Revised February 20, 2026

Lax Kw’alaams Band and Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries Department are requesting that any Lax Kw’alaams Member who harvests Eulachon (Oolichan) on the Skeena River in the 2026 harvest season keep your Status Card with you while harvesting, or if your Status Card is expired or lost, acquire an Eulachon Fishing Permit from Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries.

Lax Kw’alaams leadership and staff wish to reassure our members that you have a right to harvest Eulachon on the Skeena River, and that it is protected under our Rights and Title.

The goal of Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries for the 2026 Eulachon harvest on the Skeena River is to support a safe space for Lax Kw’alaams members to harvest, without fear of interference from other parties.

For this reason, we are asking members to:

• ensure you have your current Lax Kw’alaams Status Card on your person while harvesting, and/or
• acquire an Eulachon Fishing Permit from Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries as a second valid form of identification.
  • If any of our registered Lax Kw’alaams members do not have a Status Card (if it is expired or lost) we welcome you to acquire a permit to keep on your person on the fishing grounds.
  • If you have a current Lax Kw’alaams Status Card, you are also welcome to acquire a permit – for your peace of mind and to better help Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries in our stewardship efforts in the Skeena Eulachon fishery

You may provide your Status Card or Eulachon Fishing Permit, if asked, to either a:

• Provincial Conservation Officer
• RCMP Officer
• Federal Fisheries Officer
• Aboriginal Fisheries Guardian, which is a formal DFO designation, for which there is only one: Jim Webb

Before providing your ID or permit, you may request the questioning authority to first provide their designation, for which they are obligated to show you. No one else has the legal right to request your Status Card or permit on the fishing grounds. We do not recommend showing your Status Card ID to others, as it is a breach of your privacy.

No one has the right to confiscate your harvest as long as you have proper identification. Your current Lax Kw’alaams Status Card or 2026 Eulachon Fishing Permit will ensure your harvesting rights are protected.

You are not obligated to provide catch data to anyone, including the above parties. Sharing your catch data is considered voluntary, and you do not have to share information if you do not feel comfortable. Eulachon in our territory are classified as an Indigenous fishery only, as there is no commercial harvest for Eulachon. Therefore, DFO and other officers, cannot, and will not, request any information on catch data for any purpose, but they can request identification from fishers.

We highly encourage our members to voluntarily report your catch to Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries, to help inform our stewardship efforts in future years. Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries is developing an Eulachon Sustainability Management Plan, and Lax Kw’alaams catch data will greatly assist with these efforts. You are encouraged to say hello and to connect directly with Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries staff on the Skeena fishing grounds.

Lax Kw’alaams fishers are able to redirect any inquiries at the fishing grounds to Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries.

For further questions, please contact:

• Katherine Pollock
• Senior Biologist, Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries
• 250-627-5733 ext. 2028
• [email protected]

More information

Lax Kw’alaams members are descended from Nine Tribes:

• Gitando
• Gitwilgyoots
• Gitzaxlaal
• Gits’iis
• Ginaxangiik
• Gitnadoix
• Gispaxlo’ots
• Gilutzau
• Gitlaan

These tribes have laxyuup (territories) on the K’syen (Skeena River). Each tribe has an area of occupancy on the K’syen, which has been documented through adaawx (oral history) and has been strongly proven by several ethnographers who have documented each of the Nine Allied Tribes throughout the years. These areas are backed up by archaeological evidence proving occupancy of the Nine Allied Tribes.

Since time immemorial, Eulachon fishing has been practiced on the K’syen by each of the Nine Tribes membership and passed down through generations. This carries on to the present day and will continue to be practiced by future generations.

Within each tribe, family waap (house territories) have several village sites along the K’syen, and use their hereditary territories for (and not limited to) hunting, trapping, fishing, berry picking, and medicinal harvesting; each holding title and rights to each of their territories.

The areas of Eulachon fishing on the K’syen extend from the mouth of the Skeena River to the Kasiks River. Each tribe within these areas have privileged fishing rights, and over the years, these tribes have shared these fishing areas with members of each of the Nine Tribes of Lax Kw’alaams to help form strong ties & unity amongst each other. These laxyuup stands as the sole sovereign territory of the Nine Allied Tribes.

Permitting Information

Permits will be provided to Lax Kw’alaams Band Members only.

Permits will be valid for the duration of the 2026 Eulachon Fishing Season, and will need to be reapplied for in following harvest seasons.

Permits will be issued by Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries Department either:

• in person at 100 1st Ave East, Prince Rupert or
• via email to Jay Alexcee at [email protected].

Important Note

Please remember that violence and aggression with other harvesters or monitors is not appropriate. Should you experience any aggression from another party, please contact the RCMP, and report back to Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries.

If anyone questions your presence on the Skeena, you may show your permit to them while harvesting – but know that only a Provincial Conservation Officer, RCMP Officer, Federal Fisheries Officer or Aboriginal Fisheries Guardian have the legal authority to ask this of you. We do not recommend showing your Status Card ID to others, as it is a breach of your privacy.

Permit Reporting and Volunteer Catch Monitoring

Lax Kw’alaams will have monitors in the field to speak with members about their experience this season. You are encouraged to connect with Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries staff at the harvest grounds, to say hello and let them know how fishing is going.

The permit process will require that you report your harvest at the end of the season back to the Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries department. Reporting your harvest catch allows Lax Kw’alaams to better understand and sustain this valuable resource.

• Those fishing with their Status Card ID are also encouraged to voluntarily report their catch to Lax Kw’alaams Fisheries, which helps our staff with data collection and informs Lax Kw’alaams’ stewardship decisions moving forward.

If you harvest multiple times per season, be sure to report on each outing that you are able to harvest Eulachon from the river.

Please send the following information to Jay Alexcee at [email protected]:

• Name:
• Date:
• Location:
• Start and End Time:
• Method of Harvest:
• Quantity of Eulachon Harvested:

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