R
RVP
Guest
There is always a way to work toward a sustainable, shared fishing resource...your best option is to participate in one capacity or another, if what you believe in is that of what you would like to see as the future in sportfishing...then join in, today.
If you do not have alot of time to invest, perhaps events, like the Pacific Salmon Foundation Dinner and Auction may be your chance to help further opportunities that directly effect the future of salmon in BC and directly in your community.
If you would like to attend the PSF Dinner in Nanaimo on Saturday November 24, 2007 - Then get your butt in gear, and come down to the shop for tickets at Screaming Fish & Fly(250)244-1011, or pick up the phone and call our commitee president Mel Sheng (250) 756-7016 or also at Gone Fishin' (250)758-7726
Or call to find out about dinners in your area, call Brenda McIntyre, Director, Major Events at 604-664-7664
It is your chance to participate and help our future and re-develop of salmon enhancement opportunities right here in BC. All you can say is YES!, I will be there! Will you???
Commit today, and get your ticket for the Nanaimo Dinner and charity auction today!
__________________________________________
Area 17 SFAC Meeting October 18, 2007
South Coast Area Office, Nanaimo
Time 6:30 pm
Recreational Sector Representation:
Clyde Wicks -Independent Angler, Nanaimo SFAC Chairman
Bob Meyer -Professional Angler
Norm Coughtry -Independent Angler
Robert VanPelt -Screaming Fish & Fly
Andrew Settlefield -Screaming Fish & Fly
Al Brown -Region 1 BCWF, Nanaimo Fish & Game
Wayne Harling -Nanaimo Fish & Game
Bernie Heinrichs -Island Waters Fly Fishers
Henry Bob -Nanaimo Hatchery
DFO Representation:
Bill Shaw -South Coast Recreational Coordinator
Barry Cordocedo -Community Advisor
Introductions:
Following the introductions Clyde welcomed everyone. A brief discussion was held on the number and format of future meetings. The plan is to hold several informal meetings throughout the year, possibly at one of the fishing tackle stores or a coffee shop. Issues of interest to local anglers would be brought forward and discussed. Key issues would be forwarded to the next formal meeting. This will allow time to properly prepare material needed for the discussion. Clyde will advise time and location of next meeting.
Adoption of Minutes from March 13, 2007 meeting:
Minutes were adopted as distributed.
SFAB Mandate:
Bill Shaw gave a brief history of the SFAB and its purpose.
Review of past fishing season:
It was generally agreed that this was the best season we have enjoyed in a long time for chinook salmon fishing. There were big fish caught right through the April to September time period. The traditional July slowdown did not happen this year. In addition, the fish were spread from Thrasher to north of Neck Point allowing even the casual weekend angler plenty of opportunities. The large run of jack chinook that occurred in August provided lots of action but left many anglers frustrated because they were 1 or 2 cm short of the 62 cm size limit.
Wayne asked why we are still unable to keep any ‘wild’ coho. This became a hot topic when it was learned very few hatchery coho are clipped anymore. In fact, none of the coho released from the Nanaimo hatchery are marked. Clyde asked if this was a budget issue and Barry informed the group that the community hatcheries have not had a budget increase in 17 years. He also stated that the smolt to adult survival rate for coho is down to 1%. This provoked a discussion on how vulnerable coho are to habitat issues. Bill would like to do a DNA plug sampling study which will get the necessary information related to possibly changing the regulations to allow us the opportunity to keep unmarked coho. Having volunteers finclip coho should also be considered in order to put more ‘marked’ fish out there.
Bill distributed the salmon, lingcod and rockfish catch data to date. It was noted the lingcod and rockfish numbers were well below anticipated targets. Following a discussion on what we have learned over the past two seasons, Wayne presented a motion to reduce the size limit on Lingcod for the 2008 season on a one-year trial basis. Seconded and passed unanimously. This is similar to a motion we put forward at our last meeting, however, with the new data from the past two seasons it was felt the reduced size limit had merit. (Motion and rational attached).
