Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, March 31, 2006

A group of respected fisheries scientists at the University of B.C. is attacking the provincial government's go-slow plan for rebuilding Cheakamus River fish populations that were devastated last year by a CN Rail toxic chemical spill.

Fish scientists including world-renowned researcher Carl Walters "strongly disagree" with B.C.'s plan to improve Cheakamus fish habitat to allow for a natural recovery of steelhead -- which could take 20 to 50 years.

They say this approach is risky and unproven, and could expose surviving fish to unnecessary risks -- as well as impose unreasonable impacts upon local communities, anglers and the Squamish First Nation.

Instead, they suggest that the province must adopt a short-term hatchery program, something which Environment Minister Barry Penner and his staff are already rejecting for steelhead, although it's considered less of a threat to other fish including pink salmon.

Earlier this month, Penner said his ministry's biologists are concerned that hatchery steelhead would dominate their stream-born counterparts and eventually replace them -- causing an overall weakening of the population.

Steelhead are the primary game fish for guides in winter and a coveted species in the province's sport fishing industry.

The Cheakamus steelhead population has until now been more durable than those in other streams in the Squamish River drainage and attracts anglers from all over the world.

Community groups, anglers and aboriginals have all sharply criticized the government's approach, which is to allow steelhead to rebuild over several generations and support that recovery by improving the quality of in-river habitat in lieu of a hatchery.

However, the scientists say Penner's approach is unproven and contains unacknowledged risks.

"The available data strongly suggest that habitat restoration on the Cheakamus River will produce no meaningful improvement in the rate of recovery of its steelhead population," says a prepared statement from Walters, Eric Taylor, Josh Korman, Howard Bailey, and Steven Martell, who will present their concerns in detail at a press conference today at UBC Fisheries Centre.

Walters is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada while Taylor is an expert on fish genetics and a member of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada (COSEWIC). Bailey served on the U.S. congressional task force that investigated a major chemical spill into the Sacramento River in 1991, while Martell studies fish population dynamics

Korman co-authored a recent report that projected lengthy recovery times for Cheakamus River steelhead as a result of the spill.

"The risk of prolonging the time to recovery by doing nothing, which has been termed 'natural recovery' by its proponents, may be far more significant than the risk associated with a short-term well-monitored hatchery operation," the statement says.

In an interview, Korman said he would support a two-year hatchery program to speed recovery for two steelhead age-classes that were wiped out in the spill.

"I respect the overall government policy but I think it's a slightly overzealous application in the case of the Cheakamus," said Korman, who added that the social and economic impacts of the disaster have not been adequately evaluated by the province.

Whistler angling guide Dave Brown said the scientists' criticisms underscore ongoing public criticism of the government's plans.

"We've had so many public and community groups speaking out, right from the get-go," Brown said. "The amount of outcry about the decision-making process and the poor science has been huge. Now to have these senior fisheries scientists take a position which, from some of them, you might not expect really says a lot."

Penner was not available for an interview but according to the ministry, a final decision on the Cheakamus River recovery plan awaits the recommendations of a committee that includes the province, the federal fisheries department, Squamish First Nation, the District of Squamish and CN.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006