DAVE TAYLOR "ROB BROWN a a 5 Fishing pian ’97 PW his year's proposed commercial fishing plan for the North Coast is t hot off the presses, What a depress- ing document it is! I was under the impression that salmon fisheries management in the North was moving toward some kind of en- lightened management over the last few years, but this latest plan demonstrates that the Depart- ment of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) still puts the immediate needs of their buddies in the commercial fishing sector ahead of the needs of First Nations peoples, sportsmen, and, more im- portanily, the fish themselves. The scheme for 1997 is replete with the kind of oily language that seems logical and im- pressive at a cursory glance but turns out to be the linguistic blancmange of pseudo-science. Consider Section 8.1 of the drafty document which states: ‘“The fishing plan attempts to direct fisheries onto surplus stocks while mini- mizing impacts on depressed or weak stacks’’. Now this statement looks impressive. The im- pression given is one of surgical precision, that is until one realizes that the tools of this opera- tion areu’t lasers or scalpels but great big, fish- ing boats wielding unwieldy nets. Weaker stocks of fish swim with their stronger relations. Netting stronger stocks will inevitably wreck weaker runs of fish. This oh-so-obvious, well known phenomenon is the root problem of our salmonid fisheries. If you are using a wheel or a fence or a dip net Somewhere. up fiver, you can target certain | stacks, Tn’ a giet fishery you cannot, and the © pecple who cobbled together this latest fishing plan know that as well as anybody. Managerial dysfunction is an inescapable result of the absurd structure of the west coast salmon fisheries. En route to the spawning grounds the fish are pounded by the market fisheries. During those fisheries fishers are re- quired to report catches, which they do in a notoriously haphazard and incomplete fashion. This is reprehensible but understandable. If commercial fishers report high numbers of steelhead or coho they know their fishing time will be cut back in future fisheries. The incen- live to under-report is obviously very strong. The fish then move into the river where they are enttmerated in a test fishery. By the time all the data is in it is too late to make meaningful adjustnents. Clearly, the only way to deal with this dilemma is to set minimum escapement targets and when those are met, as estimated in the test fishery upstream, set harvest rates Ac- cordingly. This is management based on abundance, something the DFO was supposed to be moving toward, yet it is not evident in the draft plan. “Where steelhead escapement is estimated to excced requirements...” is another opaque phrase used by the authors of this year’s fishing plans. Al the DFO knows about steelhead is that their numbers have declined precipitously as a result of a century of overfishing which the department has vigorously aided and abetted. - How will they be able to tell when escapement requirements are met? Certainly not at the test fishery at Tyee which is run by a commercial fisherman under contract to DFO and has no ob- servers in the vicinity to attest to the validity of the netted samples, thereby lending the program some degree of credibility. And, while we're on the subject of credibility and observers, the fishing plan states there will be a selective seine fishery once again, but no observers to give it the stamp of credibility, Even more bizarre is the plan to test selective gillnet gear. Ina lame attempt to keep a waste- ful, inhumane fishing technique alive, the DFO is proposing to introduce larger gill nets but sink them decper in the water column and to try a mesh called Alaskan twist in the absence of any method by which the impacts of these ‘innovations’’ can be adequately assessed. The end result of this ill-conceived fishing plan will be that (he highly subsidized commer- cial fishery will once again take too many fish, the Natives will take the rest, and the sportsmen will be forbidden to harvest steelhead or coho. Selective in-river fisheries are now a proven technology. Traps and weirs will create a stable, sustainable fishery which will allow for surgi- cally precise harvest sensitive to the needs of endangered stocks. Instead of fiddic farting around gillnets and wasting its energies trying to manage the unmanageable, DFO should be doing all it can to implement selective harvest. Similarly, our premier, who seems in the thrall of the commercial fishers these days, should realize that in river selective fisheries would not only be self sufficient, like the commercial sport fisheries, but. would ultimately. make such nuisances as the Canada/U.S. talks unnecessary. Men Local riders are out to prove the best are made in northwest WET LEAVES reach out, slapping skin, lapping limbs. Focus, Rubber tires bounce off roots and rocks, cutting through forest silence. Breath. Switchback cuts into a steep turn, wheel sinks into the soft earth, suspension creeks, body lifts, gravity pulls — a rush of wind, a crashing blow. Silence. Pain. You've just bailed. But hey, what a rush! Get up and ty it again right? This is what mountain biking is all about. If this is your attitude, then you'd fit right in with the racing team from the JUMPING FOR JOY. That's Jeff Meeks taking a flying leap off a five-foot rock. before you get rolling. Bike — $200 — $5,000 Stuff you'll need WANT TO hit the trails? You’ll need a few things Obviously your most important piece of hardware. You can spend as little as $200 on a mountain bike from department stores. But if you’re planning to do lols of riding off-road you'll need something more sub- stantial. Expect to spend $500-$600 for a basic bike in the micdle of the quality spectram. $1,000 will get