Bill stated that he is working on re-instating the rockfish one-fish limit year ‘round. This was welcome news to the salmon fishermen in the group who encounter the occasional rockfish while trolling and would prefer to keep it rather than throw it back knowing it probably will not survive.
The size limit on chinook was also discussed. It was suggested we reduce it from the current 62 cm to 60cm. This will increase the level of interest in fishing locally. It will also allow anglers to keep some of the ‘jacks’ and potentially save some of the larger fish. Bill will talk to his people about ramifications of taking the chinook limit down to 60 cm or the American size limit. Bill reminded the group that we have to reduce the exploitation rate on Cowichan Chinook from 60% to 30%. Reducing the size limit may increase the harvest on these stocks. We only reached a total in river escapement of 600 fish this year. Clyde reminded the group that in 1951 the size limit on chinook was 8”.
Chum Fishery:
There was a discussion on promoting the chum fishery locally. This fishery has become a major attraction in Campbell River and we see no reason we can do the same off Nanaimo. There was some concern about the prime chum areas being within the closed RCA’s but it was agreed we still have ample areas to fish. Weather permitting, we will get a few boats out during the next few weeks to do a test fishery. We were told the best time for chum fishing is now until the second week of November and regular sockeye gear trolled very slow is the best approach.
Net Pen Pinks:
Wayne and his group, along with the Nanaimo hatchery staff, were congratulated for a very successful pink salmon program in Departure Bay. It was agreed that a greater percentage of the fish should be released in the Bay next year. The other release sites were simply not fishing friendly and thus received very little effort. Wayne stated he is already working on it. Henry said we have close to a million pink eggs this year. 375,200 from local pinks and 571,200 from Quinsum pinks. Wayne’s report on the program is included below.
Nanaimo Hatchery Report:
Henry said it has been a tough year for collecting brood. High water at critical times allowed the salmon to get well into the river system and beyond areas where they can be captured. It was suggested that they consider using volunteers to catch brood stock by hook and line. The hatchery has had a number of female fish killed by river otters. An electric fence has been installed to try to resolve this problem.
CWT head recovery program.
Bill distributed the most recent (2006) CWT data and, again, expressed concern about Cowichan River chinook. He said additional ways must be found to reduce the harvest rate of this run.
Crab Reform / Recreational Prawn Fishing:
Wayne brought us up to speed on the recent meetings related to crab and prawn fishing. Bill talked about the difficulty at the last crab meeting and stated we are in an uphill battle. Rather than setting individual recreational crab fishing only zones in each area he would rather see time/area closures for commercial fishing during the summer months. However, based on what he heard at the last meeting, he may have to resort to the original plan. Wayne’s reports are included below.
Halibut
Wayne advised the group of the ongoing debate around the recreational halibut quota.
Recreational Fisheries Vision:
The document was distributed and discussed briefly. Bill asked the group to go through it at their leisure and send their comments to Clyde before the November 24 SC SFAB meeting.
Clyde asked the group to let him know what level of information they wished forwarded to them. He described the variety of information available. The majority wished to continue receiving the ‘vetted’ package they currently receive. Anyone who wished to receive the expanded version should send him an email with that request.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45.
Report to the Oct. 18 Nanaimo SFAC meeting. Wayne Harling
Pink net pens.
2007 saw the first adult returns from our net pen project. While the fish from the Brandon I. Pen site milled around Departure Bay for at least 3 months (mid-July to mid-October) and provided a decent beach fishery once anglers realized the fish were there, those returning to the inner harbour site appeared only occasionally and there was virtually no fishery on them. In part, this may have been because the fish did not exhibit the usual signs of their presence (i.e. finning and jumping along the beach). Or, it may be that the influence from Nanaimo River was too strong and the fish moved into the river early.
