Wow, all I can say is wow, 30 million sockeye salmon, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.............A trip into the big smoke, Maple ridge actually, duty calls, has the Province ever needed this good news story and all media from radio, print and television have been riding the sockeye bonanza, fish farmers needing an out, Governments and commissions looking for answers, definately the water has been muddied....
Don`t bother trying to Explain 30 million sockeye just celebrate it, I`ll be attending my second Sockeye salmon barebecue, my friend Dan has been catching his 2 fish limit every day, another buddy Lane made a "sockeye run" to Twawassen and got 6 fish from First Nations, what a bounty.....
Even in my travels, on the ferry to Horseshoe bay I noticed a lot more pleasure boats fishing, there was a definate Fish buzz throughout my travels, my friend Dan spends more money catching 2 fish than simply walking down the Steveston dock and just buying them, groups getting together for salmon barbecues, all the side dishes, Dan`s wife was filleting fish preparing for canning, they are also smoking fish, Lane has his sockeye vacuum packed,..........
My friend Neil is making a "Sockeye run" tomorrow, 10 fish for $100......Dan`s friend John is working double shifts at the cannery, he told me normally he`s not even working this late in the year, he also informed me that Sockeye are being shipped to Prince Rupert and Campbell river for canning, every newcast has had celebratorial Sockeye stories, the story has gone Global, what advertising for B.C.........
There are 4000 workers directly employed catching and processing fish, but that is only the tip of the ice berg, people are buying fishing licenses, rods, reels, bait, fuel.....Gasoline etc etc.....Everyone I know are making sockeye runs, there`s a run on rock salt, canning jars, smokers, pressure cookers, Lane told me there are Asians buying Sockeye by the the trunk load, freezers are being bought, Chinese restaurants are getting their fish,..........
Just imagine the power of media, advertising campaigns, "Come to B.C......No Oil tankers and pipelines but plenty of record salmon returns".....Think of the outfitters, guides, charter boats, fishing lodges, whale watching.....Green tourism, bear lookouts, watch the healthy bears forage on fish........Do you know that evey fishing town in B.C. at one time made the claim of salmon capitol of B.C......Port Alberni, Campbell river, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Sooke.....Pender Harbour...
Because at one time we had coho salmon and chinooks through out Howe sound, salmon rock, Texado, Gibson, Campbell river, Nanaimo, we had salmon every where and record runs, not every stream and every year but there were large returns, large returns on thousands of streams and rivers, charter boat companies flourished in all towns, our commercial fleet was strong, sports fishers and boaters made our fish towns thrive, local economies were buzzing...
But over time stream by stream river by river salmon runs got wiped out, logging, mining, development, thousands of small runs eradicated, it was imperitive to protect our remaining large runs, we failed, fish farm sea lice, gravel removals, toxic spill after toxic spill.......
Thousands of small runs decimated, thousands of streams and rivers that can have the fish returned to them through science and hatcheries, just imagine, strong salmon runs all through the Province, all the mothballed canneries re-opened, a strong commercial fleet, charter boats, fishers plying our waters bringing salmon home for supper, local fish towns with their local economy buzzing on salmon dollars, tourists from Germany, Japan renting boats, staying in lodges all throughout the Province spending dollars, eating mother nature`s bounty.......
We used to have salmon like that every where, we can have it again, Government is missing the boat, British Columbia`s most valuable resource is a vibrant thriving eco system with bountiful salmon, overfed bears and growing Orca pods, people from around the world will pay to see heaven, I ply these waters, our ocean economy has been neglected and abused, we as people can enshrine in law and with our actions can return B.C. to a mother nature powerhouse........
Go for a drive friends, don`t let the bounty go to waste, take a drive to Steveston, make a "sockeye run"........Let`s make it a tradition you can pass on to your children.