you a pretty sweet machine. $5,000 bikes are for psychos. Helmet — $40 — $150 A helmet is absolutely necessary to protect the nog- gin from inevitable crash-landings. More expensive helmets tend to be lighter and more comfy. Lock — $20 — $85 Bike theft is a problem everywhere, even sinall Lights — $15— $135 towns. Consider it cheap insurance. Necessary for safe evening cycling. Bright hi-beams cost more but enable night trail riding, a real scream. Get out and ride YOU DON’T have to be a crazy bush pilot to get in- volved with TORCA, The club promotes active, recreational cycling as well as the hard-core stuff. TORCA club president Mark Forgie says there are all kinds of great trails out there for everyone from beginners to professionals, He hopes to spread the word to gel more people on the tails. The club hosts both week- ly hard and easier rides, All you need is a bike, a helmet and lille sense of adventure. For more information on the club call Mark at 635- 3132, ADAM SPENSELY manoevers a steep grade on Terrac Terrace Off Road Cycling Association (TORCA), These guys are good, And they’re rapidiy gaining a reputation as the boys to beat in the northwest. Adam Spensley, Brandon Smoley, Jeff Meeks, Mike Christensen, Chris Scar- borough and Dave Andrus- zyn of Team McBike and John Lambert of All Sea- sons form a powerful local punch al area races. And with several of the guys heading to the BC Summer Games, they have a chance to gain some provin- cial level exposure. *“There’s endless op- portunity for riding around here,’” says Christensen, the most experienced mountain biker and team coach. “And I’m really impressed with the qualily of riders we're turning out.’” Smoley, 16, has won both the Shames_ ‘Flatlander events. “ibis. -year, in his age category, Adam Spensley, 17, won the Hudson’s Bay Hillclimb overall — beating everyone, including many older, more experienced racers. Christeisen snagged sec- ond overall in the Shames Hillclimb, Andruszyn was - fifth in the flatlander, Lam- bert consistently hits the top three al races and the lisl goes on. These guys love to ride aud it shows. “Tt’s totally cool,’’ “says Smoley. ‘I’m going to be doing this for quite a while.” Smoley, Spensley, Meeks and Lambert are all going to the Summer Games. in Burnaby Juty 24-26, ‘Mountain. , Hillelinb and: ‘tie: : Smithers ,; their DIKES Werte? juste | sions of theit Bodiés.” eee - Andruszyn, 638-7283 Mountain. Mike Christensen That means lots of training and Christensen is making them work preity hard, The four riders regularly pound their favourite trails at Ter- race Mountain, Onion Lake and along the power lines both for practice — and for fun. They make it look easy, ripping through the . trees, flying over jumps and hop- ping off rocks“ as’ ‘though |” Especially impressive’ is the performance of young Andruszyn. At only 14, he’s the team’s youngest rider but still manages to keep up with the pack. And this is his first year of serious biking. ‘Four months ago he was still riding a hardware store special,’? says Christensen. *“He’s come a long way ina real short time.’ Over the weekend Smoley and Lambert tackled the Copper Mountain Hillclimb. Look for their results in an up- conning Standard, The next big biking event in the northwest is ‘the Smithers Duathlon. this weekend. Stuff you'll - want OK, YOU’VE got the basics. Naw you want-to get serious. Bring on the toys. Clipless pedals and shoes — $150 — $250 Better power transfer means going faster with more control, These things make a big difference, Shocks — $250 — $350 Another major upgrade, Suddenly your bike becomes a rock crawler. Helps absorb impact. V-brakes — $130 ; The latest in braking technology, grip up to 50 per cent better for shorter stopping distances. Cycling computer — $30 — $150 Figure out just how fast you’re going and how far. Fenders — $15 — $30 Perhaps these should be considered necessities in Terrace, they prevent nasty wet streaks on your butt. Pump — $10 — $50 cursing and swearing. This, along with a patch kit, will let you ride out of the woods, as opposed to walking your bike home, Appaloosa rider returns from down under KIRSTEN MULLER of Terrace recently returned from an international Ap- paloosa horse riding compe- tition in Australia. She was one of only five young Canadians at the competition, which involved many aspects of riding and caring for the breed of spotted horses. The Canadian team placed fifth, out of seven teams, which . Muller felt © was “pretty good considering the horses weren’t ours.”’ There were five teams from Australia and another from New Zealand. It would have been very expensive for the Canadian team to bring their liorses to Australia, so some Austra- lian Appaloosas were loaned to them instead. Muiler, aged. 17, said she was Impressed by the quali- ty of the horses, adding that they were weil trained. The competition consisted of showmanship, jumping, western! classes and dres- sage events, It was a diverse range of classes, requiring the riders to be skilled in many types of riding. Muller was to ride during the competi- tion, but did have a chance ihe team’s’ alternate, so she wasn’t able: to take part in showmanship classes. Riders walk beside horses during theses events, eticouraging the horse to pose and move well. ‘*T got to show a cute little mare who was quile good at showmanship, but-1 didn’t know all) her particulars, such as her unsureness of crowds, but we did alt right,” said Muller. -For-the rest of the show Muller acled as groom, get ling horses ready to show and wanning them up. Muller said she found the trip to be a great leaming experience, She picked up soine useful riding tips from the team. coach (loaned ta the Canadian girls just like the horses). and “ some grooming secrets, including how. to, pull a mane quickly . and braid offlctealy.