Nisga'a take Ato the Nass

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The Nisga'a people of northwestern British Columbia are exercising their newly guaranteed fishing rights, with Nisga'a citizens taking part in the first commercial fishery since ratification of their treaty in the spring.

The sockeye salmon fishery opened July 1, and will run until the Nisga'a people reach their fishing allocation. According to the final agreement, that allocation is set annually at 13 per cent of the adjusted total allowable catch for Nass sockeye salmon.

Cheryl Stephens is fisheries manager with Nisga'a Fisheries and Wildlife. She estimated just over a hundred people are taking part in the fishery right now, all though many more are registered.

Stephens said this season's allocation has been divided between the domestic and for sale fishery, with the for sale fishery further divided between a communal fishery and individual sale.

The individual sale fishery is taking place throughout the Nass, with people from all four Nisga'a communities as well as people from the Nisga'a urban locals eligible to participate.

The communal fishery is being conducted on behalf of the Nisga'a government to help finance operation of the fishery, Stephens said.

According to Stephens, this year's fishery, operating under the newly finalized treaty agreement, differs from past years in that this year management of the fishery includes monitoring both the domestic and commercial fishing efforts.

"In previous years, we used to just monitor the food fishery to see what our numbers were. What numbers we took for our use that we needed. And then we also, with a stock assessment program, looked at escapement numbers and provided whatever numbers we had to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans so they could monitor the escapement. So this year, because of the allocation, we're keeping very close tabs on the numbers that have been caught by the people in the individual sale, the communal sale, and also in the food fishery, so that we'll stay within our allocation," Stephens said.

The treaty agreement guarantees the right of Nisga'a citizens to harvest fish for personal use, as well as their involvement in commercial harvesting and sale of fish. Responsibility for management of the fisheries remains with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but the Nisga'a Nation will play an important role in fishery management, including making laws regarding licensing, and developing an annual fishing plan.