Hay River (May 09/05) - Calvin Peddle says some fishermen unfairly blame the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation for problems with the Great Slave Lake fishery.

"It's not Freshwater's fault that the fishery is declining," says Peddle, the corporation's NWT field operations manager.

Calvin Peddle, the NWT field operations manager with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, stands by a cutting table at the Hay River fish plant.

Peddle was reacting to the renewed call for lake fishermen to opt out of the federal crown corporation, which controls the sale of freshwater fish outside the NWT.

The fishery is declining because fishers find it difficult to attract and retain good help, he says. "It's a hard lifestyle, especially the winter fishery."

This winter, there were 47 fishermen working on the lake, compared with 83 last year.

"There's no new blood in the fishery here," Peddle says.

Even though the stocks are healthy, the total landings of all species from Great Slave Lake have been declining an average of three to six per cent each year over the last decade.

For the 1996/1997 fiscal year, the catch totalled 1.4 million kg. For 2004/2005, the number had fallen to 754,000 kg.

Peddle says prices for whitefish - the main catch - have been falling since the spring of 2000.

Pricing and marketing are two of the main frustrations for fishermen, who want to deal directly with private buyers.

However, Peddle warns private companies might buy fish at certain times of year when it is attractive for them, but would not offer a full, year-round service.

Peddle believes most fishermen support the corporation. "It's a very small percentage who want to get rid of Freshwater."

Projected losses

The corporation is projecting to lose about $266,000 on its Northwest Territories operations this year. It will be the fourth year in a row it has lost money.

At the April 28 spring meeting of the NWT Fishermen's Federation, the corporation presented some possibilities on how to cut its costs.

"We're letting them know that the board feels the money being lost is to a point that is too much for other areas to be subsidizing it," Peddle says.

Among the possibilities are closing the Hay River plant or closing the winter fishery.

Peddle describes the ideas as starting points for a discussion with fishermen, stressing no decisions have been made.