Submitted by Kelly Poirier and Dawn Foxcroft
Uu-a-thluk Outreach Coordinators
Feb. 23, 2005
With the skills and dedication of their community members, administration, Chief and Council working together with their Fisheries staff over the past 10 years, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations have developed a very successful Fisheries Program.
Over the past 8 years the Huu-ay-aht Fisheries program's primary focus has been watershed restoration work, providing jobs for community members and creating a good model through fantastic restoration projects such as the Klanawa River side channel.
The overall
goal and objective of the Huu-ay-aht Fisheries department is to restore all
35 rivers and streams within their Ha-houlthee, and ultimately to create 50
jobs related to fisheries and aquaculture.
The current number of Huu-ay-aht First Nations members employed is between 12 - 22 people. The kinds of jobs community members are active in are: 2 drifters including a captain and deckhand, 4 to 6 fisheries department staff, a crew of up to 6 for oyster aquaculture, a clam crew of 3 to 6, and a truck driver for food fish distribution.
Currently the structure of the Huu-ay-ahy First Nations Fisheries Department includes Fisheries Technicians: Andrew Cook, Clifford Nookemus Jr., Lonny Nookemus and Terry Nookemus who report to the Fisheries Foreman Duane Nookemus. Duane Nookemus reports to the Fisheries Manager Stefan Ochman, who then liases and reports to the Fisheries Councilor Ed Johnson and the Director of Tribal Operations, Connie Nookemus. All of the information and reports are given as regular updates to Chief and Council.
Some of the projects that the Huu-ay-aht First Nation Fisheries Department has undertaken in the past few years include: the creation of a 400m long spawning channel with 7 riffles and 6 gravel spawning platforms in 2004; restoration of the Pachena watershed in 2005 with 2km of fish habitat opened to coho and steelhead by removing log jams; and building a floating upwelling system (a "Flupsy") for growing oysters, which is to be installed in 2006. Other kinds of innovative work being undertaken by the Fisheries Departments dedicated staff and commuity members are the Bamfield Community Abalone Project, the Bamfield Huu-ay-aht Community Forest, and the Flupsy project that will allow the Huu-ay-aht First Nations shellfish aquaculture business to become more integrated from seed to grow-out.
In the future the Hu-ay-aht Fisheries Department wishes to look at shellfish processing and distribution options. It sees a role for a framework like Uu-a-thluk to assist all Nuu-chah-nulth to develop new joint projects like shellfish processing plants, and other kinds of projects that would expand the fisheries that Nuu-chah-nulth have and that draw our communities together. Great work Huu-ay-aht!
Leslie Cook and Phyllis Williams pick wild oysters at Kuksui.
