| I'm just doing a copy paste of something posted on another site in regards to this topic. The guy who posted this on that site is called Widetrack and I do trust that he pulled this out of a reputable source.
From lake Nipissing...
The release comes within days of the discovery of abandoned gill nets in the lake:
The Lake Nipissing Stewardship Council (LNSC) was swift to react to this week’s announcement of the discovery of two gill nets, each over 900 feet in length, by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The nets have been in the lake since last fall – their grisly catch over 1,100 lbs. Included in the rotting remains was a sturgeon weighing over 100 lbs. (estimated to be in excess of 80 years old) and three muskies, each weighing over 40 lbs.
Gary Preston, LNSC’s Chair said the Stewardship Council is outraged by the blatant disregard for basic conservation principles. “There is no excuse for unmarked nets, or nets being set so late in the season that there is a risk that they cannot be retrieved. Abandoned nets will keep fishing for years. They don’t discriminate between species, size or time of year.” said Preston.
New nets recently retrieved from walleye spawning areas also indicate a disregard to sustaining this important resource. Nipissing First Nation asked to be heard at the Stewardship Council Annual Meeting just three weeks ago on April 13, 2005 and made a commitment to a gill net moratorium during the walleye spawn and stated they would ensure compliance and enforcement. This has obviously not happened.
Preston blames both the Ministry of Natural Resources and Nipissing First Nation. “Since 1999, when the Stewardship Council was initially formed, our partners and stakeholders have complained about excessive gill netting with an apparent wanton disregard for this precious resource and several discoveries of fish left to spoil. Abuse of First Nation rights to fish on Lake Nipissing was the number one issue raised during public consultation for the new Lake Nipissing Fisheries Management Plan last year. We’ve been patient. We’ve listened to both sides and have been gracious. We’ve taken abuse from our member groups because of our lack of action. We’ve kept our noses out of discussions between Nipissing First Nation and the MNR – for years and years. Enough is enough. These two parties will just continue to talk and promise and threaten until there are no fish left in Lake Nipissing.”
The Stewardship Council wants action now. We want a commitment from the MNR and Nipissing First Nation that this travesty will be dealt with quickly and effectively. We want the MNR to do its job – protect Ontario’s resources. The MNR has the tools. They just need the will. Are charges going to be laid for allowing the waste of such a large number of fish?
The Stewardship Council wants Nipissing First Nation to follow through with promises and talk of how committed they are to ensuring the fishery is sustainable. Nipissing First Nation has made commitments to the Stewardship Council that have not been followed through on. Nipissing First Nation has two seats on the multi-stakeholder group. The LNSC’s credibility is now compromised by our trust to see these proposed positive initiatives come to fruition. In order to effectively manage this fishery, we must have regular, timely and complete reporting of native catches – this is no threat to First Nation rights.
If Nipissing First Nation cannot get 100% compliance from their community, maybe banning gill nets on Lake Nipissing is the answer.
While we can appreciate the positive step of hiring a First Nations Conservation Officer, a two-year internship is not the answer. This needs to be a permanent, full-time position, funded by the MNR for there to be any chance of continuity of enforcement and compliance measures for the fishery to survive given the current ongoing situation.
In closing, the LNSC believes this isn’t just an issue for people that fish. Every community, native and non-native that lives around Lake Nipissing owes its economic viability to the lake. It generates over $100 million to the area annually. Destruction of the fishery threatens this. Sure, there’s a beautiful sunset, but how long will people continue to holiday at a lake with no fish in it?
|
