Dear editor,
Salmon are forest creatures.
When forest structures are in decline, creatures of the forest including wild salmon are in decline.
When the forest is gone, wild salmon creatures of the forest are gone.
When wild salmon are gone, creatures of the fishing industry are gone.
When the fishing industry is gone, viability in coastal communities and dependent businesses are gone.
When coastal viability structures are gone, coastal people are caught within a downward financial collapse. Younger people are forced to move from home-based coastal areas in search of viable employment.
What happened? Where exactly have academics, elected political reps/parties, and DFO management people been in the last 50 years? And yes, it is true, now they all want to keep their jobs as they have dependent families. Why should they keep their jobs? What actually remains to manage regarding wild salmon?
We are all now in the process of understanding “natural physical law” (cause and effect) in regards to wild salmon and our Pacific Coast ecosystems. Salmon are not returning to Canada in any historical manner.
What are some of the natural physical law fundamentals removed to explain this salmon demise?
It’s a very tough lesson for most.
The long-term politically corrupt management of our wild salmon resource in Canada is now a sinking ship. If there are any salmon-related lifeboats to be deployed, they will contain no native people or commercial fishermen. These lifeboats will become political vessels to save DFO management, elected political reps, and to some degree the charter sport sector.
The old ways die hard. Politics plays to preferred groups that has always been the money in the bank.
Food concerns top the list regarding present and future generations. Around the world, quality protein is in short supply. Our Canadian governments have placed a very low political priority on historical fisheries on both Canada’s east and west coasts. We, in Canada, are making food history in a very negative way.
Tom Gray,
Comox