Feb 1 - First Nations call for herring moratorium

Good morning !

Welcome to February, the shortest month of the year, and home to our short winter. May it start today or tonight and end, oh, in about a week.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 5 / 2

Tomorrow: 🌨️ 3 / 0

Monday: 🌨️ 0 / -2

7-day forecast

NEWS

DFO ignores WSÁNEĆ chiefs’ calls to halt herring fishing

WSÁNEĆ hereditary chiefs are calling out the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for ignoring the nation’s territorial rights. In November, the chiefs gathered in Sidney to read their rights and sign a formal call to the DFO to halt commercial herring fishing by Jan. 17. 
The chiefs say overfishing has decimated herring populations, which affects WSÁNEĆ traditional hunting and damages the local ecosystem, given the fundamental role of herring in the food chain.

Despite the November call to action, the DFO approved an increase in the amount of herring fisheries can harvest, up to 14% this year from 10% last year. 
“We are deeply frustrated,” said Tsawout Hereditary Chief Eric Pelkey (W̱IĆKINEM) in a release. “How can DFO justify increasing herring harvests while stocks are in steep decline in our territories?” 

Pelkey says the Strait of Georgia is the last of the five major spawning areas on BC’s coast to allow a herring fishery. The four other areas have closed due to a drop in herring stocks.
“This decision further jeopardizes the health of our waters and our way of life,” Pelkey said.

WSÁNEĆ members fighting to protect several areas of traditional territory

This isn’t the only battle for environmental protection WSÁNEĆ people face. At the November declaration, Pelkey condemned Parks Canada’s decision to end the fallow deer eradication project without consultations with WSÁNEĆ leaders. He says the nation spent years pushing for the project to get rid of the invasive deer.

Further inland, Carl Olsen of the Tsartlip Nation has spent two years hosting weekly protests to protect Goldstream Provincial Park. He says plans to widen the Malahat Corridor of Highway 1 could affect salmon stocks, which have recently increased thanks to conservation efforts. He argues that salmon are protected under the Douglas Treaty, which he says, the project violates.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Fort closed between Blanshard and Quadra for two weeks, starting Mon. 7am-5pm. [Details]

Winter weather warning for South Island, now through next week. Expect snow over the weekend and very cold, dry air next week. [Environment Canada]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Some of our readers enjoy camping under the stars—and under the radar

There’s a trend in the world of bivouacking that we can’t recommend in good conscience because, by its very nature, it breaks the rules—although it does seem novel and potentially a bit of thrill-seeking fun.

It’s called stealth camping, and it involves pitching a tent or sleeping bag in areas where it's either explicitly or implicitly verboten—like, say camping atop Beacon Hill: a great view, but you’re not allowed.

Some people do it out of convenience or to save a few bucks. There’s a reason for those signs along Cook Street that say overnight parking is forbidden.

Some, like outdoorsman Steve Wallis (above), get a thrill camping under the radar—inside a pipe as an example—and in places people wouldn’t expect, like in a hedge at a Westshore intersection. 

Wallis’s YouTube videos have received millions of views and his campsploits inspired a poll question we ran last week: Where is the most unconventional place you've ever camped?

In a farmer’s field, on a mountain, in the trunk of a car, and up a tree were all popular selections but many of you went with Other, which garnered half of the votes.

We thought we’d share some of those write-in selections. 

Our readers seem pretty hearty and open to overnighting wherever possible: from the caldera or crater of an active volcano to a “remote portion of the Great Wall of China,” and culverts beneath highways in windy Argentina. 

From beaches across the Island and world to the rough of a golf course. From under the stars in the Sahara to inside a shallow gravel pit in Newfoundland and Labrador (“With an Ocean View!”).

One of our readers said they once camped on the lawn of a cricket club in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, while another glamped in a game park in Swaziland, replete with rhinos. 

Read more here about some of the curious spots some of our readers chose to lay their heads in the great outdoors.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🏅 GreaterVictoria Sports Awards accepting nominations here. 

⛵ When the sun hits the sails: See how different lighting changes the appearance of a sailboat in James Bay. [Facebook photos]

🍳 Cooking classes & workshops. [Tasting Victoria]

🤝 Now hiring: Finance and Operations Manager at Scale Collaborative.

Support local journalism by supporting Capital Daily. Become a Capital Daily Insider member today and help bring local stories to life—and get full access to the Sunday edition.

