Canadian Fishermen Finally Let U.S. Ferry Pass Ring Of Boats Cleared After Meeting With Canadian Fisheries Minister Over Salmon Quotas

After blockading an Alaska-bound ferry in port for three days, angry Canadian salmon fishermen let it continue north late Monday.

The Malaspina, with 135 passengers and 88 vehicles on board, gave three long blasts of its horn and pulled away shortly after 10 p.m. Pacific time.

The decision to end the protest came two hours after fishermen met with Canadian Fisheries Minister David Anderson, who urged them to let the ferry pass so that officials from Canada and the United States could resume negotiations on a salmon quota dispute that sparked the blockade.

Canadian fishermen argue that Alaska fleets are intercepting thousands of sockeye salmon as they head for spawning stream in British Columbia.

During a news conference Monday evening, Anderson said he flew over the Noyes Island area along the Alaskan coast and spotted about 50 U.S.-flagged boats catching salmon there in violation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The treaty has been in limbo since negotiations broke down several years ago.

But Anderson said the ferry blockade only worsened the situation.

“We have to regain the focus on the fishery, the moral high ground Canada has over the taking of our fish,” Anderson said. “They have made the point they set out to make, and at this time the detention of the ferry is counterproductive.”

Earlier in the day, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police gave the fishermen copies of a court order issued Sunday. That convinced some of the boats to give up the blockade.

The dispute centers in part on Alaskans who catch sockeye salmon bound for Canadian rivers and streams.

“The fish are being targeted before they get here. There’s only so many catchable fish, and the accessible fish are being taken in Alaska,” said Bill Troughton, a Prince Rupert fisherman who participated in the protest. “I’m at the point where I don’t care. Just shut the Americans out from going through our inside water. It’s our water.”

The Canadians want Anderson to restart failed salmon talks with the United States and allow northern British Columbia fishermen to increase their take of Fraser River sockeye.

They also want assurances that they will not be held accountable for any damages from the protest. Alaska Attorney General Bruce Bothelo said the state would sue the fishermen in Canadian court.

Bothelo said he could not yet give a figure for compensation the state would seek. But he said crew overtime costs were accruing at $1,200 an hour and that the Alaska Marine Highway System was incurring scheduling costs and damage to its reputation.

Bob King, a spokesman for Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, said the state was considering skipping Prince Rupert as a ferry port if Canadian authorities can’t guarantee safe passage for Alaska ferries in the future.

The incident prompted some tough language from the State Department.

“The United States has protested and continues to protest this blockade,” spokesman Nicholas Burns said. “And we also protest the refusal of Canadian federal authorities to stop the blockade or to enforce the court injunction.