The foundation of the upcoming Cohen Commission into the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks is being laid this week during opening hearings.
Lawyers for the federal and provincial governments – and those representing fishing, Aboriginal, conservation and environmental interests – made suggestions on the kind of evidence commissioner Bruce Cohen should consider when formal hearings begin in September.
Musqueam First Nation elder Larry Grant kicked the procedures of Tuesday with an Aboriginal greeting and a word of caution.
“It was the introduction of colonization and industrial fishing that depleted [salmon stocks] in a short century,” he said. “If the salmon disappears, a big portion of our culture disappears.”
The commission is tasked with investigating the decline of Fraser River salmon stocks – without finding fault – with the goal of improving conservation efforts and encouraging more cooperation among stakeholders.
Specifically, the federal commission may play a large role in reshaping Department of Fishers and Oceans policies and practices.
The Cohen Commission released a wide-ranging discussion paper June 9 outlining the areas that will be covered during the evidentiary hearings.
Participants in the commission have read the paper and are using it as a base, while offering the commissioner their thoughts on what to add, exclude or delve further into. Evidentiary hearings at “The Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River” begin Sept. 7, 2010.
The sockeye salmon fishery in the Fraser River has been closed for the third straight year due to low returns.
Stocks have been in profound decline since the early 1990s.
