B10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 24, 2001 SKEENA ANGLER | ROB BROWN McSalmon either Fisheries and Oceans Canada (FOC) nor its provincial counterpart, the absurdly named Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection, are adequately staffed or funded to deal with the numerous thorny questions and consid- ’ erable risks arising from the fish farming indu- stry, Yet public statements issued from both these agencies on the issue seem to indicate that everything on the Aquaculture front is under control, and that policies are in place to ade- quately deal with the industry. The fact that the historic record of FOC’s predecessor DFO has been one where the short term economic welfare of the fishing industries on both coasts has overridden the conservative “and reasoned voices of science, and the fact that the B.C. government, driven by its zany, - neocon, bottom-line philosophy, is honing its cost-cutting knife and about to sink it deep into the flesh of what they obviously consider to be peripheral ministries like the Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection, should be of grave concern to everybody who cares about our great Pacific salmon stocks and their environs. In the early decades of the last century, fish- eries managers, attracted by the prospect of economic expansion inherent in salmon enhan- cement, transplanted almost every conceivable species of fish all over the North American landscape. By mid century, flaws in the Johnny Applefish strategy started to surface. By the 1980s the risks of introducing exotic species WETE becoming ‘apparent. There -was growing suspicion among scientists that there were even greater risks whose consequences and dimen- sions were largely unknown. Clearly scientific scrutiny was indicated. In part, that alarm gave birth to Section 5 of the 1988 Canada/British Columbia Memorandum of Agreement on Aquacuiture Development which, ostensibly, committed both governments to a conservative implementation regime that was supposed to minimize the adverse effects of the aquaculture on the health of fish stocks, liv- ing quarters and commercial fishing activities. To achieve these ends the feds and the province committed to set high standards, exchange technical information and impose regulations. The success of this accord can be measured by the fact that exotic Atiantics have invaded many of our streams, posing a threat to the wild stocks. Many of the questions surrounding the long term effect of aquaculture remain unan- swered, and its risks continue to be downplayed. When fish farming in B.C, was still in pam- pers, and the Steelhead Society of B.C. was still fighting on behalf of salmon and salmon habitat, its president, Rob Bell-Irving, wrote letter after letter to the government of the day urging them to reconsider the importation of Atlantic salmon ‘for use in aquaculture. Blinded by the short term economic benefits of a new industry, the Socred government turned a deaf ear to the Society’s warnings and imported Atlantics anyway. This Spring, Dr. Helgi Thorarensen was still questioning that flawed decision. Why, asked the esteemed Icelandic fisheries scientist, had the government of B.C, opted to import risky At- lantic Salmon and forced the fish farmers on this coast into competition with the rest of the fish farming world when it could have used indi- genous Pacific salmon — a unique product with significantly less biologic risk? While it’s true that a healthy fish farming in- dustry can confer enormous economic benefits, it’s obvious that certain minimal conditions must be met before any further expansion of the industry is entertained. In a closely reasoned presentation to the Leggatt Inquiry into Salmon Farming in British Columbia, Ron McLeod, the Director of the Save Our Fish Foundation (SOFF) succinctly set out a list of those condi- tions on behaif of his organization. Fish farming should be sustainable in ‘ecolo- gic, economic and social terms, argued Mc- Leod. It should, he said, be managed according to the precautionary principle. All Atlantic sal- mon should be neutered and transgenics forbid- den. Operating regulations of the industry must be comprehensive, covering all risk factors. The level of scientific research must reflect the level of risk inherent in the industry. Moreover, industry monitoring must be thorough, consistent and to a science-based standard. Penalties for violations should be stiff enough to ensure com- pliance. Until adequate monitoring and enforce- ment levels: are available, no. new licenses should be issued. Finally, SOFF suggested any new licenses issued in the future should be to those intending to farm Pacific salmon. Lifting the moratorium on the expansion of the aquaculture biz in B.C. shouldn't be consid- ered until these eminently reasonable and con- - servative conditions are-mel. TERRACE STANDARD | 638-7283 THE MacDOUGALL rink has its sights set on a spot in the province's top three. The women’s curling rink is (fram left) third Joan Ku- charyshen, second Jacquie Munson, lead Sylvia Griffith and skip Kim MacDougall. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. The warm side of the ice By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN IT’S CALLED warm side of the ice planning and it’s the key that could unlock the door to a spot in the top three of the province for Terrace’s MacDougall rink, Training off the ice is some- thing the local women’s curling team has never done before. But the team consisting of skip Kim MacDougall, lead Sylvia Griffith, second Jacquie Munson and third Joan Kucharyshen are adding a little extra ammunition to their game plan this year. The’ foursome easily made it to provincial, championship play last year, placing sixth in B.C. Their standing earned them an invitation to a high performance training camp at New West Min- ster’s Royal City Curling Club last month. Rubbing elbows with the pro- vince's A-list curling teams, it was an opportunity to get much needed tips on goal setting, game planning and team dynamics. The ladies linked up with high performance coach Glen Jackson. “We actually learned a fot and it was really fascinating,” Mac- Dougall said. Curling is as much a head game as it is a contest of skill. Jackson and the other coaches on hand at the camp focussed on warm side of the ice planning — developing a game pl an, building confidence and coming together as a seamless unit. It is the key to the success for many of the top teams in Canada. “A lot of teams don’t talk about the game before and a lot of teams don’t talk about the game after — especially if they lose,” MacDougall said. “And that’s really important to gel the team.” In this, their third year as a team, the women are feeling clo- ser than:ever, before. . ns reithey practising: re gularly, they’ ve:"started ‘working out together off the ice. The foursome work on weight training and cardiovascular exer- JOAN KUCHARYSHEN works on her upper body strength at the gym. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. cises to build strength and endur- ance for the upcoming season. “We're going to the gym and working out, so we're really bond- ing this year which is awesome,” MacDougall said. It’s no secret that athletes of any description are at a competi- live disadvantage in the north simply because of the cost in- volved with travelling to competi- tions around the province. Whereas curlers in the south have the advantage of weekly bonspiels within a few hours of their home base, serious curlers in the north must travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilo- metres to compete at a high level. This year the MacDougall rink plans to play in as many out of ‘town bonspiels as possible - a good number of which have money on the line. Winning money will enable the group of women to travel to more bonspiels, gain. more experience in a competitive settings and build up their experience base — something crucial to their future success at a provincial level. The camp at Royal City gave the Terrace rink a chance to meet some of the teams they may well be in competition with come Jan- uary's provincial championships. “Meeting up early with teams that we'll play at a provincial level takes away a lot of the inti- midation,” MacDougall said. “We are determined to be. in the top three this year,” she added, With three trips to provincials under their belts, the team is poised for a successful year. If the off-ice training gives them a competitive edge, the women could well be coming home in January with medals around their necks. Powerlifter aims for third world title ERNIE Mil-homens calls it a warm up for the worlds but by anyone else’s standards it’s a feat in itself, The 25 year old Terrace athlete lifted his way to a second spot finish in the North American Powerlifting champion- ships in Lethbridge, Alberta Oct. 7. Competing in three classes, he squat- ted 650 pounds, bench pressed 440 pounds, and deadlifted 640 pounds. _ In Mil-homens’ eyes it was just com- petition setting practice for the World Bench and Deadlift Championships in Reno, Nevada Nov. 15-20, “I just wanted to see where 1 was. at. with the weights in a. contest setting,” said the modest athlete. The upcoming world championships will be the third go at an international title for Mil-homens. Competing in the ju- nior 198 pound category, he nabbed first place finishes last year and’ in 1999, Next month he’s hoping for a repeat performance.. His goal is to press 465 pounds — 15 pounds more than last year’s weight. And he’s looking to ‘deadlift 690 pounds. .That’s 90 pounds more. than last year. _ He has yet to lift that much in the gym but he said it’s an attainable goal especi- ally when tinder the pressure af an inter- national competition, . . “You definitely perform: better in a “contest, setting,” he said. House league action heats up with tight scores in week four THERE WERE three good hockey games in week four action of the Midget : House League Oct. 15, 16, and 18 at the Terrace Arena, The Monday night match-up featured Team Red and Team White in ‘ their fourth meeting of the season. Things were pretty quiet through the first half of the opening frame, but with 5:37 left, Nathen MacNa- mara scored to put Team White in front 1-0, After a scoreless but intense sec- ond period, Team Red re- sponded, Shortly into the third period, Chad Stanley was on the doorstep to put home a rebound off the Team White goaltender. With the score 1-1, White responded with a goal from Jeff Myers at 16:55, Red didn’t let White Tun away with the game quite yet, With 6:45 left, defence- man Mike Scarborough scored to tie the-game at 2.Team Red pressed. to take the icad in the late ’ stages of the period, but ‘Tysen through for Team White Léblond. came UAT THE ARENA TYLER NOBLE once again. At 5:21 he taok a set-up from Nathen MacNamara and made no mistake. With just over a minute left, Team Red pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker and poured the pressure on the White’s defence, Red team captain Jon Sarsiat had an excellent chance in front but was denied by White goalten- der Donny Yan Dyk. Team White held on to win the game with a thriller of a finish, by a score of 3-2. Team White took to the ice again on Tuesday. night to take on Team. Blue. Once again, White Cont'd on Page B16.