In total, an estimated 8000 adult pinks from the 2006 release (650,000) were observed in the Nanaimo R. (a return of just over 1%). They spawned in both the main channel and in major tributary streams. Given that the Pink returns to the Fraser this year were only about half of the number anticipated, we might conclude that, in a good ocean survival year, we could see upwards of 16,000 adult returns to Nanaimo River from a fry release of 650,000. Unfortunately, Quinsam hatchery could only spare us only 450,000 eggs in 2006 so the number penned at each of the potential angling sites was the same as last year (100,000 each) but the Jack Pt. Site received only 250,000 fry this spring (450,000in 2006)
Three attempts to collect brood stock were less than successful. On the first try at Raines pool, the beach seine was not deep enough and all but a few hundred of the fish swam out underneath. A deeper net was quickly ordered but, by the time it was ready, the Pinks had moved up-river and dispersed. Again, only a few hundred were caught. In total we took about 375,000 eggs from 268 females. Fortunately, Quinsam hatchery was able to supply us with 571,000 eggs so we ended up with 946,000 eggs that are doing fine now that our chiller unit is functioning properly. It is our intention to at least double the number released from the Brandon I. and inner harbour pen sites in 2008 with the balance (450,000 -500,000) going to the Jack Pt. Site.
We need to relocate the Jack Pt. Pen to more sheltered waters with less tidal flow. The fry at this site were the smallest at time of release having expended too much energy swimming against the current. Consequently, survival of these fish may have been low. It may also be necessary to relocate the inner harbour pen site after next year if the returning adults do not hold in the vicinity.
The creel survey data, such as it was, (survey staff were committed to other projects after mid-September) indicated that between 100 and 200 pink salmon were retained in Departure Bay with an unknown number retained in the approach waters. Needless to say, we were not all that successful in harvesting returning pinks.
Crab document.
It is an established fact that the commercial crab landings have increased dramatically in the past 20 years. It is also evident that, in some crab management areas, virtually all of the legal-sized crabs are harvested by the commercial sector within weeks, if not days, of their availability to this fishery. Consequently, recreational and aboriginal harvests have declined. Earlier this year, DFO produced a discussion paper on crab reform. Its’ basic premise is that there needs to be a more equitable allocation of crabs among the various competing groups (i.e. the status quo is not an option). DFO lists 8 potential options to achieve the stated objectives (although these were not intended to be the only options for discussion). The options included seasonal commercial harvest closures, non-commercial harvest reserves, TAC’s, differential size limits, commercial trap limits, larger escape ring size, trap stacking and commercial license retirement.
The paper was circulated and we received the initial feedback from the commercial sector in late September. Not surprisingly, commercial sector reps. ignored most of the listed options (except for the trap reductions --- big deal) and, instead, directed a barrage at the recreational sector claiming that our numbers were growing exponentially, that our landings were not monitored (the inference being that our catch was increasing proportionately to our numbers) and that we were stealing their traps. I reminded them that tidal water license sales had declined by 100,000 since their peak in the early 1990’s and that few of us could handle their 48” diameter x 14” high traps on our vessels but their rant was not to be diverted by reality.
Amazingly (at least I thought so), was their insistence that government initiate a buy-back program, despite the Minister’s adamant refusal to go there (see the quote from his public speech on page 15), to reduce the number of commercial crab licenses before they would consider anything else and also their strong request that we lobby the Minister on their behalf without any offer from them of a quid pro quo.
Various commercial reps. also claimed:
1. Their increasing catch is directly related to an increase in crab abundance. (If that were so, why haven’t our catches increased proportionately?).
2. There were lots of crabs available but, because we are not using fresh squid bait, commercial harvesters are catching most of the available crabs (precisely what we have been saying).
3. Our sector was catching too many crabs which is why the aboriginal harvest is poor. (If we really were the rapers and pillagers of the resource they contend we are, why have commercial catches also not declined?).
4. The lack of adequate recreational catch monitoring is essentially the cause of all the problems (I have no idea how this relates to any aspect of the proposed reform of the fishery but I can only assume that their insistence on accurate determination of our present catch would be to bolster an argument that this level should be the basis of any allocation formula under a TAC harvest regime.)
