Conservation Measures for Northern and Southern BC Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whale

cohochinook

cohochinook

Well-Known Member
Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0428-Conservation Measures for Northern and Southern BC Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales

This notice provides information on planned conservation measures for Northern
and Southern BC Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales that will be
implemented beginning June 1, 2018.

Chinook Conservation Measures
To address Chinook conservation concerns, DFO is implementing a precautionary
25-35% reduction in exploitation rates for Chinook stocks of concern to support
conservation and promote rebuilding. These additional reductions are planned to
address conservation concerns for Nass River, Skeena River and many small wild
Chinook populations in Northern BC; and, all Fraser River Chinook populations
(including Spring 4(2), Spring 5(2), Summer 5(2), Summer 4(1) and Fall 4(1)
populations) in Southern BC.

Additional Northern BC Chinook management measures are outlined below, followed
by additional Southern BC Chinook management measures.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Commercial Fisheries
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area F Troll – opening of AABM Chinook fishery delay to July 10 in addition to
boundary changes. Refer to the subsequent Fishery Notice for details.

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Northern Recreational Fisheries
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Please note that possession limits for Chinook Salmon are twice the daily limit.

The recreational daily limits of Chinook Salmon are being reduced in North
Coast tidal waters as follows:

Haida Gwaii:

Effective June 1, 2018 to July 9, 2018, the daily limit is one (1) Chinook per
day in Areas 1, 2, 142, and that portion of Area 101 west of 131 degrees 40.0
minutes West longitude

North Coast:

Effective June 1, 2018 to June 15, 2018, the daily limit is one (1) Chinook per
day in Areas 3 to 5, 103 to 105, Subarea 102-1, and that portion of Area 101
east of 131 degrees 40.0 minutes West longitude

Effective June 16, 2018 to July 9, 2018, there is zero (0) retention of Chinook
Salmon in Areas 3 to 5, 103 to 105, Subarea 102-1, and that portion of Area 101
east of 131 degrees 40.0 minutes West longitude

Effective July 10, 2018 to July 31, 2018, the daily limit is one (1) Chinook
per day in Areas 3 to 5, 103 to 105, Subarea 102-1, and that portion of Area
101 east of 131 degrees 40.0 minutes West longitude

Effective June 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018 the daily limit is one (1) Chinook per
day in Areas 6 and 106

Variation Order Number: 2018-RFQ-0307

Management measures for northern BC non-tidal waters were previously announced
in FN0372 issued May 8, 2018.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern BC Commercial Fisheries
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Area G Troll:
There is no commercial fishery for AABM Chinook in June or July.

Area B Seine and Area H Troll:
Effective June 1 to September 30, 2018, there is no commercial salmon fishing
in Subareas 20-3, 20-4 and that portion of Subarea 20-5 that lies west of 123
degrees 49.30 minutes west longitude (Otter Point).

Area B Seine and Area H Troll:
Effective June 1 to September 30, 2018 there is no commercial salmon fishing in
Subareas 18-2, 18-4, 18-5 and 18-9.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southern BC Recreational Fisheries:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Southern BC Inside Waters

Areas 13 to 18, 28 and 29 and Subareas 19-1 to 19-6 (except those portions
listed below):

Effective June 1, 2018 until September 30, 2018, the daily limit for Chinook
Salmon is one (1) per day in in Areas 13 to 17, 28 and 29 with the exception of
those four areas listed below under the headings Strait of Georgia, Pender
Island, Juan de Fuca and Fraser River mouth. Terminal fishing opportunities
at full limits for Chinook may be considered in-season if abundance permits.

Effective October 1, 2018 until further notice, the daily limit for Chinook
Salmon is two (2) per day in in Areas 13 to 19, 28 and 29.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exceptions:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Strait of Georgia:
Note: this measure came into effect on May 7, 2018 as previously announced in
FN0370 issued May 7, 2018.

Effective immediately until June 28, 2018 the daily limit for Chinook salmon is
two (2) per day, of which only one may be greater than 67 cm in Subareas 18-1,
18-3, 18-6, 18-11, and 19-5.

Effective June 29, 2018 to July 31, 2018 the daily limit is two (2) Chinook
salmon per day between both of which must be less than 85 cm in Subareas 18-1,
18-3, 18-6, 18-11, and 19-5.

