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Harvesting Methods
The barricade method (using a fish fence) was a community food gathering activity and the fish would be shared among all the people of the village. The Canadian government banned this method of fishing about 100 years ago under a treaty called the Barricade Agreement.
In modern times, First Nations people harvest their fish using modern as well as traditional methods. Some people still set nets in the traditional way, but most of the fish in our area around Fraser Lake are caught at the fish fence that is operated by FOC (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), and our Tribal Council. Some of the fish that pass through the fish fence are harvested for food and distributed to the people in our community. In some places like Babine Lake people fish from commercial fishing boats. Photo Above Right: This modern day fish fence on the Stellako River is operated by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council. It is used to monitor fish populations. Some of the fish are also harvested as food fish for fish for the local band members. Commercial Fishing on Babine Lake
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When they were harvesting fish for food, our people
did not use a hook and line like sport fishermen and anglers do now. That would
take us forever to catch all the fish we needed for a whole year. Our people
used 4 different methods of catching fish; the weir (fish fence), nets, fish
traps and spearing. 
In the old
days, the people of the community would get together to build a barricade
across the river. It was called a weir or a fish fence. They would plunge
sticks and poles into the bottom to make a fence across the river (also called
a weir). Then they would gather the fish as they tried to pass through the
fence, or they would use the fence to direct the fish into fish traps. Fish
traps were cages made out of willow and birch saplings with a hole in one end
for the fish to swim in. People don’t use them today. 
Spear fishing is not legal in our area any more
either, but it is allowed in some places along the Fraser River and the Skeena
River at the Moricetown Canyon. 