The federal government is investigating what local anglers call a deceitful act of illegal salmon fishing involving a Terrace-area lodge and leaders of high-profile American conservation organizations.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans investigated the complaint Aug. 12 on the Ecstall River, a lower tributary of the Skeena roughly 40 kilometres southeast of Prince Rupert. Officers observed fishing in the closed river but did not lay charges when the party presented a food-fishing permit issued by the Lax Kw’alaams band.
The Komaham Lodge, a private retreat owned by Bass Pro Shops, which hosted the group, later said the fishing was part of joint research project on low salmon stocks with the Lax Kw’alaams.
During the second consecutive year of extreme conservation measures prohibiting all recreational fishing for chinook salmon throughout the Skeena watershed, the incident has outraged local anglers.
LINK (via: Terrace Standard)
Some then very noisy and quarrelsome, high-profile Brit-fishers of Indian mahseer tried the backdoor pseudo-scientific fishing route a few years ago after their years of sheer numbers hitting on a certain river and its fine forests and wildlife (including Asian elephant) managed to get fishing on the best bits of it banned. It ended in tears, for them, the fish and everything else. Same happened on another river, in the Himalaya – some fella guiding a group on a piece of lovely, tiger-haunted water on which fishing had been been banned. The story even found its way onto an Indian Wildlife Crimes website. A couple of friends of the man very unwisely even appeared in the comments section to defend him.
No means No, but a highly self-entitled, “This doesn’t apply to ME” few in our number simply refuse to accept this.