Everett Taylor, Doaktown, NB
Construction contractor and lodge owner
“The River is part of everyone who lives here, to see it go is disheartening. My daughter would love to come home and run the lodge, but there is no future in it. DFO needs to concentrate on saving salmon, historically that’s what has always been here. We need to act before the whole industry is gone, the guides are gone, the cooks are gone."
Kevin Betts, Doaktown, NB
Owner – Village Family Restaurant
“We are losing our youth because there is nothing holding them here. Fishing is part of our heritage. The fishermen have disappeared. They used to come and stay overnight and have lunch in the restaurant, and they’re gone. We need fish in the river so our youth can learn our heritage.”
Barb Waye, Wayerton, NB
Manager Miramichi Fish and Game Club
“It’s a job that is in your heart and soul, it’s not paycheque, It’s a lifestyle. I wouldn’t want to think about the Miramichi if fishing was gone. We’d have nothing. At what point are they going to do something? It’s so sad. DFO needs to start listening to the people who have lived here their whole lives.”
Evelock Gilks, Blissfield, NB
Manager – Miramichi Salmon Club
“Salmon fishing is my livelihood. My uncles started this when they came back from the second world
war. It’s in the family. We are at the end of our rope here. The [SAS] fish were taken out of the River; they should be put back in. We are beyond crisis.”
Jerry Stafford, Upper Blackville, NB
Owner Auto-value autoparts
“Over the years I’ve cashed a lot of cheques for people that work in the camps. It’s a lot of money.
Those camps support local businesses 100%; It means a lot, it’s a lot of business. I want the DFO to put those fish back in the river.”
Fish born in the river are being given a head start at the Miramichi Salmon Association Hatchery to repopulate the river.
It is called the SAS program. Thousands of these fish are due to spawn this fall. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said “yes” to collecting and raising the fish. DFO and the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) are saying NO to the release of these fish even though they have supported programs like this on other rivers.
Let your MP know these Miramichi fish should be released to repopulate the river with millions of eggs.
