Chiefs anticipate agreement

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Native commercial fishing boats returned to traditional fishing grounds of Owen Sound and Colpoys Bays in early January to mark more than three years of successful management of the fishery around the Bruce Peninsula.

Under a co-management agreement signed by the Saugeen First Nation, the Chippewas of Nawash, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the federal government in June of 2000, the Saugeen Ojibway brought in biologists and technical experts to research the fishery, said Nawash Chief Ralph Akiwenzie.

"The technical data collected gave us a good basis to manage the fish population."

The research raised "new issues" that need to be addressed during negotiations for a new agreement, Akiwenzie added.

"Things have changed in the last three-and-a-half years."

What has not changed is the First Nations' commitment to conservation of the fish stock.

"That's always been our priority, and I think we've done a really good job," said Akiwenzie.

While they have always maintained their right to fish in the two bays, under the agreement the two First Nations agreed to not fish there commercially.

That agreement expired at the end of 2003, and in the absence of a new agreement, Aboriginal fishing boats took to the waters of the two bays to raise awareness that it had expired, the chief said.

"We have not set aside our rights to fish to make a living."

The Aboriginal fishery around the peninsula has grown steadily since the Nadjiwon/Jones provincial court decision of 1993, which ruled that the two First Nations had never given up their right to fish there.

Akiwenzie believes that "dialogue will now occur" with the various agencies and that a new agreement can be hammered out. He met with Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay in late January, he said.

Ministry of Natural Resources spokeswoman Deborah Styles said that it's "premature to comment" on the situation.

Owen Sound and Colpoys Bay were the site of bitter "fish wars" between Aboriginal commercial fishermen and sports anglers in the mid 1990s that resulted in Native nets being cut and a group of angry sports anglers throwing fish guts at a Native woman at an Owen Sound market.

The co-management arrangement was reached after three years of mediated talks overseen by Judge Stephen Hunter, and Akiwenzie is hopeful that it won't take as long to reach a new one.

"We're hoping that it's just a matter of timetabling everyone so that we can sit down and talk about this."

Saugeen First Nation Chief Randall Roote said he is also hopeful that an agreement can be reached and that things don't return to the way they were in the mid-1990s.

In the meantime, the ice that has formed on the bays since early January is curtailing fishing.

"The extreme cold is keeping our people off the waters," said Akiwenzie.

One of the last boats to go out on the bay this year was the Saugeen fishing tug, the James B, which got into trouble in severe icy weather.

On Jan. 18, the Canadian Coast Guard launched a search for the James B, which went missing after breaking through the ice outside Southampton near the reserve before heading around the tip of the Bruce Peninsula to the Colpoys Bay area to fish. The boat's propeller was damaged when it hit a rock. Family members grew concerned when the James B was overdue and they were unable to reach the two-person crew.

The coast guard's main concern was the extreme conditions, which included a freezing spray warning, said David Elit, a maritime co-ordinator with the Canadian Coast Guard.

A few hours later the James B arrived safely in Lions Head about 30 kilometres north of its destination.

Roote, reached on the morning of the search, said that while fishing is a tradition of his people it is no easy life.

"It's really tough out there," he said.