Eulachon
Prior to European contact a vast network of trails used by generations of First Nations existed throughout BC.
The grease trade from the coast to the interior was so important that the trails connecting the communities were known as “grease trails.”
The drastic decline of the Central Coast eulachon populations in the 1990s occurred during the most significant shrimp trawl activity in Queen Charlotte Sound. The impact of the by-catch was amplified as it occurred in the offshore areas inhabited by Central Coast eulachon, which is one of the smaller eulachon populations.
“This trail system was the life blood of the native culture and economy”.
Management practices for fisheries and industries that impact eulachon populations must adopt the precautionary principle and limit all possible impacts on eulachon numbers. Of paramount importance is the establishment of a moratorium on all shrimp and drag trawl fisheries on the Central Coast.