🗞️ In Other News

Kelly Ellard, convicted of killing Reena Virk, breaches parole conditions
Now going by the name Kerry Sim, she was arrested in Surrey on Tues. Sim had her day parole extended for six months in October, with the conditions she abstain from drugs and alcohol, follow a treatment plan, declare any new relationship, and avoid contacting the victim’s family. It was not disclosed which parole condition she broke. Sim is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder, after she and a group of teens swarmed and drowned Virk, 14, near the Craigflower Bridge in 1997. [CHEK]

White House confirms tariffs on Canada start today
Canadian officials spent yesterday trying to convince US President Donald Trump to drop his plans for 25% tariffs on Canadian imports. The last-ditch effort was unsuccessful, with Trump saying there was nothing Canada or Mexico—which is in the same trading boat as Canada—could do. All Canadian premiers plan to fly to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 12 to escalate the campaign to end the tariffs. [CNN]

Ticketmaster says it wasn’t deceptive but agrees to pay $6M
In the settlement of a class-action lawsuit, Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation denied using deceptive marketing practices but agreed to compensate ticket buyers up to $45 each in the form of an electronic gift card for future Ticketmaster events. According to the settlement website, you are eligible to receive the non-transferable voucher if you bought a ticket for a show or a game from Ticketmaster from Jan. 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018. [Victoria Buzz]

Canucks send J.T. Miller to New York, then deal for another Petterson
Following weeks of speculation about which of two star forwards Vancouver would jettison to end a dispute between them, the Canucks opted to dispatch Miller to the Rangers—the team that drafted him 14 years ago. In return, they received centre Filip Chytil, defenceman Victor Mancini, and a top-13 protected 2025 first-round pick. The Canucks then sent that first-round pick to Pittsburgh along with three players in exchange for defenceman Marcus Pettersson—no relationship to sniper Elias Pettersson, who had been feuding with Miller—and forward Drew O'Connor. [The Hockey News]

🗓️ Things to do

🎻 Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto: Kluxen & Pouliot. Join conductor Christian Kluxen and violinist Blake Pouliot for a beautiful night of music, featuring Violin Concerto in D major composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878, one of the best-known violin concertos. UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium. Tomorrow. 2:30pm. [Info]

🎶 The Village Choir: Winter Concert with Guests: See the vibrant community choir perform captivating pop, R&B, indie-folk, rock, and jazz music at the McPherson Playhouse. Tonight. 7:30pm. [Info]  

🎼 Winter Concert: The Choir, The Chorus, Sound Dragon, and The Mini-Choir are excited to share our original choral and piano arrangements of songs by Aurora, Beach House, Florence and the Machine, Cyndi Lauper, and The Grateful Dead. UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium. Tonight. 7:30pm. [Info]

🎭 Saturn Return: Saturn, a wandering musician—played by Ciaran Volke—cursed to be alone, ventures through the nine circles of hell to find his estranged brother. Intrepid Studio. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🐍 Lunar New Year at Mayfair: Celebrate and welcome the Year of the Snake with a lion dance, face painting, choirs, dance, magic, arts, and crafts. Mayfair Shopping Centre. Today. 12:30-4pm. [Info]

🍃 Composting Basics: Free, in-person workshop. Learn to make your own backyard compost- a living soil amendment rich in nutrients and micro-organisms. Compost Education Centre. North Park. Today. 10am. [Info] 

🎵 Pablo Cardenas presents: Latin Funk Night. Get ready to enjoy all-time funk, soul, and R&B hits in a Cuban and Latin style, performed by The West Coast Cuban Orchestra. The Mint. Tonight. 8pm. [Info] 

🎤 Dear Rouge: See the Juno Award-winning Vancouver alternative rock duo of Drew and Danielle McTaggart. Danielle’s originally from Red Deer, hence the band’s name. Capital Ballroom. Tonight. 9pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Expect snow this weekend in many parts of the Island. [Jan. 31 newsletter]

Education minister fires Victoria School Board en masse. [Capital Daily]

For King and province: BC’s new proxy for the King. [Capital Daily]

‘Humanitarian crisis’: Resident of 844 Johnson Street speaks out about living conditions. [CHEK]

Wintry road conditions are expected this weekend. [Brine being applied]

New Old Town: The Old Town exhibit at the RBCM has a new permanent wing, featuring a re-creation of a Japanese photography studio, Hayashi Studio, which operated in Cumberland from 1912-1942. [Photos]

Men with Bats to play Men Without Hats. [HarbourCats]