Message to our Members
Legal Update
The FRSA continues the fight for a healthy sustainable fishery for future generations. The FRSA has pushed, and will continue to push, for opportunities for the public to enjoy our special and diverse fisheries.
On Sept 9th, 2020 the FRSA and its partner organizations held a demonstration bar fishery at several locations across from the Island 22 boat launch. The purpose of this demonstration was to gather data and show the effective selective methods that can be used when stocks of concern are migrating through the Fraser. However, those anglers were meet with hostility from the local DFO enforcement and in the end six anglers were charged for fishing during a closed time. These anglers that were charged are not law breakers but concerned Canadian citizens that deeply care about our fishery and want sustainable fisheries for the future.
Since Sept 9th the FRSA has retained legal counsel to dispute the tickets that were handed out during the demonstration. The FRSA will continue to fight these tickets, with the hope that future generations can enjoy this wonderful fishery.
The FRSA and The Fraser Valley Salmon Society have started a Go Fund me page to raise funds and awareness about our legal battle.
Nathan Bootsma
FRSA – Chair
Go Fund Me Update
Thank you all for the efforts to drive dollars to our GoFundMe page. This is an example of what happens when we are all working together. I know the goal of 100K was optimistic. I am very happy with the 40K we hit today and continuing to grow. Another 10K was generated that is not included in the go fund page. So, we are over 50K in this fundraiser, a great achievement. A few of us have gone above and beyond to get where we are today.
The collective effort to get some bigger financial players involved has been challenging. This effort is very complex. However, companies such as Catherwood and Leavitt Machinery have stepped up (5K each) It requires constant reminders and stubbornness to get our goals heard and included in business plans. Due to this being such a local initiative, we had to approach this with a broader ask that would suggest that our focus included the entire west coast. This is not easy, but we have people listening and willing to help. Its not an immediate solution but it is moving forward.
If you would like to become a member of FRSA please visit our website:
If you would like to make a direct donation to our legal battle, please visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-public-fraser-river
Fred Helmer
FRSA – Finance Chair
Lower Fraser Collaborative Table
The FRSA has been working twice a month with First Nations, commercial and the recreational sector through the Lower Fraser Collaborative table. This is a very important process of building relationships with all the user groups of the Lower Fraser. It is through this process that we will be able to support one another and have open and honest discussion of one another’s needs on the river.
Derek Clayton
FRSA -Rep