The voice of B.C.'s organized fishing industry workers
Namu-next on the chopping block?
NAMU —Is one of the oldest fishing' communities in B.C. slated next for B.C. Packers' chopping block?
That's the question which keeps surfacing here as shoreworkers and fishermen move into what many fear will be the last season for this historic community, one of the few left on the central coast area.
"They won't say anything, not a thing," says Lester Humchitt, a veteran shoreworker. "All they are doing is looking to cut down some more."
Rumors are conflicting. Some say the plant will close in August, others that it will remain as a fishermen's service centre without cold storage, and still others that it will be closed completely. It's not the type of situation that breeds confidence among shoreworkers and fishermen, but the company is unhelpful.
"We are trying to figure out where we are going, so I can't give you an answer," said Dick Gregory, B.C. Packers vice-president. "The future of Namu is not on our front burner."
Gregory said the company is looking at different ways to provide services, and whether it can afford to continue to provide services to fishermen.
Asked if Namu was for sale, Gregory responded, "Everything B.C. Packers owns is for sale now." He said if there was to be a closure, then the union would be informed before the press.
For fishermen, Namu has been a base
of operations since 1915 and any move to close it is viewed as a serious threat to their survival.
"It would be disastrous for the economy of most every small fisherman who depends on Namu for services," said Al Waite, a 40-year veteran of the small fishing fleet. "I guess I'd have to quit."
"It would leave the fleet with no home base, nowhere to store gear, no machine shops, pretty much up in the air," said Rpy Burnell, another long-time fisherman.
Stu Shelley, B.C. Packers vice-president for production, told The Fisherman July 8 the company has no plans to close down services to fishermen, but the viability of the processing section was under scrutiny. He said this was normal for all B.C. Packers operations.
"We've had to try to pare down our costs as much as possible to make it viable, and people are going to surmise [we may be closing down]," Shelly said.
Poor resource management in the central area has compounded Namu's problems, according to Ferndale skipper Don Taylor, chairman of UFAWU's Standing Committee on Fisheries Regulation. "Area 8 is the worst-managed area on the coast of B.C.," he says.
Another factor contributing to the lack of volume at the plant is B.C. Packers' price structure, which sees fishermen receive less for fish delivered to Namu than
Jim Sinclair photos
Above, the community of Namu is pictured. Below, Indian children play on the boardwalk in front of their houses.
for those delivered to Port Hardy or Prince Rupert.
Elimination of freight subsidies has driven up other costs, says Warren Freeborn, a member of the interim shop steward's committee. Loss of subsidies makes operations costly and adds to living costs for Namu workers.
One factor that often leads to plant closures is the lack of modernization of major equipment, but this isn't the case here, according to the foreman of the re-
frigeration section, Flemming Nelson, who says the units are good for many years to come.
He doesn't see any reason for the camp to close down. "It's the only thing be-tween Alert Bay and Prince Rupert, so why should they close it down?"
In order to be prepared for an eventual company decision, interim shop stewards committee member Ed Landes is starting to do economic research on the operation.
"If they close it down, a lot of people are going to be in real trouble — a lot of people," Landes said.
Historically, Indians from Bella Bella have found work in the community and they will be particularly hard hit if the plant is closed down.
"There were lots of people here at one time," remembers Lester Humchitt, who started in the cannery as a young boy. "You couldn't see the floats for the boats."
Humchitt said this is the last year for those living in the Indian village, because pilings holding up the houses are becoming unsafe.
For some, the economic balance sheet is only one aspect of what is at stake should B.C. Packers continue to roll on with its consolidation program, a corporate policy which has cost more than 600 shore-worker jobs in the last year.
From the fisheries point of view, a plant closure could reduce the impetus to force better protection and development of the resource base in the area.
And the question of what responsibility B.C. Packers has to the people of the coast who have toiled for them these many years, and continue to depend on the facilities for their livelihood, was raised several times.
"They raked all the harvest off the coast for so many years," said Waite.
