Bowen Bottomfish

[scoopy]

I am interested in fishing for some bottom fish around Bowen. What can you catch around their?? The salmon are not biting so I figure some groundfish might be fun...

 

[Dogbreath]

Don't bother there haven't been groundfish worth the catching around Bowen for a good 20 years now all fished out.

Also Lingcod are closed.

For closed areas see http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish/Restricted_Areas/RCAs/default_e.htm

 

[scoopy]

thanx dog, I'll stick with salmon.

 

[Pablo2079]

Been wondering about Howe Sound and groundfish.... I've always wondered why there aren't kelp beds in the area. Seems like that might have something to do with the lack of bottomfish.

 

[Last Chance]

quote:Originally posted by Pablo2079

Been wondering about Howe Sound and groundfish.... I've always wondered why there aren't kelp beds in the area. Seems like that might have something to do with the lack of bottomfish.

Bottomfish have a reproduction maturity of over 30 years, and are very easily exploitable, wherase Salmon move around. So any good reef near a major population is going to be pounded to death (Lower mainland).

 

[SIR]

There used to be huge kelp beds all over the inside strait. One theory I've heard is that when the sea otters were hunted pretty much all the way back up to alaska the red urchins lost their primary predator species. The urchin populations have been growing pretty much unchecked for decades, as local divers can atest to, and they feed on all the kelp roots taking out all the beds. No kelp beds equals no where for herring to spawn. No where for herring to spawn equals much smaller herring populations which equals much smaller salmon/groundfish stocks.

Sounds like a plausible theory to me.....

 

[Pablo2079]

Sounds like a reasonable theory. Just makes you wonder why you have to go up the Sunshine Coast past Roberts Creek before you see any kelp. I read somewhere that stated that runoff with the pressure treated lumber chemicals in it caused the die-off of the kelp around the lower Strait. Aren't there a lot of kelp beds up by you SIR? Seems like there is a lot less eel grass around than from what I remember as a kid too.

I did a search on the sea otter and it states that they were never on the inside in any great numbers. Not sure why that would have been...

Wonder if more artificial reefs would be the ticket to help out the groundfish population?

 

[SIR]

Not much kelp by us other than a few fairly contained beds. Have not found much kelp as far north as I've ventured so far.... seal & sea otter populations died off fairly dramatically when the gov was supplying free guns and ammo to the fishermen to regulate the "problem species"....

 

[chris73]

I have heard that there was a time in recent west coast history when some smart business men came up with the idea to harvest kelp and sell it as fertilizer - in huge masses. Can't say if it's true or not but the rumour keeps popping up once in a while...

 

[Pablo2079]

Found this Jefferson County (Washington) document while doing a google search... part of it shows a graphic illustration of a Kelp Bed disappearing around Protection Island in Washington. Pretty amazing speed at which it disappeared.

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