Chinook salmon retained in these waters must have a fork length of at least 62
cm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pender Island:
Effective June 1 to September 30, 2018 there is no fishing for finfish in
Subareas 18-2, 18-4, 18-5 and 18-9.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Juan de Fuca (Subareas 19-1 to 19-4 and Area 20):
Effective June 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018 there is no fishing for finfish in
Subareas 20-3, 20-4 and that portion of Subarea 20-5 that lies west of 123
degrees 49.30 minutes west longitude (Otter Point)

Effective June 1, 2018 until June 28, 2018 the daily limit for Chinook salmon
is two (2) per day which may be wild or hatchery marked between 45 and 67 cm
fork length or hatchery marked greater than 67 cm in Subareas 19-1 to 19-4 and
20-6 and 20-7 and that portion of Subarea 20-5 that lies east of 123 degrees
49.30 minutes west longitude (Otter Point).

Effective June 29, 2018 until July 31, 2018, the daily limit for Chinook salmon
is two (2) Chinook per day which may be wild or hatchery marked between 45 and
85 cm or hatchery marked greater than 85 cm in Subareas 19-1 to 19-4 and 20-6
and 20-7 and that portion of Subarea 20-5 that lies east of 123 degrees 49.30
minutes west longitude (Otter Point).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fraser River Mouth (Subareas 29-6, 29-7, 29-9 and 29-10):
Effective June 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018, there is no fishing for salmon in
Subareas 29-7, 29-9 and 29-10.

Effective June 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018, there is no fishing for salmon in
Subarea 29-6.

Effective August 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018, there is no retention of
Chinook Salmon in Subarea 29-6.

Variation Order Number: 2018-RFQ-0307; 2018-RCT-0321
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:

Additional local closures may be in effect in your area. Please check for the
latest closures and restrictions for your area, and other recreational fishing
information at: www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish

Further information on specific management actions by area may be communicated
by separate Fishery Notices. You can view or subscribe to fisheries notices
at: http://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm

www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact your local DFO office
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/contact/regions/pacific-pacifique-eng.html

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Operations Center - FN0428
Sent May 30, 2018 at 17:32
Visit us on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

If you would like to unsubscribe, please submit your request at: http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=manage_subscription

If you have any questions, please contact us via e-mail to: DFO.OpsCentreFisheryPacific-CentreOpsPechePacifique.MPO@canada.ca
 
Here's from the SFI on the announcement:



May 30, 2018

CHINOOK MEASURES ANNOUNCED


Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced conservation measures for Northern and Southern BC Chinook Salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales (DFO Fishery Notice linked here) this afternoon. Unfortunately, DFO has dismissed the significant efforts of the recreational community to develop meaningul, measurable plans and have failed to consider the impacts of the restrictions and closures to small communities and businesses along the BC coast.

Northern Chinook
The Minister’s May 23rd announcement and the notice today linked Chinook and SRKW issues together. Particularly as it regards to northern chinook fishing opportunities, this is an unfortunate, and completely unnecessary distraction. The issues on the north coast re to do with Skeena and Nass chinook. These runs do not travel much south of the central coast. The Chinook measures announced today for the north coast have nothing to do with SRKW and do not provide a fair or balanced approach to the stakeholders involved. The damage to business and small communities effected by nearly an entire month of a chinook closure in tidal waters and much longer in river will be very significant and long lasting. It is our hope that we will hear additional details from DFO to provide relief to businesses and communities for the damage caused by measures that do not seem to reflect a balanced approach but bowing to political pressure.

Southern Chinook
While there has been much discussion about the chinook measures in the south, they fail to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the SFAB to develop a plan that will address conservation needs, while at the same time retain reliable and consistent opportunity for the recreational sector. The work of the SFAB to develop a proposal to meet those needs has, like the consultation regarding SRKW, been disregarded.


It is clear to see that decisions have been made to appear as though they will make a significant difference to the recovery of SRKW although there is little or no evidence of this. While the recreational community has indicated a willingness to participate in measures that can lead to recovery of Chinook (and SRKW), the measures announced today are much more restrictive than the department itself explained was necessary to satisfy conservation objectives.


