THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
25 CELEBRATING
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WILDFIRES
The busy forest re season seems to be winding down.
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Kristy Johnson / Seabird Island
Jay Hope, director of corporate affairs and Alexis Grace, employment and social development manager, bring out a cooler to DFO officers Mike Fraser, Derek Ray and Doug Clift as they unload sockeye salmon at Seabird Island.
Temtheqi (Sockeye salmon time)
CRAFTY
Harrison Country Craft this weekend.
INSIDE
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Summer snapshots . . . 2 Cutting red tape . . . . . . 3 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mail Bag . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Back to School . . . . . 10 Classieds . . . . . . . . . 16
DFO’s diligence on Fraser River proves beneficial for Seabird Island members Dale Cory COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER/JOURNALIST, SEABIRD ISLAND BAND
“You better photograph this,” suggested Fishery Officer Mike Fraser as he helped unload Sockeye salmon from the back of the DFO truck, watching as bucket after bucket was transported into the kitchen inside the Seabird Island Band office. “It doesn’t happen often.” Christmas arrived at Seabird Island in the middle of summer, when a DFO truck, boat still in tow, pulled up to the Band office on a recent morning in late August. In the truck box was a large cooler filled with sockeye, destined for Seabird tables.
“During the course of our patrols, we do come across illegal fish. We do have seizures from time to time. In a year like this, when there’s not a lot of fish around, we try to get the fish to a food bank or a place where they are going to be put to good use. Through some of our dealings with First Nations, we’ve learned it’s important for these fish to be utilized, and not wasted,” explained Fraser. “We know there’s a funeral going on here, and it’s been a year where there’s not a lot of fish around, so the fact these fish can go to the food bank here and for the elders, it’s a feel-good for us, right? You deal with a lot of negativity for the job, so to see this fish go to good use and to the elders is fantastic.”
It can be very challenging for the Seabird community to harvest enough salmon during times of low abundance. With the fishery currently closed to everyone due to low water, high temperatures and the lack of salmon, the donation came as very welcome news to Seabird residents. “Because of the constraints due to low run sizes, we have only had one opening for Sockeye and unfortunately, not everyone was able to harvest enough, if any, for their tables, so I am so pleased that the DFO is able to donate these fish to our Traditional Food Bank,” stated Sally Hope, the designated Fisheries Rep for the Band. “I know that Alexis Grace and her staff work
really hard and do an excellent job of not only finding healthy foods for the Traditional Food Bank, but they also are very creative in finding recipes that are healthy and user friendly for their clients. I am so happy that we can build upon our relationship with the DFO in a way that benefits our community.” Helping carry the many buckets of salmon into the Seabird Island kitchen was Jay Hope, Corporate Affairs Director, and Councillor Alexis Grace, who is the Manager for Employment, Training, and Social Development at Seabird Island. “It’s really exciting to have DFO, when it’s often negative feelings with DFO, and upset, to have something Continued on PAGE 4
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