A violent fight involving multiple people who were fishing on the Fraser River in Chilliwack has not been reported to the RCMP.
The fight was caught on video by several witness, with different angles and viewpoints ending up on social media almost immediately. The fight broke out sometime on Sunday, Aug. 31, at the busy river's edge near Gill Bar.
Fishers had been clamouring for the best spots to catch both sockeye and pink salmon, during a short opening. Some spots along the Lower Fraser River saw hundreds of people gathering, all jockeying for the best spots to get their daily limits.
Tensions ran high that day at Gill Road, one of the most popular locations for anglers.
In the video, there are several small skirmishes within a two-minute window, with people yelling and filming.
When one man walks over and takes a swing at another, several other men rush over to pull him down and attack him.
During the fight, witnesses can be heard yelling at them to stop, with some concerned that fighting along the river will result in bad publicity.
"Break it up, it's not worth it," one man yells angrily. "It's not worth it for pink salmon. Dude, you guys know we're all going to be on f-ing TikTok now?... Giving all of us a bad name."
Some anglers continued fishing, seemingly to ignore the fighting on the shore.
Despite the apparent injuries and large number of people involved, including witnesses, the incident has not been reported to the Chilliwack RCMP.
Sgt. Alexandra Mulvihill, media relations officer for Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment, told The Progress that she is "not aware of any police files being generated this year as a result of fishing."
The Lower Fraser sockeye salmon fishery ran from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1, from the Mission Bridge to Hope.
Just a few days into the opening, the Sq'éwqel (Seabird Island) First Nation spoke out asking for respect on the river, as fishing fever gripped eager anglers.
"Our children, elders and families are also at the river during the recreational opening," the statement from Sq'éwqel read. "We are practicing our inherent cultural right to fish and passing down traditional knowledge to our children, as people of the river. We ask for respect. Our families do not deserve to be disrespected or put in harm's way."
