No, it's not an episode of Star Trek. It's about the next generation of fishermen and -women, what we are leaving them and what they may do with it.
Heavy subject matter I know, and I don't want to start delving too deeply into politics, or we would be here all day. What brought this on, is the trip that 9 of our guides hosted yesterday. They were on the river with a group of grade 7 students from an Abbotsford middle school's Aboriginal Program. They arrange an annual sturgeon fishing trip as part of the cultural component of the program.
The students and their parent chaperones had some less than stellar weather, but it didn't seem to bother anyone much - especially the sturgeon!
The importance of this kind of trip lies in teaching the next generations of anglers about the valuable resources out there. This particular group of kids may never have been introduced to fishing, let alone sturgeon, if it wasn't for their teacher. Kids who grow up in a family of fishers will undoubtedly have many more opportunities. Either way, from a young age it establishes a relationship with the fishery, and an awareness of the need to protect and enhance it.
Have you ever seen the
bumper sticker, or heard the expression, "Kids who hunt, trap and fish don't mug little old ladies" ? I really believe that it's true! Fishing, especially catch and release fishing, teaches kids respect for something other than themselves which can translate into every aspect of their lives. We could delve deeper into ethics, and etiquette, but like the politics, we could be here all day.
The bottom line is that after seeing all of these smiling faces, and hearing about how excited they all were for the experiences they had yesterday, it gives me a lot of hope for the sturgeon of tomorrow!
Not to mention the fact that one of the boats filled with girls landed this amazing 8'9" fish!!
