OTTAWA - The federal government says it is reintegrating the West Coast commercial fishery after years of protests and court battles over separate salmon fisheries for B.C. First Nations.
Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said Monday that Ottawa will spend $175 million to fulfil the Conservative government's commitment to establish one fishery in British Columbia that is environmentally and economically sustainable.
Hearn said the challenges faced by Pacific commercial fisheries requires all sectors to rise above the discords of the past and work co-operatively.
He singled out the Fraser River salmon fishery, which has been the scene of conflict between aboriginal and non-native fishermen and confrontations by both groups with Fisheries enforcement officers.
Hearn said the government wants to reverse the climate of mistrust.
"Overcoming the challenges facing Pacific commercial fisheries requires all fishing sectors to rise above the discords that have existed in the past and begin working co-operatively,'' Hearn said in a news release Monday.
But a staunch opponent of separate commercial aboriginal fisheries said the plan does nothing to eliminate contentious fisheries on the river conducted by the Musqueam and Tsawwassen First Nations.
"This announcement changes nothing,'' said Phil Eidsvik, head of the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition. "If you go fishing this summer and you're the wrong race, like usual you'll be arrested and prosecuted.''
Eidsvik said his group did not mount a protest fishery last year because of the Tory promise.
"So far they've done nothing on that front and discussions amongst the fleet are underway to decide what to do this summer,'' he said in an interview.
But Eidsvik's group is increasingly isolated among commercial fishermen, said Tony Jacob, fisheries negotiator for the Tsawwassen First Nation.
"What we're finding is that all the players, recreational, commercial, First Nations fishers are finding we're coming together more on this fisheries stuff,'' he said. "That's the main goal behind this announcement.
"We've had our battles out on the water and you see that that doesn't go too far.''
Jacobs said consultations now will begin on how to implement the government's plan but the impact should begin being felt this fishing season.
"We've already been having meetings about joint monitoring . . . coming to terms about how much fish is caught and so on,'' he said.
A key change is the way Fisheries looks at the available quotas, said Ron Kaeowaki, the department's director of fisheries reform.
"Rather than First Nations being able to fish to a number for commercial fish, they're looking at a share of the available abundance,'' he said in an interview.
"Everybody (in the commercial fishery) will have equal priority with respect to their access but there may be different times and places that these fisheries occur.
"This notion of one group fishing while the other isn't will be for managability reasons, for fleet safety reasons, for any number of reasons, but it's not because of priority. They would each have the same priority to get at their particular share.''
A prominent environmental group also said the plan was a step in the right direction.
"We were happy to hear Minister Hearn say that conservation is a priority in realizing sustainable fisheries,'' Bill Wareham, marine conservation program director for the David Suzuki Foundation, said in a news release.
Wareham said the foundation is especially encouraged by the government's promise to enhance accountability measures, as well as to implement a system for tracing the origin of seafood, measures the group has promoted for some time.
The new money will be doled out over five years and will be used to establish enhanced catch-monitoring and reporting, strengthen enforcement and provide new approaches to trace fish from the time they're caught until they're bought by consumers.
Money will also be used to retire licences and quotas of fishermen who want to leave the fishery, making more of the catch available to First Nations.
Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl, the government's political minister for British Columbia, said Prime Minister Stephen Harper has committed the government to integrating First Nations into the commercial fishery.
"Today's announcement propels us towards that vision,'' said Strahl, adding the move was not a "made-in-Ottawa solution.''
"Consultations took place here in British Columbia, with both First Nations and commercial fishing stakeholders. Without their participation, we would not be here with this plan today.''
A Fisheries spokesman later said the government conducted broad consultations over the last two and a half years with First Nations throughout British Columbia and aspects were incorporated in the policy announced Monday.
First Nations have a constitutional right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes but a series of court decisions also affirmed some had historic commercial fishing rights.
Previous Liberal governments developed a policy of separate fishing commercial openings for B.C. First Nations, which came under fire from non-native fishermen, especially in years when low returns of salmon limited the amount of fish available.
Eidsvik said about 35 per cent of the current open commercial fishery is already made up of aboriginal fishermen.
