The Federal Government has established an inquiry into the management of west coast salmon stocks. This has long been sought by John Cummins, MP from Delta, BC, who lays the primary blame on the First Nations and the aboriginal right to fish. It has also been sought by the NDP, who profess to care only about the salmon, and by various environmental and fish protection groups who variously lay the blame on habitat destruction, over fishing, El Nino, farm fisheries, the traditional small boat fishers, and the use of gill nets and other destructive gear. Others blame the Americans, Japanese and other non-Canadian fishers. Virtually all blame DFO and the bureaucrats and politicians who run it.

The difficulty is that all of these to some degree and in their own way are at fault. First Nations’ fishers rightfully point out that there has been a hundred year plus effort to deny them the harvest that they enjoy as a property right under the law and the constitution. Governments have ignored, denied and curtailed their access to their rightful harvest through all kinds of regulations and laws. Many First Nations have understandably seen the whole management regime as unlawful – and they are right – and so have gone ahead and ignored it all. The result has been that the management of harvests has often times become chaotic. How much overall impact this has had is hard to estimate, but it points out the difficulty of laying blame. Who is to blame – the First Nations who have rejected an illegitimate and unlawful management regime, or the governments that have created a regime that lacks credibility and is thus ignored by many?

Habitat destruction has been killing salmon stocks for generations. The whole of the lower mainland was once one of the richest salmon producing areas of the world. Developers and governments have destroyed it. Do they get a free pass because that is all in the past? Forest harvesting destroys large amounts of habitat every year. So does mining and dredging. Now hundreds of private hydro projects are set to lay waste to rivers and streams all over the province. The provincial government, municipalities and industry are hugely to blame. The inquiry can’t give them a pass.

The commercial fishers for years have operated as if their purpose is to destroy the stocks. They have often refused to accept the reality of declining stocks. They have insisted on continuing to use gill nets, one of the most destructive forms of fisheries possible. They regularly refused to accept the First Nations fisheries, making much needed co-management impossible. And they have fought amongst themselves about allocations when the real question should have been conservation. They carry more than enough blame.

Governments and industry often blame commercial fishers and fishing communities for putting social objectives ahead of industry needs. For instance, commercial fishers have long been resistant to the creation of an industrial fishery based on a few very large boats, long a favourite of government because of the ease of enforcement of catch limits with a small number of boats and of industry because of economies of scale. But who can really blame the commercial fishers – of what social use is a fishery benefiting a few large corporations with 20 or 30 monster ships plying the coast?

Fish farms undeniably are killing salmon, especially because of sea lice. But the farm fish industry remains in denial, and government and some communities want the jobs and industry wants the profits, so nothing is done. All are to blame, no question about it.

The Americans steal our fish every year, reducing our catches and undermining recovery efforts. But the Federal Government doesn’t want a fight with the US over such small potatoes and so Canada goes along. It is only ten years ago the David Anderson signed away Canada’s salmon to the Americans without a moment of remorse. He and Chretien wanted to avoid a fight with the US whatever the costs in fish. So they are to blame for sure.

The Japanese are likely aware of where at least some of our stock stay over the four years they are in the ocean. If they are, they are fishing them. This could be a big part of the explanation. So they are likely to blame, although if they are they are too clever to admit it.

And then there is El Nino. El Nino disrupts ocean habitats and ocean migrations. That is without doubt playing a part.

Salmon management is also very political. Under pressure from fishing interests, excessively high allowable catches were allowed for a very long time. Bureaucrats and politicians have let themselves be pressured into making decisions that have run down spawning numbers and thus stocks. They are for sure to be blamed.

I haven’t mentioned the scientists. They are the ones that generate the information upon which all harvesting and conservation is based. They have clearly got it wrong consistently and frequently. Just this year they estimated that 4,000,000 salmon would return to the Fraser River. None did. It is hard to be that far off. Many will ask why they can’t get it right.

The inquiry will be public as it should be. All of the claims I have set out will be made with passion. They will equally strongly be rejected by those who won’t or can’t accept their share of the responsibility. Nothing will be done by government until the Commission is finished in the hope that some claims will be rejected and others embraced by the Commission. The salmon will be swimming in treacherous water for some time to come. One hopes enough survive to see the report come out. And when it does, odds are it will sit on the shelf.

Sometimes I think it would be better if 15 or 20 people from all of these groups were locked in a room until they come up with a result that saves the salmon. This would focus them on solving the problem rather than arguing about who is to blame before a costly Commission. Of course come to think of it it would probably only work if I had the key. And come to think of it, I am available.

What is really needed are substantial allocations to First Nations, and an independent, BC located, credible, effective, powerful, informed, science driven management institution with First Nation involvement and all the provincial and federal powers needed to protect, conserve and rebuild and allocate the salmon stocks. That would take a few short months to design and set up. But it isn’t going to happen.

Instead we are going to have a long drawn out blame game and talk fest. This is just going to put off the day of reckoning some more. There is no leadership, no visionary, and no problem solver on the salmon file in BC or Ottawa. Sadly, this is all about politics. And just as sadly, we will get the predicted results.

Fish farms.