Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen says the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) needs to reconsider its plans to close certain facilities in the Northern BC region.

This is in terms of fishing and preserving North Coast chinook and sockeye salmon, which were scarce through the harsh winter season.

Cullen believes leadership needs to step up in protecting what feeds several local First Nations communities.

“We need to protect the wild coast salmon because it’s critical to everybody for our sustainable future. It has potential for trouble if we don’t have that conversation, so make sure that we are working together.”

The DFO’s plans is said to help accommodate the 2018 harvest season, but Cullen is calling for unity and timeliness more so than shutting down fisheries.

He says he’s hoping to meet with government representatives from the DFO soon on this issue.

“We need to make sure that conservation remains at the forefront of all that we do, and that we protect constitutional rights that follow and I hope we can make a decision that at least works for some.”

He adds finding more accurate numbers of the harvest will determine how the situation should be improved.

There is no current timeline on when those figures will be completed.