DELTA -- "Nobody should be surprised by the closure of the Fraser River," said John Cummins, M.P., Delta-South Richmond. "The sockeye shortfall was completely predictable and for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to attribute it to ocean conditions or a black hole in the Pacific is not acceptable."

In late July 1995, the Department was advised that there were insufficient fish for an opening on the Fraser River – yet they caved in to Sto:lo demands and allowed a native fishery (in which the Musqueam, for conservation reasons, chose not to fish).

Four years ago this week, the warning signs were obvious and the department was once more advised against an opening. Instead of moving to postpone a three day native fishery, DFO allowed it go ahead.

This year, it’s déjà vu all over again. Last Thursday, DFO was advised that there were not enough fish in the river to allow for any fishery, yet officials allowed a three day native (Sto:lo) fishery to proceed as scheduled.

This unwillingness of the DFO to heed the advice of its scientists for fear of confrontation with a native band intent on fishing is exacerbated by the Department’s inability to obtain accurate catch statistics from native fisheries. Four years ago, I travelled the Lower Fraser to Sawmill Creek in the Fraser Canyon, videotaping large scale fishing activity during a native food fishery.

I noted then that the Native food fishery in the Lower Fraser appeared to be "unrestricted and unregulated" and that the "huge numbers of nets made the river virtually impassable to sockeye returning to spawn in the upper reaches of the Fraser River system." Later that summer, I counted seventeen consecutive days of native commercial (14 days) and all-Canadian commercial (3 days) fishing activity on the Fraser River – and wondered how many of those fish would reach the spawning grounds.

There is no "black hole" in the Pacific which swallowed fish expected to return to the Fraser this year. The "black hole" is the Fraser River management system put in place by the Liberal Government.