Fisheries: A Dwindling Resource

By Ben James

How has the fish resource in British Columbia been effected over time?

Introduction

Fishing had been a major part of the Native Americans lives for thousands of years. In the 1990s that all changed when British Columbia’s fish resource had a major problem. Salmon used to make up about 60% of the fish that were caught on the West Coast but that all changed. There is much debate about what caused the decrease in fish but truly there are many different factors.

Originally there were close to 100 fish-processing plants on the West Coast. Over time that number has dropped to only six. This was caused by overfishing and damaging the environment making it hard for the remaining fish to stay alive.

The Importance of Fisheries

Fisheries in British Columbia are important to society in many ways. For the average person the fisheries create lots of job opportunities. Thanks to the resource we can also have local fish to eat instead of shipping in fish from somewhere on the other side of the world.

The Importance of Fisheries Continued

For the First Nations fishing is a way of life which has supported them throughout history. If they were no longer able to fish for salmon they would lose a large part of their culture and history.

What is the problem?

One of the main problems is logging near rivers. This is because when you cut down trees on a hill there is nothing left to hold the dirt and rock in place. The erosion that follows blocks rivers and makes it too hard for fish to spawn. Dams also stop fish from heading far enough up rivers to spawn. The second problem is illegal fishing boats that take way more fish than is healthy for the environment.

Another problem with the fisheries in British Columbia is that since the 1970s the number of salmon that survive long enough to spawn dropped from 20% to 2% in some rivers. One example of this is the Snake River Chinook run which had about 1.5 million fish during the 1800s and has now dropped to around 2500. The fish are slowly becoming endangered and could eventually go extinct if nothing is done to save them.

The Issue in Canada and Globally

Throughout the world there are lots of illegal fishing boats that over fish areas. They are killing off the number of fish and just care about the money. Not only does it destroy fisheries but it also takes away billions of dollars from legitimate businesses all around the world. It’s not just the fish that we eat that are getting hurt either, it’s others that die because of boats using illegal tactics to catch more fish.

It’s not just the fish that we eat that are getting hurt either, it’s others that die because of boats using illegal tactics to catch more fish. Unfortunately too much of the fishing industry are just out to make money and don’t care what they do to the environment.

Possible Solutions

• One possible solutions to reduce over fishing is to lower the number of commercial fishing boats that are allowed to fish

• Another is to limit the amount of fish each boat can take and when they can fish

• There also needs to be more regulation and checks to make sure all the rules are followed

• The final way we could help the fisheries is to make sure anywhere that logging is done won’t have a major effect on the ecosystem

• There also needs to be more regulation and checks to make sure all the rules are followed

• The final way we could help the fisheries is to make sure anywhere that logging is done won’t have a major effect on the ecosystem

Sources

• Horizons • http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/fisheries/ • http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/international/isu-i

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• http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/land-rights/aboriginal-fisheries-in-british-columbia.html

• http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/problems/problems_fishing/