Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 27/05) - Fisheries and Oceans has started to reclaim its place on the Yellowknife waterfront.

On Wednesday, the federal department placed two large, orange storage containers on the site of their former warehouse.

Just after 2 pm, a crane arrived on the site, and dropped off the boxes that block the view of the water.

"This is temporary storage for our gear," said Ron Allen, area director of the Western Arctic for DFO.

"We won't be getting into construction for some time yet," said Allen.

The move surprised Wayne Guy, spokesman for the waterfront memorial park steering committee.

"The point is, before they dropped off the containers, you could still see the waterfront," said Guy.

DFO has stated that they hope to rebuild in that location. The steering committee hopes to defeat that move.

"They plan to rebuild. For a warehouse, it's a waste of space. Let's just catch our breath before we go back to the status quo," said Guy.

Guy suggests they use other storage in Yellowknife, but Allen disagrees.

"The cost of renting space in this town is quite prohibitive," said Allen.

DFO had some of their equipment in their science storage area but Allen said, "That is getting pretty crowded."

They have also been keeping items in Hay River and in their offices. Items to replace gear lost in the fire is arriving daily, according to Allen.