The group would like to see all parties come up with a new water management regime that would protect both sturgeon and sockeye salmon.
Three B.C. First Nations are calling on the provincial and federal governments to force a major aluminum producer into releasing more water into the Nechako River after a dozen endangered sturgeon were mysteriously found dead.
The fish — which can weigh hundreds of kilograms, grow to up to six metres long and live for more than 100 years — showed no signs of external injuries. Laboratory results indicate they didn't die from disease, chemical exposure or due to the activities of anglers or gill net fishers, according to Steve McAdam, the sturgeon recovery lead for the province.
In a press release, the Nechako First Nations said the sudden deaths “strongly suggests acute stressor in the Nechako River have had severe impact on the remaining population of Nechako white sturgeon.” As the prices of food go up around the world, the First Nation hasn’t been able to turn to wild game or fish like they used to, and many in the community of nearly 400 are struggling to fill up their freezers.
The justice also found regulating the Nechako River has led to warmer water temperatures during migration, which in turn, has triggered pre-spawning mortality in sockeye salmon.And while the ruling reaffirmed the disproportionate and “hugely negative impacts” the river’s management had on Indigenous communities — communities that have a constitutional right to fish the Nechako — the justice turned down the Nechako First Nations’ request to restore the flow of the river to previous levels.