Hay River (Oct 30/06) - The Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. has no plans to support the NWT winter fishery any longer and will not open its processing plant until the ice is off Great Slave Lake.

The company finished processing fish from the open water season on Oct. 21, and is now doing maintenance work at the site, said Calvin Peddle, NWT field operations manager.

The total winter catch handled in Hay River has declined steadily for the past three years: 2005-2006 -- 70,678 kg 2004-2005 -- 333,900 kg 2003-2004 -- 376,200 kg - Source: Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp.

"Right now, we'll remain closed until the open water season," he said.

This will mark the first year the plant has been mothballed for the winter, he said.

The problem is the total winter whitefish catch has been in steady decline.

Last year, the winter fishery ended in March with only 70,678 kg of fish caught and processed.

That was a 75 per cent drop compared to the previous year's 333,900 kg.

Fishers were notified in May, 2005, about the declining numbers and the possibility of losing the season altogether, said Peddle.

Lots of fish

"It's not that there is a lack of fish," said fisher Shawn Buckley. "Great Slave Lake has some of the best fishing in the world."

According to Freshwater Fish, there were 12 licence holders and a total of 28 crew members involved last winter.

The year before 18 licence holders and 47 crew members took part.

Buckley said the licence holders don't get enough money for their whitefish to be able to compete with other industries when hiring workers.

During the winter, a medium whitefish larger than .85 kg, was worth about $1.55/kg, said Peddle, adding that's about 30 cents more than what's paid in the summer.

"The bottom line is that the price is too low," said Buckley.

You have to be tough to fish for a living through an NWT winter and Buckley has no plans of giving up on it - with or without the plant.

The fisher, who makes ends meet by freelancing with other crews and operating a tourism business on the side, said he may possibly sell his winter catch dressed rather than fully cleaned and de-boned.

While Buckley is prepared to try and cope without the plant, the NWT Fishermen's Federation is not ready to let it go without at least first discussing alternatives.

The group will send a representative to Winnipeg on Nov. 9, to take part in Freshwater's board meetings, said federation president Lionel Rundle.

He said he's hopeful a plan to save the winter fishery could be hatched if the Great Slave Lake Fishing Co-op, formed last May by the commercial fishers themselves, is able to purchase the processed fish directly from the plant.

The co-op would then sell the processed fish to a buyer, ideally one located closer to the plant so transportation costs would be minimized, said Rundle.