Panel releases fisheries report; looks for support

Page 10

The First Nations Panel on Fisheries released a report June 10 with recommendations the panel hopes will be backed by British Columbia First Nations.

The panel was created in January by leaders from the First Nations Summit and the B.C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission (BCAFC), whose purpose was to develop and document their vision of a post-treaty fishery. Their report parallels the Pearse/MacRae Report on Fisheries, commissioned by the federal and provincial governments and completed earlier this year. First Nations were disappointed their input was left out of that study.

"The moment that (the Pearse/MacRae report) was announced, the First Nations in B.C. were very alarmed that they weren't consulted. This is a treaty issue, it's a tripartite process, and yet here's the government going off to commission a report without any First Nation involvement," said Marcel Shepert, who co-authored the First Nations fisheries report. "So the BCAFC and the First Nations Summit collaborated and essentially lobbied the federal government to undertake its own parallel process and undertake its own vision of a post-treaty fishery."

Shepert said although they had only three months and a very small budget, their report "does address most of the issues in one form or another, but it is impossible to please everyone."

One of their recommendations is for the First Nations to control a minimum 50 per cent of all British Columbia fisheries on an interim basis, but that could increase to 100 per cent. Shepert said this recommendation is key to stabilizing the economic situation of the province's First Nations."Without the 50 per cent there's no real reason to do anything." He added, "The 50 per cent was more or less based on international case studies" of New Zealand and Washington state tribes. "We need to see that the government is going to do something in good faith, be proactive, take a leadership role and start moving this and saying 'yes, by rights these people have 50 per cent of the fishery.'"

Bill Green, director of the Canadian Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission, said more needs to be done to rebuild salmon runs and preserve the fisheries."I work for the Columbia basin tribes and 50 per cent of nothing is not worth very much," said Green. "We need the co-operation from the government of Canada and the government of the U.S. to restore the salmon fisheries so that there is something to share in the future."

The fisheries issue is one of the biggest issues concerning First Nations in British Columbia and the report was a good way for Aboriginal people to express their points of view, according to Chief Stewart Phillip of the Penticton Indian Band.

"I think that's reasonable (50 per cent of fisheries)," said Phillip. "I think it's not only reasonable but generous on our part. Because in relation to our Aboriginal title and rights interest, we have 100 per cent proprietary interest in the fisheries, as we do with land and resources within British Columbia. So in actuality we're offering to share that resource with the other non-Native user groups."

The Okanagan Nation Alliance, of which Phillip's band is a member, took part in rebuilding fisheries lost to habitat destruction by releasing approximately 350, 000 sockeye salmon fry into the Penticton Channel portion of the Okanagan River in May.

"We were restoring a fishery that had existed since the beginning of time, so to speak, and that fishery was curtailed as a result of a whole series of dams that were built from the state of Washington right up into Canada and throughout the Okanagan. Consequently, it had a devastating impact on that sockeye run and as a result of those obstacles the salmon weren't able to get back up into Skaha Lake," said Phillip. "There was such excitement and jubilation when we released the sockeye fry into the Okanagan River. It was a very historic and emotional day for our people because of what the salmon reprsents in terms of our culture."

The report also called for a moratorium on privatization of commercial fisheries.

"We said no more changing anything into any privatization plan like IVQ's (individual vessel quotas), a form of individual fishing quotas, until all of these issues are settled with First Nations and I think that's really key," said Shepert.

Phillip said that this is something he will "absolutely support." Phillip recently took a tour of fish farms on the West Coast and said that many species of fish are in danger of extinction if some fish farms aren't removed.

"It's a crisis situation and (there is) a very urgent need to deal with the fish farm issue on the West Coast here," said Phillip.

Phillip also said that management of the fisheries is "dismal," and that something needs to be done to recognize Aboriginal rights and title.

"I think that the whole premise of the fisheries policy is based on the denial of our Aboriginal rights ... to the fishery," said Phillip. "We're treated not as having a proprietary interest, but rather being a stakeholder, and consequently the whole policy is totally skewed."

The report addressed fisheries management. Shepert said that things have to change for conservation of fish stocks.

"We've stated very clearly, and what I feel is unequivocal, the minister (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Geoff Regan) immediately needs to start delegating some authority from Ottawa to the regions. This has to change for management purposes," said Shepert.

The final decision as to what recommendations will be implemented will be made this fall. Shepert said that he hopes Aboriginal people support their report.

"My hope is that yes, it will have some influence at the political level," said Shepert.

"I think they should stand behind the report and support it at every level to make sure the recommendations are, in fact, acted upon. It's a negotiation tool at the end of the day."