The Struggle for Lake Babine Nation’s Fishing Rights

Current State of Lake Babine Nation’s Sockeye Salmon Resource

If this sockeye represents all the sockeye in Wild Babine streams in your

Father’s time

This is how much is left today (about 25%).

How much will be left in your children’s time?

Babine River Bernann Creek Boucher Creek Donalds Creek Five Mile Creek Forks Creek Four Mile Creek Hazelwood Creek Kew Creek Tachet Creek Tahlo Creek Twain Creek

Morrison Creek Nichyeskwa River Nilkitwa River Naine Mile Creek Pendleton Creek Pierre Creek Shass Creek Six Mile Creek Sockeye Creek Sutherland Creek Telzato Creek Tsezakwa Creek Wright Creek

Pinkut/Fulton

Babine sockeye in the 1950’s was 75% Wild

Babine River Bernann Creek Boucher Creek Donalds Creek Five Mile Creek Forks Creek Four Mile Creek Hazelwood Creek Kew Creek Tachet Creek Tahlo Creek Twain Creek

Morrison Creek Nichyeskwa River Nilkitwa River Naine Mile Creek Pendleton Creek Pierre Creek Shass Creek Six Mile Creek Sockeye Creek Sutherland Creek Telzato Creek Tsezakwa Creek Wright Creek

Today: 25% is Wild. All LBN’s eggs are in the Enhanced “basket”

Proportion of Non-Pinkut/Fulton Sockeye in 1950’s and the amount left

today

1950-59 2000-09

Compared to your Grandfather’s Time?

What is the Status of those Wild Stocks that Remain?

Red says “danger: take immediate action”; Amber – Caution; Green:

Healthy

Babine River

What is the impact of overfishing wild populations?

• If enhanced populations fail; little left• Wild Babine Lake stream ecosystems are

threatened • Babine River sockeye were an important

source of Food fish• DFO will not allow LBN to harvest

enhanced sockeye at Babine Fence• Climate change and beetle kill may lead to

higher water temperatures and disease outbreaks at Fulton and Pinkut

What has happened to LBN’s Wild Sockeye Stocks?

Fish Produced in Pinkut/Fulton Channels produce more offspring than Wild Babine

SockeyeSockeye from

Pinkut/Fulton ChannelsWild Sockeye fromother LBN Streams

Enhanced and Wild Sockeye Swim Together as they enter the Skeena

Wild

Wild

If Commercial Fishery Catches 50% of the sockeye swimming by: 3 Enhanced Sockeye,

but only 1 Wild Sockeye Survive

The Coast Fishery Is Focused on LBN’s sockeye Stocks

Run Timing of Wild Babine River sockeye on coast

Last week of July on coast

Run-Timing of Enhanced Pinkut and Fulton sockeye is similar to Wild Babine River

Sockeye

Run Timing of Babine River Sockeye

Run-Timing of Enhanced Babine Sockeye

Red is where wild Babine sockeye and enhanced sockeye overlap on the coast. Coastal fisheries targeting enhanced

sockeye catch the less productive wild Babine River sockeye

Overlap between the Timing ofEnhanced Babine Sockeye andWild Babine River Sockeye

The black outline is when the coastal fishery happens

This is what you would think the management plan would look like on the coast: fishing

spread throughout the season

Max is 35%

But DFO wants to protect early non-Babine sockeye

Max increases to 50%

And chums and steelhead later in the season

Max. increases again to 60%

This is the result compared to DFO’s Target if everything is

PERFECT

Run Size Target Current Fishery

Compare to Target

Small 47% 33% UNDERMedium 47% 46% =Large 47% 53% OVER

But things are far from perfect: Wild Babine Sockeye are severely depressed, and at least

one is in the Red Zone and Requires a Recovery Plan

Significant #’s of enhanced returns and increased coastal fishingPressure begins here

What’s left

Many people believe target should be much lower to protect and rebuild wild fish

Run Size Target Current Fishery

Compare to Target

Small 33% 33% =Medium 33% 46% OVERLarge 33% 53% OVER

What is DFO Required to do when

salmon stocks are in the “red” zone?

