Use traditional First Nations knowledge to help rebuild sockeye salmon stocks on the Fraser River, a contingent of First Nation speakers implored B.C. Justice Bruce Cohen on Thursday evening.
There must be an effort to determine that salmon are returning to spawning grounds before allowing commercial fisheries on the lower Fraser River, Nak'azdli councillor Peter Erickson told the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River which attracted about 30 people.
More work is also needed on salmon spawning habitat, urged Erickson, noting that traditionally it was the responsibility of the frog clan of the Nak'azdli to check the habitat in the creeks and rivers.
If there were blockages to spawning salmon, they removed debris or log jams.
When the salmon returned, they also checked the quality of the run, the number of fish and the female-male ratio, which determined their catch, said Erickson.
See Saturday's Citizen for more.
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