Northern Fisher Angered by Cash Call

 

Northern Fisher Angered by Cash Call

Friday, May 28, 2004 at 14:25

 

 

Government regulations and a request for more start-up dollars for a proposed fish plant in Prince Albert have become issues of contention for northern fishers at their annual meeting.

 

Ken Larson is a long-time fishermen from Buffalo Narrows who says he is tired of government rules that don’t make sense.

 

This morning in Prince Albert, Larson addressed fishers and officials from Saskatchewan Environment about some of the problems he sees with tourists and outfitters operating in the North.

 

Larson says he’s grown weary of seeing hundreds of whitefish and pickerel lying scattered on the bottoms of lakes by tourists who don’t want to be caught with them as they head home after the weekend.

 

Larson is also angry he and other fishers are constantly denied licenses to fish in other areas like Athabasca because they don’t originate from that area.

 

As well, Larson is frustrated with the slow march towards the completion of a proposed fish processing plant for P.A.

 

At this week’s meeting, fishers were told the project still needs thousands more dollars to get going and were encouraged to chip in an extra thousand dollars each to put pressure on the government to invest.

 

Larson says he doesn’t know how this is to be achieved when government policy keeps fishers at home instead of out on the lakes.