Why did this happen?


Meanwhile, efforts to actually rebuild Fraser River Chinook populations through habitat restoration, predator control and strategic enhancement have gone no where. Does DFO really believe it can restore these once great runs by “managing” the now tiny exploitation rate associated with recreational fishing? Chinook and all those that depend on them deserve solutions and investment.


SOUTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALE (SRKW) MEASURES ANNOUNCED


Over the past half year, the SFI has worked actively with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to develop sound, science-based approaches to assist the recovery of Southern Resident Killer Whale populations (SRKW). However, rather than utilizing our suggestions and the best scientific information available to implement meaningful and effective measures, DFO has undermined both salmon and halibut fishing by extending the area of finfish closure well beyond what had been put forward in Pacific Region’s consultation documents. The closures, absent of measures to address other factors and without measurable benefit for the whales, seem to be an ill-considered response to pressure from groups that are not interested in scientific facts or meaningful measures to properly aid in the recovery of SRKW.

In February, Sooke anglers and hundreds of anglers across the South Coast, were given a DFO proposal to protect whales. Not surprisingly, recreational anglers were anxious to do their part to protect this iconic species and more than 400 people attended community meetings to discuss the proposal which indicated that either a finfish closure or a salmon only closure from East Point to Sheringham Point would meet DFO’s requirements to offer a refuge from competition for SRKW for prey as well as from acoustic and physical disturbance.

Make no mistake: recreational anglers were prepared to do their part.

The recreational community provided its advice, recommended small adjustments to the boundaries as originally proposed, and indicated its willingness to accept actions that would provide measurable benefit to the whales. This was done with the clear understanding that all others who may or do produce physical and acoustic disturbance would be required to adopt similar measures at the same time.

However, rather than implement a recommendation based on solutions provided by the consultation processes, Minister LeBlanc has elected to implement a full finfish closure from June 1st to Sept 31st from East Point to Otter Point, an extended area that was never part of DFO’s original proposal.

It is critical for DFO to fully understand the significant limitations of the benefits to SRKWs and the socio-economic impact to the community of these measures.

  • To our knowledge no socio-economic impact assessment has been attempted.
  • The proposal to include the area from Sheringham Point to Otter Point will produce profound negative social and economic impacts to the adjacent community with minimal if any benefit to the whales.
  • The original proposal to implement salmon only or finfish closure starting at Sheringham Point, was conceived as a means of providing protection to whales from both competition for prey as well as acoustic and physical disturbance. The most recent proposal would provide little to no positive benefit to the whales for protection from physical and acoustic disturbance since no measures to reduce the commercial trap fishery or whale watching pressure have been included.
  • While the area has not hosted a commercial salmon fishery in decades, the closed area supports a large scale commercial crab fishery which we are told will continue.
  • The closed area proposed is a popular spot for the whale watching fleet to “interact” with the whales.
  • There is no scientific evidence to suggest that the presence of recreational fishing vessels impacts the whales ability to acquire prey. DFO research has shown that R Pod routinely and successfully hunts among recreational anglers in Northern BC waters.
It is impossible for the sport fishing community to understand why DFO chose to ignore the impacts of other marine use groups and instead targeted only the recreational fishery in a greatly expanded area. The sport fishing and southern Vancouver Island community are deeply concerned that these proposed measures may become permanent and that the sport fishery, which has supported Sooke and Port Renfrew for decades, will come to an end. Worse still, there is fear that this closure would provide no measurable benefit to the whales.

We will continue to urge Minister LeBlanc, and encourage you to send your comments and concerns to DFO and the Minister as well, to undertake the necessary research to fully understand the impacts of all marine activity on SRKWs ability to effectively forage and base management measures on science rather than crass politics.

Until next time, tight lines,
The SFI Team
 
As good friend pointed out to me that "Food abundance isn’t an issue for the resident Orcas at all. #1 problem by a wide margin is toxins in their bodies, next noise pollution, 3rd...the expanding range and frequency of the Transients in lower Georgia St drives out the residents."

Really points to DFO picking us off as the easy targets!
 
cohochinook said:
As good friend pointed out to me that "Food abundance isn’t an issue for the resident Orcas at all. #1 problem by a wide margin is toxins in their bodies, next noise pollution, 3rd...the expanding range and frequency of the Transients in lower Georgia St drives out the residents."

