if they stall long enough then this is the end of the thing’’, Bolton said, “Ottawa has ac- cepted all our application, our study, but it still doesn’t give us any money to develop lots and to build houses.’’ He added that he had been told that $8 million in funding would be available next year but explained that the money was to be divided by region. The government has already received _ $11 million in applications. Bolton also explained that a good portion of the $8 million would never reach the native people. ‘“What they always fail to tell the media,” Bolton said, “is that a huge chunk comes out of that for administration. There’s a lot of difference between what __ the government in Ottawa says they are releasing on behalf of the Indian people, and what ac- tually gets here.’’ Bolton said there are several reasons why it is important to be able to provide the services that would accommodate the people who want to return to the | reserve, At the forefront is the economic and political strength in numbers and also the need for the talent to manage that - strength possessed by the well- educated natives who have left the reserve and wanted return. Also of equal impor- tance is their responsibility to § the many less fortunate native people who had flocked to the “promised land’’ of the white community but had run into a cultural discrimination’’ resulted in high unemployment and poverty. to void and ‘‘quiet which had Bolton explained that native people are the ‘‘wards’’ of the government. ‘“‘Most if not all contracts that are signed bet- ween us and companies, are signed on behalf of her majesty the Queen by the Department of Indian Affairs. So they hold the responsibility.’’ He explained that a few natives living on reserve had built their own homes, but because of high unemployment in the native population the ma- jority need housing assistance in order to return to the reserve. But according to Bolton, if suf- ficient funding under Bill C-31 doesn’t reach the reserve, this will never happen. and Kitimat Rivers as well as a | two-chinook limit on the Dean, - Sustat and Kimquist Rivers. 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