DFO should back salmon research
Re: 鈥淏ack in port, raring for another mission,鈥� March 21.
I applaud Richard Beamish and all those involved in the Gulf of Alaska salmon survey.
This is the kind of base scientific research we need. As a newspaper reporter for many years, one with a biology background who occasionally covered fishery issues, I was always appalled by the plethora of opinions and the dearth of facts and scientific studies.
Years ago, I asked Beamish to explain low ocean survival.
He said: 鈥淭he fish go out into the ocean and do not come back. That is all we know.鈥�
I ran into Beamish at a party a few months ago. I asked him the same question and got the same answer, but was told the Russians are starting to learn a lot more because they were out there doing research.
These are our fish, one of our most important West Coast resources, and we鈥檝e been ignoring much of what happens with them.
I think this survey is a magnificent effort.
I urge DFO and all the so-called special-interest groups to get involved in backing this, but I am afraid that would introduce too much in the way of politics. Perhaps they could do it in an arm鈥檚-length way, such has handing over a cheque and letting the scientists do their work.
I look forward to reading the research coming out of this survey.
Gregory Middleton
Salt Spring Island
Community projects will help salmon
Re: 鈥�$143 million from feds, sa国际传媒 to protect salmon,鈥� March 16.
As a 40-year volunteer salmon-resource steward and former board member of the Sport Fish Institute, Pacific Salmon Foundation and Sport Fish Advisory Board, plus a dozen other salmon-enhancement initiatives, I have most likely attended more than a thousand meetings dealing with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
I have watched salmon (prawns, crab, rockfish and herring) stocks diminish and even disappear under DFO management and policy. The only success stories come from the community-based, volunteer-driven enhancement projects, often blocked by DFO policy.
The Cowichan, Phillips and Salmon rivers are great examples where the people have made a difference. The Sooke River has a chance with community effort, while all the rest around the Island are in trouble under the watch of DFO.
I am very afraid that our new minister of fisheries is a fan of our last Liberal fisheries minister from sa国际传媒, David Anderson, who single-handedly destroyed the recreational tourism fisheries around the coast with his failed 鈥渮ero mortality鈥� edict that did 鈥渮ero鈥� to help the Upper Thompson coho it was supposed to.
As proven by Anderson鈥檚 failed 鈥渓eave coho鈥� and other area closures, it does little to rebuild stocks of concern. Knowledgeable community-based enhancement and habitat-restoration projects are the answer. The fish need a viable place to spawn. DFO needs to wake up and say 鈥測es鈥� to these many projects. Let鈥檚 hope the $142 million isn鈥檛 more studies and navel gazing.
Bob Cole
Director, West Coast Aquatic Stewardship Association
Port Alberni
Rail much cheaper than ferry service
Re: 鈥淲est Shore ferries eyed to ease traffic jams,鈥� March 19.
A passenger ferry from the West Shore at Royal Bay to the harbour? Really?
About $100 million for ferries, a breakwater and docks and many, many months to build. And a current road network that fails to connect with the proposed landing area. And there will be serious environmental effects on the beaches along the shore. The proposal is ridiculous.
We have the E&N Rail line already connecting Victoria with Langford, where there is already a bus station at the old station site. The line from Victoria to Langford can easily carry 1,500 passengers each way each hour with a 15-minute trip on a 15-minute service.
Rebuilding the track can be done in far less than one year for much less than the $100 million this ferry would require. Railway companies rebuild track at the rate of several miles in a day. And rail transit services in the U.S. have better farebox return, which means less subsidy, than their buses.
Note also that the E&N easily serves Naden and Dockyard.
Why speculate on different ways to move people from the West Shore to Victoria? The railway bypasses the congestion and can be operating in less than a year. As part of Victoria鈥檚 transit service, it needs connecting bus services for that last short part of the trip.
Highways need no business plan, why should public rail transportation?
We need action on this realistic bypass for the Colwood Crawl.
Bob Trotter
Victoria
Ferry terminal could be focus of community
Re: 鈥淐ommuting by ferry,鈥� editorial, March 21.
The ferry seems like a practical solution to the growing daily commuting traffic jam in Victoria. Ferries would reduce the number of cars coming into the city daily, reduce gas emissions and in conjunction with bus service, should provide a desirable solution for commuters.
Ferry service also offers the possibility for creative expansion of the area. Imagine restaurants, an arts centre and other attractions at the ferry terminal. Perhaps highrises and a community created nearby, bike and hiking trails, and an accessible beach area.
It could become an attraction for tourists and locals, relieving some of the highrise pressure in Victoria, and further integrating the capital region communities. We are limited only by our imagination.
William Tate
Victoria
