By Greg Fry

Petition to save steelhead trout a success; to be introduced in House of Commons

Apr 19, 2018 | 11:15 AM

KAMLOOPS — “Fantastic and enthusiastic!”

The words of Leonard Piggin, president of the Kamloops Fly Fishers Association in reaction to news a parliamentary e-petition calling on the federal government to take tough new measures to protect critically low populations of steelhead trout has been certified and will soon be tabled in the House of Commons.

The e-petition attracted more than 1,700 signatures — nearly three-and-a-half times the threshold of 500 signatures that were needed.

The petition calls on Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Dominic Leblanc to suspend all gill net and purse seine chum salmon fisheries in the Fraser River.

“Those signatures were from people across Canada and now Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Minister Leblanc will have to stand up in the House of Commons and actually state what they’re going to be doing to protect the Thompson River Steelhead,” Piggin says.

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How critical is the situation?

“We’re talking 177 steelhead in a river that spans from Lytton up to Savona we don’t even know if we’ll be able to grow that number.”

The Steelhead Society of BC is also calling on the federal government to work with gill net and purse fishers to establish alternative, sustainable, full selective and fully monitored fisheries practices during the annual migration.

Port Moody-Coquitlam NDP MP Fin Donnelly will present the petition at an upcoming sitting of the House. The government has 45 days to respond.