Investment in fish hatcheries would make for happy whales

Re: Expanding killer-whale foraging areas could be 'devastating' for Port Renfrew

As a young man in the 1960s, I worked in Port Renfrew for B.C. Forest Products. The town's main economy was forestry, some commercial fishing and buying, and the Pacheedaht First Nation community.

When B.C. Forest Products shut down its operations, Port Renfrew turned into a near ghost town. Most of the houses were boarded up and the town was a very sad sight.

The town strove mightily to rethink itself and build a tourism industry: sports fishing, sightseeing and Mile 0 of the West Coast Trail.

A marina and campsite started as the word got out about the wonderful fishing. Another marina started behind the government wharf and Renfrew Hotel and a new marina started down the waterfront from the hotel. The boards came off of the windows of the houses in the townsite and it became a thriving community again. Now, the government is trying to drive the community back to its knees.

This newest closure would gut Port Renfrew's economy, force what few fishermen and fishing guides are left to travel long distances up the coast, burning a lot more fuel into the environment as well as greatly increasing the chance for marine fatalities.

We are told that it's to save the resident killer whales from starving. We also read a lot of opposing science on the subject, but very little science from the Department of Fisheries supporting this rash move.

One thing for sure: They will kill a thriving coastal community and a $26-million-a-year economy.

Imagine if the federal government took the billions of dollars they squandered on Arrivecan, firearms buy back, a management payroll almost as large as the workers' payroll, MPS jetting all over the world, and now raises for MPS, and spent that money on building fish hatcheries and restocking our creeks and rivers.

We would have a coast teeming with fish, very happy whales and thriving communities up and down our coast. It seems like a no-brainer. John Money, Duncan