Springer (killer Whale) - Namgis First Nation Enlisted To Catch Wild Salmon For Springer

Namgis First Nation Enlisted To Catch Wild Salmon For Springer

During one OOF meeting in June, a Motion was made on behalf of Dr. Spong and OrcaLab to use OOF funds to contract commercial fishermen from the Namgis First Nation of Johnstone Strait, BC, to catch and provide wild salmon for Springer while she was in her seapen in Dongchong Bay, Hanson Island, the repatriation site and territory of the Namgis. If the money was approved, Dr. Spong would help arrange an out-of-season fishing permit from DFO, and Namgis Chief Bill Cranmer would put together a boat and crew. A member of OOF, together with a representative from NMFS present at the meeting, urged instead the use of farmed Atlantic salmon provided by a local aquaculture company, even though the First Nations in the region were adamantly opposed to fish farms in their waters. It was argued that the logistics of feeding Springer wild fish was too much to take on for the team, particularly this close to the capture date.

After much discussion, the NMFS representative suggested that the agency might agree to the Namgis contract, but only on the condition that OOF provide a metal detector at the seapen site to screen the wild salmon for fish hooks which could pose a danger to Springer. NMFS finally assented on a personal assurance from OOF members that they would be at the site when the salmon came in, physically inspecting the mouth of each fish for hooks prior to their placement into the seapen. The Motion passed and the Namgis were contracted. The First Nations were now appropriately participating in the return of a wayward kakawin, or orca, to their ancestral waters. And a potential conflict unfolding before the eyes of the world media was averted. No farmed Atlantic salmon would be brought into Namgis territory.