BURSTA Bulkley Valley-Lakes District community has been left feeling disappointed after their fishing gear was vandalized recently.
Verna Bisenberger said Babine Lake has always been a safe place for her family and other Lake Babine Nation members to practice their way of life and to harvest salmon.
This season, she said, that respect has been broken by repeated criminal acts against their livelihood, including someone cutting their community net loose and someone illegally removing their net at Noranda Landing.
“We are meticulous with our gear; we never pile or scrunch our net,” she said. “Finding it bunched up and almost emptied one morning proves it was deliberately tampered with.”
That evening resulted in a significant loss during which they only caught 10 fish instead of the usual 75. She added other families have had vandalism to or thefts of their nets as well.
Bisenberger said the repeated attacks have caused significant distress among the Lake Babine Nation members in Old Fort and that the actions feel like a violation of their traditional way of life and a direct attack on their identity as fishers.
“I am sixth generation Old Fort, and this is the way I’ve been raised my whole life. And this is the way I’ve raised my children, and we’re very grateful to the Creator for allowing us to supply ourselves with such beautiful fish,” she said. “It feels like an attack on my being.”
While she is uncertain whether these acts are motivated by racism or simple theft, her primary goal is to raise awareness so that thieves are deterred by public scrutiny.
To prevent further theft, the community has hired someone to monitor the nets at night. Security measures are in place at Noranda Landing to prevent vehicle vandalism.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware of the situation and is assessing the information it has received.