SerengetiGuide
Well-Known Member
Has anyone thought about contacting the CBC The National? They have a feature block on TV every other night or so called Go Public. People present some unreal stuff - unfair treated by RCMP, companies, hospitals, governments etc ... Gets prime time TV and it seems that whatever they featured there got top attention by officials... Worth a try?
Just emailed them the following,
To Whom It May Concern,
The Conservative governments recent decision on halibut allocation and the upcoming halibut recreational fishery for the 2011 season could be a great story. Especially considering Mr. Harper's want to keep the Canadian economy strong, yet does the exact opposite in BC by ensuring there will be a mid season closure for the halibut recreational sector of sportfishing in BC...yet recreational fishing provides more than 3 times as much to the economy of British Columbia as the commercial fishery. It should also be noted that the Minister on the case, Gail Shea, is married to a former commercial fisherman...conflict of interest much?
This closure will force any Canadian who wants to go out and catch halibut as soon as possibly July (right in the middle of the prime fishing season) to have to pay up to $5 / lb for a halibut they catch. So, for example, say they catch a 40lb halibut, an every day Canadian will have to pay $200 for it! Halibut is PUBLIC RESOURCE, yet the Conservative government is attempting to privatize it!
I was, until today, a member of the Conservative party and donated regularily to the party, but I have since then, along with my family and many other sportsfishermen, ripped up my Conservative membership and will do whatever it takes to ensure they do not get re-elected.
Families of charter operators in BC will be devastated by this as no operator can pay an extra $600 per day to allow their guests to catch halibut, and therefore will not book up for the upcoming season and not be able to pay their mortgages. This decision by Minister Shea is appalling. A shift of only 8% from the commercial sector to the recreational sector would NOT put any commercial fisherman out of business, as that, when divided between the 436 license holders, is only a reduction of 0.018% of their catch...extremely minimal.
I sincerely hope that you take a look at this privatization of a public resource by the government, the exposure of this to the Canadian public would not only help thousands of people in British Columbia remain employed, but also go a long way in ensuring that this does not happen to other public resources in the future.
Thank you for your time,
David Summers