Mr. Speaker, Fraser River sockeye salmon are in danger of being mismanaged into extinction. Fisheries department numbers show that less than 10% of sockeye reached their spawning grounds this year, likely resulting in no commercial sockeye fishery in 2008.
The department knew by early July that high water temperatures and low water levels could be lethal, but allowed the fisheries to open. It has done little to stop illegal net fisheries on the river, even returning confiscated nets to their owners.
It is time to question how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans manages this vital public resource. The fisheries committee is travelling to B.C. to deal with the issue and the minister is setting up a committee to look at policy decisions, but these are only interim measures.
My constituents want to avoid the disaster they saw in Atlantic Canada. They want solid and truthful information. They demand a full judicial inquiry into this mismanagement of the fishery by this weak Liberal government.