Dear Editor:

Re: "B.C. Fishermen Plan Fight" --July 2

Shankar and Blore are right to give special attention to David Anderson's continuing attempts to protect the profitablity of Bob Wright's Oak Bay Marine Group sport-fishing lodges at the expense of fish stocks and fishermen.

Scientists at the Department of Fisheries have confirmed that the area around Langara Island is a red zone--an area where coho stocks are at high risk of extinction. According to scientific reports the area around Langara has a high prevalence of Upper Skeena coho, a stock that is "at immediate risk of biological extinction."

Maps used at the Minister's press conference on June 19th were wrong according to the scientists--the Minister's maps had shown the area around Langara Island to be a yellow zone. The sport fishing lodge owners advising the Minister had recommended that he "establish a fishing boundary...around Langara Island" so as to maintain "sport fishing opportunities." Scientists described the lodge owners recommendation as "crap".

According to the scientists, the Minister over-ruled scientific advice to protect the economic interests of lodge owners. A selective fishery will be allowed in the red zone around Langara Island.

The Minister's scientific advisory committee had specifically recommended against selective fisheries on Upper Skeena coho -- any fishing mortality would "impose substantial additional risk to populations already in exponential decline" and inevitably accelerate the already critical situation caused by overfishing, habitat degradation and poor ocean survival.

This is not the first time the Minster has put the economic interests of Bob Wright's Oak Bay Marine Group ahead of our fish stocks. The Minister claimed that charges were dropped against Oak Bay in 1997 because the department had an agreement with a third party to provide catch data. Departmental officials insist that no formal agreement ever existed.

Oak Bay Marine was charged under the Fisheries Act with refusing to provide catch data to the department. Charges were dropped shortly after David Anderson's August 12, 1997 fishing trip with Randy Wright, vice-president of operations at Oak Bay Marine.

Yours sincerely,