Overfishing cause of missing salmon

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Overfishing caused the disappearance of nearly one-half million Fraser River salmon during the first year of British Columbia's commercial Native fishery pilot project, a federal inquiry says.

The shortfall's only a "setback" and shouldn't block the development of a first nation commercial fishery, said report author Peter Pearse, a University of British Columbia resource specialist.

"The program of rebuilding stocks...has suffered a set back. It cannot be

repeated without seriously threatening salmon resources," Pearse said in his report. "Major changes are needed in order to reconcile co-operative management with resource conservation and development."

Nearly one-third of 1.6 million salmon counted in the lower reaches of the Fraser River system last summer never made it to spawning grounds.

The disappearance set off a festival of blame, with non-Native fishermen claiming the shortfall was due to abuses in the new Native commercial fishery. Native organizations said they were not at fault and questioned Ottawa's management of the resource, suggesting the fish never existed.

But Pearse's report says"unusually intensive" fishing is the culprit without laying blame at anyone's feet. Fatal injuries caused by fish dropping out of nets or dying from stress after escaping nets can account for substantial losses. The Native fishery worked well in some areas but invited abuses outside agreement areas.

All bands should work together to negotiate catch allocations with the government, he said, adding the current piecemeal approach creates confusion over enforcement.

Native fishing officials called Pearse's report acceptable and said it sets the stage for a positive review of fishing practices and the development of new policies.

"There's a lot of blame to go around, said Joe Becker, head of the Musqueam band's fishing operations. "We are going to try to implement all recommendations affecting Natives."

"Pearse did a wonderful job of turning a witch-hunt into constructive criticism of fish management," said David Moore, a spokesman for the Shuswap commercial fishing program. "Nobody expected the pilot project would go smoothly this year."

Non-Native fishermen, however, do not appear to have taken well to the support for the Native fishery in Pearse's report. In a separate study commissioned by the Commercial Fishing Industry Council, they claimed opening the door for more commercial fishing would destroy the industry. The report was harshly criticized by Native leaders.

Meanwhile, federal Fisheries Minister John Crosbie announced that the pilot will continue. He announced plans to expand the program of allowing Natives to sell their catch and introduced an "action plan" that includes the hiring of 50 fishing enforcement officers from first nations.

"We made mistakes; I'm not here to pretend no mistakes were made," he told reporters at a Vancouver press conference.

Last year was the first time in nearly 100 years that Native communities were permitted to sell their salmon catches. The pilot project followed court decisions that said Natives have rights to the resource beyond fishing for food and ceremonial purposes.