With new commercial opening now underway; Metlakatla-Lax Kw'alaams make plans for upcoming Joint Demonstration Commercial Fishery

Some of Prince Rupert's fishing fleet is out on the
waters of Area 4 with a sixteen hour opening underway

The Commercial fleet has taken to the fishing grounds off the North Coast today with the latest Commercial Sockeye gillentter opening from DFO underway as of today, a sixteen hour opening in Area Four which comes as a positive estimate of fish returns was delivered.

The commercial opening comes at the same time as a Recreational opening for Sockeye get underway, that fishing opportunity hosting a limit of one per day for those taking to the recreational fishery.

While those two fisheries move forward, two local First Nations are preparing for the first licenced Demonstration Fishery for the Skeena estuary.

In a post to the Metlakatla First Nation Facebook page the background to the upcoming members only fishery which will take place in the near future, with members of both the Metlakatla First Nation and Lax Kw'alaams Band to participate most likely as part of a lottery.

In their notes they outline how it will work: 

A few things still need to be ironed out with DFO and the processors (opening date, monitoring, landing stations, COVID-19 safety, and fishing participants). The allocation for this demo fishery will be based on what is caught in the regular commercial tomorrow. Revival tanks are mandatory for non-retention salmon species.

More information on that fishery will be relayed through their social media platform.

Today was also a good day for members of the Nisga'a membership in the community, with a long line of members snaking around the Nisga'a Hall this afternoon, that as a fish distribution program began to move forward.

Members were notified of the opportunity earlier today through Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society social media.

For more notes on the North Coast Fishery can be explored here.