250 Vl'Kt)\ IISHIRIIS 



wuhin the IX'parlincnrs regional organi/iiliDn should be 

 reviewed lluis 



7. Ill (Ih- i-i>nte\l or lla- hiul^i-l aiul a(liiiiiiistrali\e rc\in\ 

 of tiK- IKpaniiii'iK (|)ro(xtsf<l in ( lia|)liT !•>), IIk' |M>si- 

 lioii (tf (Ik- ^ iikoii (iiTitor\ in iIk' IK'|>;irtiiii'nrs 

 rv^ionul (ir^aiii/ation should be avscssod. 



COMSl ITAl ION 



All communications between the Department and 

 other governmental agencies, private fishing and environ- 

 mental interest groups, and the public are informal. The 

 most developed is the interagency referral process for 

 proposed projects, but this is only between governmental 

 agencies. The Yukon River Advisory Committee repre- 

 sents the commercial .salmon fishermen and processors 

 on the Yukon River and provides a forum for advising 

 the Department on development of the fishery and man- 

 agement of the runs, particularly in the Dawson area. 

 Apart from these, and occasional workshops or meetings 

 on particular subjects or problems, consultation depends 

 on direct contacts between fisheries officials and the pub- 

 lic. 



Consultation thus has two dimensions: among govern- 

 mental agencies with common interests; and between the 

 government and private interests. I have already 

 described the relationships among government depart- 

 ments and the scope for conflict among them. Clearly, 

 close liaison is needed between the Department and other 

 federal and territorial agencies concerned with fisheries 

 management. To meet this need, I propose — 



8. A Yukon Fisheries Committee, chaired by a repre- 

 sentative of the Department of Fisheries aiid Oceans, 

 should be established with representatives of the fed- 

 eral Departments of the Environment and Indian and 

 Northern Affairs, the Yukon Department of Renew- 

 able Resources and other concerned governmental 

 agencies to provide a regular forum for sharing infor- 

 mation and resolving mutual problems relating to 

 fisheries and habitat management. 



The arrangements for this consultative body should be 

 similar to those I propose in Chapter 18 for the Canada- 

 British Columbia Fisheries Committee. 



To provide for consultation between the Department 

 and private groups with fisheries interests, the arrange- 



mcnis must be more lle\ihlc In the special circumstances 

 of Yukon, the most pressing need is for organized consul- 

 tations with recreational and commercial sportfishing 

 interests to communicate and examine |iroblems of 

 fisheries management, to seek their advice and to pro- 

 mote their cooperation in regulating fishing activity, 

 rherctbre 



9. IIk' IX-partiiK>ii( slHtuld strike a Yukon siMtrthshing 

 advisory conunittee to serve as a foniin for discussing 

 problems relating to management of the sport fishery. 



I have described the appropriate structure and proce- 

 dures for such advisory committees in Chapter 17. 



Consultation with representatives of the smaller com- 

 mercial, native and subsistence fisheries is more difficult 

 because of the barriers to communication and travel. TTie 

 Department's present, more modest arrangements, 

 involving occasional meetings and the Yukon River 

 Advi.sory Committee should be continued and expanded 

 as circumstances require. 



CONCLUSION 



The fish resources of Yukon have not hitherto received 

 the attention required to assure their proper conservation 

 and management. Present knowledge about them is 

 meagre, but there is evidence of excessive exploitation in 

 some water systems. This must be reversed if the terri- 

 tory's rich recreational opportunities are to be preserved. 

 And the growing number and size of assaults on fish hab- 

 itat call for a much more aggressive approach to environ- 

 mental management. Many of the present deficiencies are 

 the result of an awkward administrative organization and 

 insufficient support, which are therefore subjects of many 

 of my recommendations. 



Yukon fisheries are overshadowed by the ocean fisher- 

 ies administered by the Department's Pacific regional 

 organization. But they are nevertheless very valuable 

 resources: they enrich lifestyles, the economy and the 

 social fabric of the territory substantially. Certainly they 

 deserve to be properly conserved, managed and recon- 

 ciled with the pressures of industrial development. My 

 proposals are intended to begin closing the gap between 

 the present provisions for Yukon fisheries and the needs 

 of the last decades of the 20th century. 