In short, even though the commercial sector admits that they have too much gear chasing too few crabs, they refuse to concede that they are the problem. The SFAB has proposed a number of measures over the years, including a size differential and non-commercial harvest reserves, to more equitably distribute the crab resource The commercial sector has consistently opposed any change to the status quo and their initial response to the discussion paper was no different. They are an intransigent bunch and are unlikely to voluntarily accept any changes to the existing harvest regime. In my opinion, the ball is now in DFO’s court. If the status quo is really not an option, the department will have to impose the changes necessary to achieve a more equitable sharing of the resource.
Beyond rejecting the trap reductions as window dressing, expressing the opinion that anything less than a 6-month commercial closure would not achieve the stated objective, and dismissing the concept of TAC’s, your SFAB reps. declined to comment further on the discussion paper pending review by the SFAB GFSFWG.
Nanaimo SFAC Motion #1 (October 18, 2007) Lingcod size limit.
Whereas: Total catch in the 2007 recreational lingcod fishery in the Strait of Georgia was less than the imposed cap of 5000 and,
Whereas: the minimum size limit of 65 cm. In 2007 compelled anglers to forego meal-size lingcod and seek larger specimens to the potential detriment of mature spawners, and,
Whereas: the additional fishing time required to catch a legal-size lingcod at this minimum size limit also increases the release mortality of sub-legal lingcod and incidentally-caught rockfish species and,
Whereas: the minimal daily and seasonal bag limit (1 and 10 respectively) coupled with an encounter cap of 7000 ensures that Strait of Georgia lingcod will not be over-harvested by a recreational fishery,
Therefore: Be it resolved that DFO implement either a slot size limit of 60 cm. To 77 cm. or a reduction in the minimum size to 60 cm. in the Strait of Georgia recreational lingcod fishery for the 2008 season on a one-season trial basis.
Rationale: A slot size limit (the one preferred by the Nanaimo SFAC) as proposed would protect mature female lingcod but still allow anglers to retain a meal-size lingcod thereby reducing fishing effort and minimizing impact on by-catch species. Reducing the minimum size limit only would, with the exception of protecting females, achieve the same results.
Moved by Wayne Harling, Seconded by Al Brown. Passed unanimously
If you do not have alot of time to invest, perhaps events, like the Pacific Salmon Foundation Dinner and Auction may be your chance to help further opportunities that directly effect the future of salmon in BC and directly in your community.
If you would like to attend the PSF Dinner in Nanaimo on Saturday November 24, 2007 - Then get your butt in gear, and come down to the shop for tickets at Screaming Fish & Fly(250)244-1011, or pick up the phone and call our commitee president Mel Sheng (250) 756-7016 or also at Gone Fishin' (250)758-7726
Or call to find out about dinners in your area, call Brenda McIntyre, Director, Major Events at 604-664-7664
It is your chance to participate and help our future and re-develop of salmon enhancement opportunities right here in BC. All you can say is YES!, I will be there! Will you???
Commit today, and get your ticket for the Nanaimo Dinner and charity auction today!
__________________________________________
Area 17 SFAC Meeting October 18, 2007
South Coast Area Office, Nanaimo
Time 6:30 pm
Recreational Sector Representation:
Clyde Wicks -Independent Angler, Nanaimo SFAC Chairman
Bob Meyer -Professional Angler
Norm Coughtry -Independent Angler
Robert VanPelt -Screaming Fish & Fly
Andrew Settlefield -Screaming Fish & Fly
Al Brown -Region 1 BCWF, Nanaimo Fish & Game
Wayne Harling -Nanaimo Fish & Game
Bernie Heinrichs -Island Waters Fly Fishers
Henry Bob -Nanaimo Hatchery
DFO Representation:
Bill Shaw -South Coast Recreational Coordinator
Barry Cordocedo -Community Advisor
Introductions:
Following the introductions Clyde welcomed everyone. A brief discussion was held on the number and format of future meetings. The plan is to hold several informal meetings throughout the year, possibly at one of the fishing tackle stores or a coffee shop. Issues of interest to local anglers would be brought forward and discussed. Key issues would be forwarded to the next formal meeting. This will allow time to properly prepare material needed for the discussion. Clyde will advise time and location of next meeting.
