DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE - Ongoing concerns in Fort Providence over increased numbers of sports fishers has led Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation to take action.

Over the past five years, residents have seen increasing numbers of tourists and visitors arrive in the community with fishing rods ready to fish, said Chief Joachim Bonnetrouge.

"This year there seems to be more numbers," he said.

Fort Providence residents are concerned about over-fishing and potential damage to the sensitive spawning area along some of the local rivers, creeks and streams, said Bonnetrouge. There have been reports of some visiting anglers catching large numbers of fish and canning them.

"There seems to be a total disregard that the Deh Gah Got'ie are living here," he said.

Many residents are dependent on the fish they catch and non-local anglers are endangering that, said Bonnetrouge. Based on licence plates Bonnetrouge said most of the anglers are coming from Alberta, possibly La Crete.

To combat over-fishing and to ensure fishing limits are being respected, the band and the Fort Providence Resource Management Board hired six local residents to act as monitors. The monitors were equipped with video cameras on June 8 and deployed on local waterways.

The purpose of the monitors is to create a presence on the water and to report any questionable harvesting activities, said Bonnetrouge. Video evidence will be given to either the territorial Department of Environment and Natural Resources or the federal Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The plan was to use the monitors for a week and then reassess the issue, Bonnetrouge said. At the same time, the band planned to post signs at the more sensitive and popular areas along the rivers stating that fishing activities are being monitored.

The band is also looking at long term solutions. A plan needs to be in place before the Deh Cho Bridge is open, said Bonnetrouge.

"It's just going to get worse," he said.

The band plans to work with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to restrict fishing in certain locations around Fort Providence.

The band has created a map of eight areas including the mouth of the Horn River and the Kakisa River where local people harvest. The areas are sensitive and need further protection from non-local anglers, Bonnetrouge said.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is aware of the concerns surrounding sports fishing in Fort Providence said Gerald Fillatre, the conservation and protection supervisor with DFO for the territory.

"These concerns have been ongoing for some time," Fillatre said.

He said the department is taking a two-pronged approach to the issue. When there are complaints about fishing activities in an area, officers make patrols to ensure people have fishing licences and are only catching what they are allowed, he said.

The area around Fort Providence is one of the propriety sports fisheries the department works on in the territory, so patrols are ongoing, he said. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) also works jointly with DFO to do patrols and enforce the Fisheries Act and the NWT Fishery Regulations.

The area will also be examined to see if there is a conservation concern, said Fillatre.

"Our goal is to conserve fish species," he said.

Options to address a conservation problem include decreasing fishing limits or increasing the size of the Mackenzie River Management Area which already encompasses most of the area the band is concerned about. In the management area, there are restrictions on grayling, northern pike and walleye.

There are a few ways fishing can be restricted. A regulation, which takes a few years to enact, closes a body of water to fishing. A variation order, which varies catch limits for certain water bodies, can be done within a year.

Any fishing restrictions, however, would apply to everyone equally regardless of whether they live in the area, he said. Any decisions will be made in consultation with the community, user groups and DFO's partners including ENR, said Fillatre.

DFO is holding a meeting in Fort Providence today at 5 p.m. in the recreation centre.

Information that was gathered about last season's sports fishing data will be presented and DFO will listen to comments from community members.

The department is aware that the band has sent out monitors to address the issue of over-fishing, Fillatre said. The department requests that if someone sees a fishing violation, they observe, record and then report it so an investigation can be conducted. In the territory, the Report a Poacher Line can be used for both hunting and fishing violations.

A big part of what DFO does is based on complaints so if more are received it helps focus the department's activities, he said.

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