B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 29, 1996

DAVE TAYLOR

‘SKEENA. ANGLER
ROB BROWN

URING HIS tenure as president of

the Steethead Society of British

Columbia, Rob Bell-Irving wrote

numerous Ietters to anyone who
would listen about the perils of introducing ex-
otic fish to B.C. waters.

None who might have done something to stop
this folly listened which is not surprising for
that was almost ten years ago, a time when the
provincial electorate was still reeling from the °
so-called restraint measures inflicted upon it by
Bennett the younger.

In a dizzy, misguided state the people had
opted for something the Tory PR men hired by
the Socreds to mn that particular election
campaign christened "The New Beginning".

The Moses who would part the troubled
waters then take us to the promised land — as
soon as he’d finished Hipping pannekoek for the
benefit of the television cameras at the Socred
convention at Whistler —- was none other than
Wild Bill VanderZalm.

For those of us who had followed the che-
quered career of the Zalmster since his
shenanigans as an alderman in Surrey, his
promise to lower the price of beer was not
enough to make us forget the comments about
ealing tulip bulbs, and how, in his infant recol-
lection, Holland didn’t seem all that terribly bad
under the heel of the Nazi jackboot. Here, it .
seemed, was a truly zany guy who shared his
predecessor's penchant for making mush out of
the English language,

Bill Jr., in a way eerily reminiscent of the
Nixonian court mumbled odd bits of phrase like
j Moral.’suasion” . through his five o'clock
i} shadow, while Vander Zalm’s brand of ‘oatmeal
Lowabd-cutious-kind -of-eryptospeak will -anao-~
cent,

Were these guys purposefully unintelligible or
were they just uneducated muddicheads whom -
the gods of fortune had rolled in glue then
pitched into a vat of money? In Bennett’s case
the jury’s still out, but afler a wild and crazy
rolier coaster ride through a fantastic garden
with VanderZalm we can be sure about him.

T don’t know if it was one of his wacko ideas
or a notion hatched in the brain of some mis-
chievous mandarin, but with fish farming and
the promise of rivers of money flowing from it,
Vander Zalm — whose name, ironically means .
"of the salmon" in Dutch — expanded the min- -
istry of Agriculture, giving it jurisdiction over
farmed fish as well as the go ahead to import
Atlantic salmon from all over the world.

The fish farming escapade was bad on many
levels.

First, it began a jurisdictional battle between
the Ministry of Environment, who handled all
fishy matters in the past and should have con-

tinued to do so, and the Ministry of Aggies and
Fish,

Secondly, fish farms are hard on the environ-
ment, notably the sea floor under pens.

Thirdly, as has been proven in Norway where
disease ridden farm escapees led to the ex-
termination of wild salmon stocks on some of
the world’s finest salmon rivers, fish farms area
time bomb.

And, finally, as Rob Bell-Irving said over and
over again, the importation of exotics runs con-
trary to the Ministry of Environment’s wise
policy of doing its utmost to protect wild stocks, :
native fish which, after all, have evolved in our
rivers and are therefore best suited to, as well as
complimentary to those places.

When confronted with the problem of those
fish which go over the wall in rough seas, the
farmers of fish argued that they would not sur-
vive. After all, they said, the men of Fed Fish
‘had attempted to seed Atlantic Salmon in the
Cowichan River back in the dirty thirties, and
they didn’t take.

But, as biologist Mike Lough, who has
worked on the Adanile salmon problem on Van-
couver [sland points out, litle was known about’
salmon enhancement in those days. Moreover, it
is likely those early exotic imports that made
the journey across the country from eastern
rivers in milk containers had to compete with
large numbers of salmon and trout, which, now,
afler heavy logging and netting, is no longer the
case.

Well, Bell-Irving’s worst dream has come to
pass. First Atlantic fugitives began showing up
in our river singly. Now Atlantics, like those in
the Salmon River near Sayward are showing up
in schools,

Last year, at 60, the number of Atlantic sal-
mon caught probably out numbered the natlve
steelhead angled,

Will they reproduce in the wild? Thal’s the
maillion dollar question according to Lough, whe
adds that hatchery bred or no, he’d be surprised
if they didn’t given the availability of vacant’
habitat and every creature’s buming desire to
reproduce.

638-7283

Bluebacks
splash to
victories in
Rupert

Nationals are

next on list

TERRACE BLUEBACKS Swim Club had another
strong meet finish at the 9th annual Panhandle Invita-
tional in Prince Rupert May 17-19, The Bluebacks
did well despite missing some of their swimmers who
are preparing for the Nationals.

The team joined with other youths in the region to
compete as Points North, and once again proved
tough to beat at the international event.