Adoption of Minutes from March 13, 2007 meeting:
Minutes were adopted as distributed.
SFAB Mandate:
Bill Shaw gave a brief history of the SFAB and its purpose.
Review of past fishing season:
It was generally agreed that this was the best season we have enjoyed in a long time for chinook salmon fishing. There were big fish caught right through the April to September time period. The traditional July slowdown did not happen this year. In addition, the fish were spread from Thrasher to north of Neck Point allowing even the casual weekend angler plenty of opportunities. The large run of jack chinook that occurred in August provided lots of action but left many anglers frustrated because they were 1 or 2 cm short of the 62 cm size limit.
Wayne asked why we are still unable to keep any ‘wild’ coho. This became a hot topic when it was learned very few hatchery coho are clipped anymore. In fact, none of the coho released from the Nanaimo hatchery are marked. Clyde asked if this was a budget issue and Barry informed the group that the community hatcheries have not had a budget increase in 17 years. He also stated that the smolt to adult survival rate for coho is down to 1%. This provoked a discussion on how vulnerable coho are to habitat issues. Bill would like to do a DNA plug sampling study which will get the necessary information related to possibly changing the regulations to allow us the opportunity to keep unmarked coho. Having volunteers finclip coho should also be considered in order to put more ‘marked’ fish out there.
Bill distributed the salmon, lingcod and rockfish catch data to date. It was noted the lingcod and rockfish numbers were well below anticipated targets. Following a discussion on what we have learned over the past two seasons, Wayne presented a motion to reduce the size limit on Lingcod for the 2008 season on a one-year trial basis. Seconded and passed unanimously. This is similar to a motion we put forward at our last meeting, however, with the new data from the past two seasons it was felt the reduced size limit had merit. (Motion and rational attached).
Bill stated that he is working on re-instating the rockfish one-fish limit year ‘round. This was welcome news to the salmon fishermen in the group who encounter the occasional rockfish while trolling and would prefer to keep it rather than throw it back knowing it probably will not survive.
The size limit on chinook was also discussed. It was suggested we reduce it from the current 62 cm to 60cm. This will increase the level of interest in fishing locally. It will also allow anglers to keep some of the ‘jacks’ and potentially save some of the larger fish. Bill will talk to his people about ramifications of taking the chinook limit down to 60 cm or the American size limit. Bill reminded the group that we have to reduce the exploitation rate on Cowichan Chinook from 60% to 30%. Reducing the size limit may increase the harvest on these stocks. We only reached a total in river escapement of 600 fish this year. Clyde reminded the group that in 1951 the size limit on chinook was 8”.
Chum Fishery:
There was a discussion on promoting the chum fishery locally. This fishery has become a major attraction in Campbell River and we see no reason we can do the same off Nanaimo. There was some concern about the prime chum areas being within the closed RCA’s but it was agreed we still have ample areas to fish. Weather permitting, we will get a few boats out during the next few weeks to do a test fishery. We were told the best time for chum fishing is now until the second week of November and regular sockeye gear trolled very slow is the best approach.
Net Pen Pinks:
Wayne and his group, along with the Nanaimo hatchery staff, were congratulated for a very successful pink salmon program in Departure Bay. It was agreed that a greater percentage of the fish should be released in the Bay next year. The other release sites were simply not fishing friendly and thus received very little effort. Wayne stated he is already working on it. Henry said we have close to a million pink eggs this year. 375,200 from local pinks and 571,200 from Quinsum pinks. Wayne’s report on the program is included below.
Nanaimo Hatchery Report:
Henry said it has been a tough year for collecting brood. High water at critical times allowed the salmon to get well into the river system and beyond areas where they can be captured. It was suggested that they consider using volunteers to catch brood stock by hook and line. The hatchery has had a number of female fish killed by river otters. An electric fence has been installed to try to resolve this problem.
CWT head recovery program.