The Straight Goods
Cheers-Eyes Wide Open
29 comments:
Yes, yes, yes.....that's the kind of B.C. I'd like to see and so would the world. Have to protect our wild salmon - they feed the orca's, seals, bears, eagles and (post-spawning) even fertilize the forest. The eagles are a sight to behold -- we have the largest congregation of eagles in the world east of Mission in the fall feasting on spawning salmon. We need to enhance and protect outcomes for 'wild' salmon - they can and do provide so much to the economy of BC. Alaska doesn't allow 'fish farms' - why do we???
Hansen has plans for, 700 BC rivers. Read Rafe Mair on, The Common Sense Canadian. Harper, Campbell and Hansen, have many pollution plans, on their "radar". Think of, the Enbridge pipelines, that crosses hundreds of rivers and streams, and across land. We all know pipelines, leak and burst. Dirty oil tankers, in the Port of Kitimat. There was a 6.6 earthquake, in the Queen Charlotte's, and they are fighting to drill off shore, oil and gas wells? Poisoning lakes, with toxic mine waste? Flooding the most prime farmland, in Canada? There is a global shortage of food, which is going to get far, far, worse. So, what kind of idiots, would do that? Just imagine, when we have an oil spill, on our beautiful coast? There is still oil, gathering on the rocks from, the Valdez spill 21 years ago. The wildlife, fish, birds, and our eco system, are under grave threat.
Enjoy Grant!! I'll miss my fishing this year for sure..when I lived in Powell River we used to smoke it then can it, BBQ it on cedar planks, do whatever we could do with it. I imagine it will be good fishing out at the Iron Mines area of Lund this year. I'll be there in spirit for sure!
As an aside...it's obvious that Carole isn't planning to step down - so I do indeed hope there is an alternative to work diligently FOR before the next election. I really can't believe that the NDP would put ego before the citizens of BC...but it appears they have.
Night in the City: An Evening with Carole James and the BC NDP Team
September 24, 2010 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Join NDP Leader Carole James and her team for an evening in the heart of Vancouver.
Tickets
Tickets $295 ($250 until July 15).
Tables $2,500 (8 seats) including entrance to special early pre-reception.
The headline used to read:
A Night in the City: An Evening with Carole Jame for Business in BC.
I wonder how she expects her grass roots folk to ante up $295.00 for one night of food and conversation? Can we say "She's lost touch with reality?"
I like the way the Finns in Sointula BBQ their sockeye! Brown sugar, Lee & Perrins, ketchup, lemon juice smeared all over the fish. Tied up in between two green alder "tennis rackets". Lean on the fire. Flipped forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards.....mmmmmmm....tastes like candy. Sockeye salmon - food of the gods.....tomorrow is my run day.
Let's hope this huge run of sockeye doesn't deflect the conversation away from the destruction the fish farms are rendering on our waters.
I fully expect the Vancouver Sun to run an op-ed from the spokeswomen of the aquaculture group insisting that this run is proof that the fish farms do no harm to the wild stock.
Not only do these fish farms affect the wild stocks of salmon, they have no positive impact on tourism, do nothing for the canneries and do not create near the financial impact the wild stocks do.
I also suspect that tourism at Hell's Gate and some of the small communities close to the Adams River should see a nice boost. They should both offer some impressive sights.
Cam
FYI for anyone looking for nice sockeye locally - the Katzie fishermen are selling out of the boats at the foot of Bonsom in Pitt Meadows, $10 a fish, all 10 to 15 ++. Same price for all no matter the size. I got six and nearly killed myself cleaning them all, the damn fish were so heavy!!
Cheryl, another great way is to spread a layer of real Mayo on a fillet, then sprinkle garlic powder, then a sprinkled layer of Brown sugar...
So it under the broiler in the oven if its raining,and on a soaked ceder slab in the barbeque if you have one, until just cooked. The mayo, garlic and Brown suger make magic on the fish... damn. morning and my mouth is watering again thinking about it.