Really points to DFO picking us off as the easy targets!
Click to expand...

That’s all assuming they aren’t already too inbred and the science is unclear on that.
 
So really what we have learnt again from this is DFO is giving NO creadibility to the SFAB.
Yet it is giving lots to the Greens as shown by the new regulations.
By the way this is not over yet as other groups have not yet approved of these.
So it could change for the worse yet.

So, now what?
 
You get it that this is a 50% reduction?
 
SOG, was 2 a day, now 1.
 
Folks if you have not joined a group such as SFI SVIAC or who ever floats your boat then you should not be upset at anyone but yourself. If you can’t cough up $50-60 bucks then you don’t value this resource.

The more members the more weight we have in Ottawa.

Lastly measuring this by the weight it has impact on your area wrong. Every area counts, & as fishermen we need to stand together. I have heard comments lately from folks wishing restrictions on other areas.?.

If you can afford the price of fuel & booze then put some money to good use & stand united
 
My votes for SFI they Lobby in Ottawa on behalf of all sports fishermen!!! Coast wide join them!!! They fight for us!

Join your area ones as well! No reason not to join a few.
 
ILHG said:
Folks if you have not joined a group such as SFI SVIAC or who ever floats your boat then you should not be upset at anyone but yourself. If you can’t cough up $50-60 bucks then you don’t value this resource.

The more members the more weight we have in Ottawa.

Lastly measuring this by the weight it has impact on your area wrong. Every area counts, & as fishermen we need to stand together. I have heard comments lately from folks wishing restrictions on other areas.?.

If you can afford the price of fuel & booze then put some money to good use & stand united
Click to expand...
reality kind of set in for me when an emergency meeting (yes, short notice thx to DFO, but still like 3-4 days) to what, emailed twice to 800 members, spread on the forum here that accesses many more, yet 20 some people show up! We are nothing so this doesn't surprise one bit! Always show up to fight when its too late!
 
With the state of the Fraser Chinook stocks I don't see that DFO had much choice but to put in these restrictions in order to achieve 35% reductions in Fraser interception. While its true the stocks have been mismanaged, they have also suffered from the massive urbanization of the areas surrounding the Fraser, the low ocean survival affecting stocks from CA to AK for the last couple of decades , which nobody really knows the main driving factor for, and the recent warm water events from 2015-17. Irrespective of the past, the current situation is the stocks are in serious decline, and for Fraser Chinook the main exploitation is from Sport Fisherman in JdF and the lower GS. To reduce Fraser interception the main way is unfortunately recreational fishing A side effect of this will be some reduced exploitation of Puget Sound fish which the US managers will probably be happy about.

IMO the SRKW issue is a bit of a red herring, and the specific SRKW closures are more to provide quiet areas for feeding than to reduce chinook overall catches, as they will just shift fishing pressure to nearby areas and have little effect on overall catch rates. They are just kind of throwing it in as an additional justification for the reductions as its politically expedient.

The Fraser is closed for recreational Chinook fishing, and is likely to stay that way for the year. Critically what also need to accompany these recreational restrictions in the ocean and river is reduced FN in-river catch by at least the same 35%, and enforcement of river closures to stop poaching or this whole exercise will be for naught, and it wont put more fish on the spawning beds.
 
Tockeyetalmon said:
Jesus reading the closures and what not is jus like reading long division sometimes. This is open except in sub area bla bla till June 1st than area 1,2,3 x12 and sub area C^2 =no fin fishing at pender island **** me lol. What does this mean for Bowen island area and thrasher rock/entrance island. 1 spring a day till sep 30th? Thanks
Click to expand...

Edit. Area 17 is affected so thrasher and entrance are 1 per day
 
Last edited:
Tockeyetalmon said:
Jesus reading the closures and what not is jus like reading long division sometimes. This is open except in sub area bla bla till June 1st than area 1,2,3 x12 and sub area C^2 =no fin fishing at pender island **** me lol. What does this mean for Bowen island area and thrasher rock/entrance island. 1 spring a day till sep 30th? Thanks
Click to expand...
Yes that's exactly what it means!
 
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