Bill distributed the most recent (2006) CWT data and, again, expressed concern about Cowichan River chinook. He said additional ways must be found to reduce the harvest rate of this run.
Crab Reform / Recreational Prawn Fishing:
Wayne brought us up to speed on the recent meetings related to crab and prawn fishing. Bill talked about the difficulty at the last crab meeting and stated we are in an uphill battle. Rather than setting individual recreational crab fishing only zones in each area he would rather see time/area closures for commercial fishing during the summer months. However, based on what he heard at the last meeting, he may have to resort to the original plan. Wayne’s reports are included below.
Halibut
Wayne advised the group of the ongoing debate around the recreational halibut quota.
Recreational Fisheries Vision:
The document was distributed and discussed briefly. Bill asked the group to go through it at their leisure and send their comments to Clyde before the November 24 SC SFAB meeting.
Clyde asked the group to let him know what level of information they wished forwarded to them. He described the variety of information available. The majority wished to continue receiving the ‘vetted’ package they currently receive. Anyone who wished to receive the expanded version should send him an email with that request.
Meeting adjourned at 9:45.
Report to the Oct. 18 Nanaimo SFAC meeting. Wayne Harling
Pink net pens.
2007 saw the first adult returns from our net pen project. While the fish from the Brandon I. Pen site milled around Departure Bay for at least 3 months (mid-July to mid-October) and provided a decent beach fishery once anglers realized the fish were there, those returning to the inner harbour site appeared only occasionally and there was virtually no fishery on them. In part, this may have been because the fish did not exhibit the usual signs of their presence (i.e. finning and jumping along the beach). Or, it may be that the influence from Nanaimo River was too strong and the fish moved into the river early.
In total, an estimated 8000 adult pinks from the 2006 release (650,000) were observed in the Nanaimo R. (a return of just over 1%). They spawned in both the main channel and in major tributary streams. Given that the Pink returns to the Fraser this year were only about half of the number anticipated, we might conclude that, in a good ocean survival year, we could see upwards of 16,000 adult returns to Nanaimo River from a fry release of 650,000. Unfortunately, Quinsam hatchery could only spare us only 450,000 eggs in 2006 so the number penned at each of the potential angling sites was the same as last year (100,000 each) but the Jack Pt. Site received only 250,000 fry this spring (450,000in 2006)
Three attempts to collect brood stock were less than successful. On the first try at Raines pool, the beach seine was not deep enough and all but a few hundred of the fish swam out underneath. A deeper net was quickly ordered but, by the time it was ready, the Pinks had moved up-river and dispersed. Again, only a few hundred were caught. In total we took about 375,000 eggs from 268 females. Fortunately, Quinsam hatchery was able to supply us with 571,000 eggs so we ended up with 946,000 eggs that are doing fine now that our chiller unit is functioning properly. It is our intention to at least double the number released from the Brandon I. and inner harbour pen sites in 2008 with the balance (450,000 -500,000) going to the Jack Pt. Site.
We need to relocate the Jack Pt. Pen to more sheltered waters with less tidal flow. The fry at this site were the smallest at time of release having expended too much energy swimming against the current. Consequently, survival of these fish may have been low. It may also be necessary to relocate the inner harbour pen site after next year if the returning adults do not hold in the vicinity.
The creel survey data, such as it was, (survey staff were committed to other projects after mid-September) indicated that between 100 and 200 pink salmon were retained in Departure Bay with an unknown number retained in the approach waters. Needless to say, we were not all that successful in harvesting returning pinks.
Crab document.
It is an established fact that the commercial crab landings have increased dramatically in the past 20 years. It is also evident that, in some crab management areas, virtually all of the legal-sized crabs are harvested by the commercial sector within weeks, if not days, of their availability to this fishery. Consequently, recreational and aboriginal harvests have declined. Earlier this year, DFO produced a discussion paper on crab reform. Its’ basic premise is that there needs to be a more equitable allocation of crabs among the various competing groups (i.e. the status quo is not an option). DFO lists 8 potential options to achieve the stated objectives (although these were not intended to be the only options for discussion). The options included seasonal commercial harvest closures, non-commercial harvest reserves, TAC’s, differential size limits, commercial trap limits, larger escape ring size, trap stacking and commercial license retirement.