I use Laila's recipe, with lemon juice drizzled as well. Leah, smoked canned sounds so good. Do you have to use a pressure canner still? Anyone have a recipe for pickled salmon? I have enjoyed seeing the general public care enough to actually celebrate and rejoice in this bounty. To actually care!
If you like it Kim, I have a wonderful old family recipe for cured danish style lox. Very easy and sooo yummy on bagels with cream cheese.
mmm, mmm, good!! some great recipe ideas here. Will definitely try salmon with layer of real mayo, garlic powder and brown sugar under the broiler. If only I had the means to smoke some too.....
Funny story, I used to work afternoons at a plant in Victoria that sliced and packaged lox. Was never a big fan, the only way I liked it was as a pate. The boss used to buy under-the-table/ late-at-night salmon with no ice or liners and lots of bruising. We thought maybe that wasn't a good thing, so we made a phonecall to fisheries (DFO)one night. Initially, they thought that was pretty interesting, showing up with weapons and taking notes and all that,but the boss (uplands golf membership)golfed a game with some DFO guy and the whole thing disappeared...I have to say, I prefer the traditional west coast recipes.
Lol... that is a funny story, and yes, it is a particular taste. My family was half danish, half german,so we ate a lot of what many people referred to as weird fish. The cold cured salmon with dill, pickled herring and smelts.
Anonymous, you can make a kitchen smoker easily enough, with a large wok, or a large roasting pan. I've done it, and I've seen it done on the cooking channel as well. It can be just as flavourful,just have to make sure you seal the rim and the lid of whatever you use.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4827306_homemade-stovetop-smoker.html
More local fish alerts! Haney wharf - tomorrow until the fish run out and again after the Wednesday or Thursday opening. She puts a sign on the bypass so you can tell if she's there. Bit smaller than Laila's. 8-12 pounds a fish - $15.00 each undressed. I bought 7 this am. Pretty good-looking roe too, if you're into that stuff :)
Recipe sounds awesome Laila! I'll try that one as well.
Kim, yes...use a pressure canner.
I'll be canning some myself again this week, always buy from the natives, underground for cash!
My mouth is watering thinking of the fresh ones I will cook, just regular mayo and a little butter and salt when cooked for me, 10 minutes an inch of course! Love the taste of the fish just the way they are.
Enjoy..
Jean
All ...
I loved reading these happy stories.
Good one, Grant.
I always use alder smoke, often mixed with a fruit wood like cherry or apple.
Yeah Kim, and a cold smoke right? All the way through. Simply the best in the world.....
White Spring or Chum are great for smoking this way, they are oilier than sockeye, longer smoking process, but the flavour is retained in that excellent omega-3 fatty acid. MMmmm!
Kim I love white spring,smoket or fresh.
Breaking news...Colin Hansen's lies documented...Bill Teileman, CFAX, facebook...
cherylb, its considered a hot smoke(cold smoke being the gravlox method Laila refers to). I use a big chief smoker with an element at the bottom for smoke. It takes hours of checking the wood chips and replenishing them. Use green chips (better smoke). Basted with maple syrup or demerrara sugar towards the end is nice too.
Jeezz Louise... I am so hungry reading this..lol.. but then again, I just posted about the HST news as wel, so that kind of tempers the appetite.
Have the no freaking shame? Did they not think that anyone would FOI them? And the sideline story is how long it took to get those FOI's... which I can confirm that can take far longer than should be.
OMG... I just saw those spelling errors! Chalk them up to these stupid nails I have on again for a job interview this week..lol. I have to cover up these salmon gutting, garden digging, kid rearing natty fingers somehow, but I sure can't type in them. Function over beauty anyday.
I heard that the Fraser River the biggest salmon river on the planet. Pretty incredible place we live.
Go fish!
Let's celebrate the salmon return and hope for the return of good governance. Let's call for the resignation of the Premiere and the finance minister!
and afterwards we'll celebrate with a brunch, "West Coast Eggs Benny". A bagel, smoked salmon, poached egg with hollandaise.
What happened to the dsf article?
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