KAMLOOPS — A public input meeting will be taking place at the Sandman Centre this evening regarding the province’s Wild Salmon Strategy.
Members of the BC Wild Salmon Advisory Council are due to meet at 6:00 p.m. in Kamloops Tuesday (Jan. 8).
The strategy focuses on restoration and enhancement of wild salmon populations, sustainable fisheries management and stewardship opportunities for communities, and new economic development opportunities to assist viable and sustainable community-based fisheries.
Some critics, including the president of the Shuswap Environmental Action Society Jim Cooperman, say the council is only made up of politicians, fishermen and First Nations with “no environmentalists participating.”
Cooperman says he feels the entire process is focused on the coast, with very little input coming from the Interior.
“Although habitat destruction is a major concern, the biggest problems are overfishing, warming oceans and fish farms,” Cooperman says in an email. “It is unlikely that a council made up of primarily fishing advocates will recommend lowering quotas to increase the numbers returning to spawn. Much like all other resource industries, the management system is rigged to perpetuate over-harvesting. Nonetheless, they do need to hear from those who care about the future.”
The meeting will be held in the Valley First Lounge at the Sandman Centre.
To read the full paper on the Wild Salmon Strategy, go here.