The paper was circulated and we received the initial feedback from the commercial sector in late September. Not surprisingly, commercial sector reps. ignored most of the listed options (except for the trap reductions --- big deal) and, instead, directed a barrage at the recreational sector claiming that our numbers were growing exponentially, that our landings were not monitored (the inference being that our catch was increasing proportionately to our numbers) and that we were stealing their traps. I reminded them that tidal water license sales had declined by 100,000 since their peak in the early 1990’s and that few of us could handle their 48” diameter x 14” high traps on our vessels but their rant was not to be diverted by reality.
Amazingly (at least I thought so), was their insistence that government initiate a buy-back program, despite the Minister’s adamant refusal to go there (see the quote from his public speech on page 15), to reduce the number of commercial crab licenses before they would consider anything else and also their strong request that we lobby the Minister on their behalf without any offer from them of a quid pro quo.
Various commercial reps. also claimed:
1. Their increasing catch is directly related to an increase in crab abundance. (If that were so, why haven’t our catches increased proportionately?).
2. There were lots of crabs available but, because we are not using fresh squid bait, commercial harvesters are catching most of the available crabs (precisely what we have been saying).
3. Our sector was catching too many crabs which is why the aboriginal harvest is poor. (If we really were the rapers and pillagers of the resource they contend we are, why have commercial catches also not declined?).
4. The lack of adequate recreational catch monitoring is essentially the cause of all the problems (I have no idea how this relates to any aspect of the proposed reform of the fishery but I can only assume that their insistence on accurate determination of our present catch would be to bolster an argument that this level should be the basis of any allocation formula under a TAC harvest regime.)
In short, even though the commercial sector admits that they have too much gear chasing too few crabs, they refuse to concede that they are the problem. The SFAB has proposed a number of measures over the years, including a size differential and non-commercial harvest reserves, to more equitably distribute the crab resource The commercial sector has consistently opposed any change to the status quo and their initial response to the discussion paper was no different. They are an intransigent bunch and are unlikely to voluntarily accept any changes to the existing harvest regime. In my opinion, the ball is now in DFO’s court. If the status quo is really not an option, the department will have to impose the changes necessary to achieve a more equitable sharing of the resource.
Beyond rejecting the trap reductions as window dressing, expressing the opinion that anything less than a 6-month commercial closure would not achieve the stated objective, and dismissing the concept of TAC’s, your SFAB reps. declined to comment further on the discussion paper pending review by the SFAB GFSFWG.
Nanaimo SFAC Motion #1 (October 18, 2007) Lingcod size limit.
Whereas: Total catch in the 2007 recreational lingcod fishery in the Strait of Georgia was less than the imposed cap of 5000 and,
Whereas: the minimum size limit of 65 cm. In 2007 compelled anglers to forego meal-size lingcod and seek larger specimens to the potential detriment of mature spawners, and,
Whereas: the additional fishing time required to catch a legal-size lingcod at this minimum size limit also increases the release mortality of sub-legal lingcod and incidentally-caught rockfish species and,
Whereas: the minimal daily and seasonal bag limit (1 and 10 respectively) coupled with an encounter cap of 7000 ensures that Strait of Georgia lingcod will not be over-harvested by a recreational fishery,
Therefore: Be it resolved that DFO implement either a slot size limit of 60 cm. To 77 cm. or a reduction in the minimum size to 60 cm. in the Strait of Georgia recreational lingcod fishery for the 2008 season on a one-season trial basis.
Rationale: A slot size limit (the one preferred by the Nanaimo SFAC) as proposed would protect mature female lingcod but still allow anglers to retain a meal-size lingcod thereby reducing fishing effort and minimizing impact on by-catch species. Reducing the minimum size limit only would, with the exception of protecting females, achieve the same results.
Moved by Wayne Harling, Seconded by Al Brown. Passed unanimously