Red says “danger: take immediate action”; Amber – Caution; Green:

Healthy

Babine River

The Wild Salmon Policy Requires that the Status of Salmon Stocks

be Identified

Stocks in the RED ZONE require Recovery Plans

A Recovery Plan Requires

“The presence of a CU in the Red zonewill initiate an immediateconsideration of ways to protect thefish, increase their abundance, andreduce the potential risk of loss.Biological considerations will be theprimary drivers for the managementof CUs with Red status”. WSP Policy

Next Steps

DFO Management impacts on LBN’s Rights & Title, Sec. 35 Rights,

Commercial Rights, and Treaty Rights

• LBN’s sockeye resources severely overfished

• DFO’s management plan continues to overfish LBN’s sockeye

• LBN’s future access to Food Fish is threatened

• LBN cannot fish enhanced sockeye commercially at the Babine Fence

• DFO may reduce LBN’s access to sockeye for commercial harvest

• Only the coastal fishery has an allocation of Babine Lake sockeye

What are DFO’s intentions?

• INCREASE coastal harvest rate• Continue to overfish Babine River

sockeye • Reduce LBN’s commercial fishing?• Not allow LBN to harvest surplus fish

at Fence• Not rebuild wild sockeye to historical

levels

Consultations and LBN’s “Free, Prior, and Informed

Consent”• DFO has not directly consulted with the Lake

Babine Nation, nor sought their Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC)

• FPIC Requires (as provided by AFN) LBN must have access to all relevant information – may

involve independent assessments May require a human rights impact assessment Must have the time and opportunity to reach an

informed conclusion based on their own forms of decision-making

Process must be free of intimidation, threat of retaliation, or other forms of duress

Re: Request for Consultations

The Lake Babine Nation requests the opportunity to engage in meaningful consultations with your Department on the four issues listed below. Each has the potential to impact our Rights and Title, including our section 35 FSC fishery, our section 35 commercial fishery and as well as our ESSR commercial fishery. We therefore require meaningful consultation and accommodation prior to the proposed changes. The four issues are:

1. Proposed changes to the 2009 Harvest Rules recommended by the ISRP that would increase exploitation rates on Babine sockeye;

2. DFO’s recognition that Babine River sockeye requires protection in the 2014 IFMP, and whether those protections will be sufficient;

3. The development and implementation of a Recovery Plan for Babine River sockeye as required by DFO’s Wild Salmon Policy; and

4. Proposed changes to DFO’s Allocation Framework. While the issues are related in that they have the potential to impact the conservation, and LBN’s access to, salmon stocks within LBN territory; each requires its own focused, meaningful consultation. The first two directly relate to the development and implementation of the 2014 fishing plan, DFO has recently set a deadline of J anuary 31st for submissions to the 2014 IFMP. Technical discussions and consultations involving DFO and LBN staff should begin the week of J anuary 13, 2014. LBN is prepared to make its staff available for the time it will take for these consultations. LBN feels that it would be inappropriate for DFO to widely distribute a draft IFMP before consultations on the first two issues are complete. For the reasons listed above, LBN is requesting Nation-to-Nation consultations. Consultations with the Skeena Fisheries Commission are inadequate and insufficient. The third and fourth issues should initially focus on structure, format, participation, funding, and timetable. Both will have impacts well beyond the 2014 season. We are prepared to set aside the time, and expertise required to make these consultations meaningful and successful. We look forward to meeting with your staff as soon as possible. Yours truly Chief Wilf Adam

Letter sent by Chief Adam to DFO demanding “meaningful” consultations

Opportunities and Challenges for LBN

1. LBN can design and insist upon a “meaningful” consultation process that:a) provides sufficient time for LBN to

consider DFO’s argumentsb) obtain independent advicec) consult internallyd) negotiate alternatives or

mitigation with DFO

Opportunities and Challenges for LBN (cont’d)

2.Fight increase in coastal harvest rates

3.Reduce harvest rates on Babine River

4.Prepare Recovery Plan for Babine River sockeye

5. Joint management of enhancement facilities

6. Fight attempts by coastal FNs and industry to reduce LBN’s commercial fishery

7. LBN must be allowed to harvest enhanced sockeye at Babine Fence

8. Develop joint management plan for commercial fishing in Babine Lake

Opportunities and Challenges for LBN (cont’d)

It is a tall order but possible if there is the political will and resources

Potential sources of resources and capacity

• Talok Fisheries Ltd: LBN’s commercial fishing company

• SkeenaWild Conservation Trust• DFO

Thank you to:

• Chief Adam• Fred William• Leonard Lawley• Donna Macintyre• Board of Director’s: Talok Fisheries Ltd.• Eamon Murphy: (LBN’s Lawyer)• Greg Knox: Skeena Wild Conservation Trust