“It was great to see different kids out,’’ says
Bluebacks coach Mike Carlyle. ‘The international
aspect of the event was quite thrilling for the kids.”

This was the first time in five years that an Alaskan
team has participated in the meet, For many of the
American youths, it was their first time swimming in
a metres pool, which is slightly larger than a pool
based on yards,

The meet was also one of the last chances to qualify
for the Provincial trials and many of the swimmers
qualified for the first time.

Gavin Wallace beat his best time in the breast
stroke by seven seconds to qualify and Natalie Gour
qualified for the 11-12 age group despite being only
10.

Jenine Barton has also shown amazing improve-
ment.

“In her first year swimming Jenine went from not
making AA times as a ten-year-old, to getting AAA
limes as an 11-12,"’ says Carlyle. ‘‘That’s really ex-
ceptional,? 9 shghsht lewd ne

Many,of the swimmers posted.best-times and some. -
finished with medals, including Jenine Barton with a
silver in the girls 9-10 division. Marina Checkley
took silver and Audrey Erb bronze in the 13-14
group, while Julie Vanderlee finished second in the

15-and-over girls’.

and-over group

m Ready, set, crawl

THE TERRACE ELKS held their 13th annual sports day on the Victoria
Day long weekend, About 700 children turned out for the Monday fun.
Parents and youngsters alike had a great time as the kids took part in
Sack-races, games, three-legged-rces, wheelbarrow races and other ac-
tivities. Even with hot dogs in their mouths and ice cream on their faces, week,”’
the kids were all smiles. And the weather cooperated!

May 27.

Meanwhile, Thomas Demetzer took gold in the
boys 9-10 division and Seth Downs silver in the 15-

This was Downs” last year to compete as a youth
and the last meet where he could qualify for Youth
Nationals, He made it by 2/10 of a second.

“He was ecstatic,”* says Carlyle.

The addition of Downs means that the Bluebacks
will be sending a record five youths to the Nationals,
May 30-June 2. This is the first time in four years
they’ve sent a team.

“Tt’s quite an accomplishment,’’ says Carlyle,
“‘And they deserve it. Most of these kids have been
swimming for five or six years, eight to nine times a

Kevin Andolfatto, Marina Checkley, Garth Cox-
ford, Chris Kerman and Seth Downs head to Ottawa,

Points North is now ranked 40th overall out of near-
ly 200 swimming associations in Canada,

Gymnast flips for success

Bretton takes two silvers

ATHLETE BRETTON Overton is used to
doing well in gymnastics. He’s been involved in
the sport since he was seven, and has always
been competitive.

But the 21-year-old’s amazing performance at
the Canadian Gymnastics Championships sur-
prised even him.

‘I was pretty happy with how I did,” he says.
“Especially since I crashed at the B.C,
Championships in one of my events,’’

That event was the double-mini, a sport that
involves doing flips and twists off two small
trampolines,

Because of his crash at the Provincials, Over-
ton wasn’t allowed to compete with the B.C.
team in double-mini at the Nationals. So he de-
cided to compele as an independent — and
came in second,

Not bad for someone who just started training
in the event 11 mouths ago,

In fact, Overton had only been training for 11
months in two of his three events, trampoline
and double-mini, But that didn't stop him from
placing in the top seven in all three for the semj-
finals,

Overton fared even better in the finals, and
ended up fourth overall. His efforts also helped
the B.C, team take home two silver medals from
the tournament.

Terrace born and raised, Overton trained with
Terrace Peaks Gymnastics Club for many years,
He credits one of his coaches, Maria “Maieus,
for helping him along.

“Maria was always there helping out and
giving support,” he says. "‘She does a lot for
the club,”"

Overton is now living in Kelowna teaching
gymnastics and working towards a teaching de-

,

a's great to be able to make a living teach-
ing gymuastics,’” he says. ‘‘But eventually I
would like tu teach P.E. in schools."*

Overton’s fourth-place finish was one position
away from qualifying him as a Junior in the
World Championships, which are being held in
Kamloops this year.

The three events that Overton competes in
will become part of the Olympics for the fizst
time in the year 2000 in Brisbane, Australia,

Overton says he would like to compete at that
level, but first he has to do more training and
move to the senior’s level.

He’s considering training at the Shasta Club in
Vancouver where a couple of gymnasts are
ranked in the top three in the world.

To compete al that level, Overton might even
have to tain even more than his current four-
hour, four-day-a-week schedule. But he isn’t
worried,

“I've only been doing two of the events for
eleven months and I’m on the heels of the
seniors,” he says. ‘I think I can do it.”’

Until then, Overton pians to continue coach-
ing and sticking to his strict diet — of pizza and
ice cream. an

Bretton Overton