Fraser River bands accuse Ottawa of ignoring please to save chinook

Mark Hume
May 4, 2010
The Globe and Mail

Native leaders representing 94 bands on the Fraser River have called for the resignation of federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, saying her department’s policies have put declining stocks of chinook salmon in peril.

But a spokesman for the minister said she is confident the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is managing the stocks carefully, with conservation as a top priority.

The British Columbia bands are angry because they say commercial and sports fishermen are killing endangered chinook in the ocean, while native fishermen on the river are forgoing fishing opportunities in order to protect salmon.

The bands have asked that all sport and commercial fisheries for chinook be shut down in the ocean, but DFO has so far declined.

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