Editorial — Problems with our fish could have been worse

TUESDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — A query to Answer Man, and the answer the Answer Man provided, created quite a bit of interest a few days ago via blog comments, emails and verbal comments to this corner.

We speak of the new paint job on the trout at the Kamloops Visitors Information Centre. Some people like it, some don’t, but we should count our blessings.

The big fish goes back to 1993, when the city celebrated its 100th anniversary of incorporation, and hosted the World Fly Fishing Championships. It’s made out of wood, and wood eventually rots.

Well, not always — a lot of Totem poles are still looking good after decades of wear. Some Egyptian pharaohs used wood for their crypts and stayed in fine shape for a few thousand years. In Japan and China, wooden shrines have lasted for centuries.

But, alas, up in Prince George, Mr. PeeGee got a bad case of rot and had to be replaced with some kind of a metal-and-fibreglass imitation. “His body is rotted and weakened and his fibreglass skin is not worth repairing,” reported the Prince George Citizen in 1983.

“Symbol of a burgeoning forest industry, the smiling wooden man has greeted as many as 80,000 tourists a year.”

Mr. PeeGee lasted only 12 years. Even his replacement had to be taken apart a couple of years ago for repairs.

Our trout has been around for more than 20 years. Now, the hole in his tail — the handiwork of woodpeckers — has been patched and he has a new paint job. Not everybody is crazy about the paint job, but it actually looks quite good.

If you were seeing this 15-ft. fish for the first time, you’d think it’s brand new. It might not last as long as some of the Egyptian tombs, but it should be good for at least another 20 years. By then, Mr. PeeGee will probably be a pile of rust.