by Denise August
Ha-Shilth-Sa Central Region Reporter
August 12, 2004
Tofino - Creative Salmon
Company, a small, local salmon farming operation, announced recently that
it assisted Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (TFN)
to reseed a popular clam beach in their traditional territory as part
of a DFO permitting requirement. Spencer Evans, Creative Salmon General
Manager, says the project is just one example of collaboration between
his company and TFN.
Now, almost any industry that impacts sea resource habitat falls under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, and must abide by DFO requirements in order to acquire permits for new sites or renewals, as in the case of the aquaculture industry.
Evans says resource users that impact habitat, with some exemptions (i.e. fishermen) are required to compensate DFO under what he refers to as the 'no net loss habitat policy'. Simply put, industries that fall under the guidelines of CEAA must estimate the amount of impact or damage they will do to the environment then compensate DFO in an equal measure. He explains DFO has all kinds of complicated formulae and ratios to determine the amount of compensation.
"We know from our own environmental monitoring of our farms that we impact the mud floor beneath cages," Evans explained. Fish feces collecting under and around the net pens impact worm habitat. Even though the areas recover quickly after a period of inactivity (fallow) and the natural flushing of the tides, the company has to compensate DFO by creating habitat somewhere else.
After DFO outlined their ideas for compensation from Creative Salmon, the company went to TFN to ask what they could do to benefit them. TFN came up with several options including the reseeding of clam beaches but DFO had different ideas, Evans said. "They wanted beach cleanups, eel grass planting and pulling out old pilings so we compromised. TFN would get their clam bed reseeded and DFO would get their rock reef for worm habitat. In order to facilitate the artificial reef, TFN Ha'wilth, Bruce Frank made a portion of his Ha-hulthi available for the project and satisfying DFO requirements.
"In a joint effort to satisfy a Department of Fisheries and Oceans permitting requirement, Creative Salmon Company and the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (TFN) are working together to restock a popular clam digging beach near Opitsaht with approximately 400,000 juvenile Manila clams," said Evans.
The beach has been a favourite of the TFN for centuries but for a variety of reasons has very few clams at the moment. According to Josie Osborne, Fisheries Biologist with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, "the beach has ideal clam habitat, but does not appear to be self-seeding very well".
Evans says Osborne recently surveyed the beach with volunteers from Creative Salmon and TFN. The results, he says, showed poor natural recruitment and indicated the stocks could benefit from seeding.
Follow up surveys to monitor growth and survival of the clams will be conducted annually after stocking. The site is reserved for recreational and First Nations domestic harvesting, and is not being operated as a commercial tenure. If all goes well the first clams could be ready to harvest for domestic use by 2007.
Evans describes the project as "another example of the cooperative relationship we have with the Tla-o-qui-ahts. This could not have been done without their support and in the end benefits everyone involved. It's a definate win/win situation."
Creative Salmon Company
thanks all volunteers, Muu-Chin-ink (Chief Bruce Frank) and Josie Osborne
for their part in the project.
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Copyright Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper,
published by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council. Reproduction of this article
or photographs, in whole or in part, is illegal without the written consent
of Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper (hashilth@nuuchahnulth.org)
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