"You'd think they would have some responsibility to the people on the coast," adds Burnell.
EDITOR. THE FISHERMAN:
Beachman offers his advice on new knot
• Davin Bell-Karjala, veteran beach-man on the Star Pacific, believes his beach line knot, described below, is safer than those in the recent edition of the Fishermen's Safety Manual. Other union fishermen agree. We would welcome further comments or suggestions on this important safety issue.
Experienced beachmen may find in areas of strong tide, especially in the central coast and Johnstone Strait fishery areas, that the knots provided on pages 92 and 93 of the Fishermen's Safety Manual prove insufficient. The simple "wrap-and-chain" knot has a tendency to slip and jam in a strong tide situation, and whip or release. The former is also true for the more complex "half-wrap" method shown on page 93 of the manual. It should be noted, however, that
this second "half-wrap" method works well on a strap. Should the line jam on the strap, all that will be lost is the strap.
The above knot has been used aboard the Star Pacific with a high degree of efficient, safe operation. The basic principle is that by putting a full wrap on the line to the net, that wrap will take the majority of the strain put on the knot, leaving the beachman free to complete his "tie" and to moor clear of the line.
As in the knots shown in the safety manual, the beach line is used as a double line; a bight approximately double the circumference of the tree is used in the method. After going around the tree once, the bight is taken over the line running to the net and is wrapped over around both the line running to the net and the
loose line (twice if the tide is running near full flood or ebb). The bight is then taken around the tree
Straight's comments 'shocking'
Editor, The Fisherman:
The Fishermen's Union should make its number one priority the removal of Mr. Lee Straight from the department of fisheries.
Mr. Straight was guest speaker at a Wildlife Society meeting on May 18 in Pender Harbor. (Note the timing — many fishermen away). He stated that his position in the fisheries department is acting as ombudsman for sports fishermen.
Then he proceeded to get to his main theme and total commitment — the term-
ination (his word) of commercial fishing on the B.C. coast. He envisions sports fishermen the length of the coast and not a commercial fisherman in existence.
The fishermen in the audience were stunned, shocked and furious at the man. It was an unbelievable experience to listen to such a biased, narrow-minded, dangerous person. To realize that he is another drain on the taxpayer added insult to injury. To top it all, he is the advisor to the department, doing his utmost to oust the commercial fishermen.
When queried  about what would
happen to fishermen, Mr. Straight blithely stated that they could find something else to do — perhaps carpentry, bus boys or "go on relief." At this point many people stormed out. Several stayed to try and present different viewpoints, but nothing changed that man's attitude.
I would urge all fishermen to write to the minister of fisheries, the head of the department of fisheries, MPs and MLAs to strongly condemn Lee Straight and his policy input, and demand his removal from that position.
ISABEL GOOLDRUP Madeira Park, B.C.
again in the same direction as the bight originally started its trip around the tree (being careful not to twist the lines, of course).
At this point the beachman will have realized how much bight he should have made in preparation for his knot, but regardless, this knot may be completed by building a series of chain knots as pictured above. I have preferred using six or seven chain loops, but to draw that many seemed a bit redundant, and I assume that most people who have been on the beach have their own pattern for chain knots.
Instead of placing a broom handle of stick in the final loop, simply make the loop extra long (about a meter, or four feet for those who didn't bother to learn metric). The weight of the loop will prevent the knot from twisting too much, thus avoiding a jam.
Finally, to let the beach line go, give the beach line a good tug — on the loose end! This should be sufficient to release the entire knot if you're fishing in a good tide, but if the line lets go only to the full wrap around both your net line and loose line, give your loose line another good tug and that will loosen the wrap around those lines, thus enabling the line to slip free of the tree.
If that still doesn't work, you'll want to send your skiffman up to cut the line. If he refuses and says that you tied the mess and that he thought his way was just fine, you'll have to go up and cut it — carefully.
DAVIN BELL-KARJALA Beachman, Star Pacific
Gabriola, B.C. THE FISHERMAN - JULY 21, 1982/5