Emergency SFAB Meetings About Proposed SRKW Fishing Closures

I think posting that article is actually important as sports fishermen need to know what the other side is saying. Can’t go into a battle or debate without knowing what the other sides argument is going to be, preparation, or else you’ll just lose (guess you’re just used to that)

Wow its a hack again from someone that doesn't do anything? Come on man this gets old. Cant do a battle with people that whine and ***** that won't volunteer either. Ask your self is what I am posting helping the process, whales or situation or not. I am sorry but with a guide business I would be rolling up my sleeves and getting in there. Help or frankly be quiet.
 
At PSF, we've been hearing from a lot of you in the Rec Fishing sector on the SRKW / salmon issue. We want you to continue to engage with us and we would like you to know that we are working behind the scenes with DFO, the Rec Sector, and other stakeholders as we all want to see healthy wild salmon and orca populations. Below is a short note pulled from recent correspondence on this issue that some of you may find of use.

PSF notes on SRKW & Salmon.JPG
 
Even though we are an army of 300K against an almost invisible army we have NO EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP that seems to be able to solve the problem.
 
I try not to state things as fact unless I am sure it is a fact. So this observation is more of a question than a statement.

The more little blurbs I read, I find my self becoming more concerned about the millions of tons of krill being sucked up. Asian fishing machines talking about doubling harvest rates. New super ships that fish and process non stop for months at a time etc.

Also the over fishing of crab translating To a lack of crab larva on a whole.

Also the struggle to re gain kelp after they almost wiped it out mistakenly assuming they could harvest different kelps in the same way. Only to learn that one kelp does not reproduce the same as another.
And yes Herring harvests.

All of which are considered “keystone species”, or habitat for them.

We all scream about not wanting more closures and the need to make more Chinook right away.

So these questions come to my mind anyways.

1: Are the afore mentioned statements accurate? (Enough at least to justify my concerns ?) Is it naive or ideological to feel like things must go far beyond making more fish.

2: If everyone starts pumping Chinook out like mad, Is there enough groceries in the ocean to feed them?

Couldn’t possible agree more. Time for all the local SFAC groups to rise up and bring forward motions calling for DFO to significantly curtail commercial fisheries for herring, krill and crab. All extremely important food sources that juvenile Chinook require to successful transition to life in the ocean. We are seeing significant poor ocean survival and while the causes are many (lack of food, predation, pollution) there has been little actual effort applied to addressing them. If we delay much longer there will be no Chinook and no killer whales who depend upon them left! Time to act now at your local SFAC and start writing letters to the Minister demanding change.

When I witness the carnage on the east coast of Vancouver Island caused by the wasteful herring fishery my mind turns to how in this day and age we can be so blind that we allow it
 
I thought it be a good idea to post this here to allow for more visibility. This will be a very important meeting for all rec. anglers to attend.

If we are to be effective in lobbing our position in this very political situation we must begin to get informed with the correct information, start forming a unified sector position to lobby the decision makers so we get effective solutions to the SRKW issue and not just politically convenient closures of the rec sector that don't solve the problem.

Victoria and Area SFAB Committee is holding three emergency meetings to address the recent proposed fishing closures related to Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery.

Monday February 26th - 7:30 pm - Sidney Anglers at Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney

Wednesday February 28th - 7:30pm - Esquimalt Anglers Clubhouse, 1101 Munro Street, Victoria

Tuesday March 6th - 7:30pm - Prestige Hotel, Sooke

SFAB Representatives will present the maps contained in the DFO proposed closure document released on Friday February 16th by DFO and will seek input and advice from their constituents.

These meetings are open to the public and are free to attend - If you are a salmon or ground fish angler please make a point of attend as we would really like to hear your perspective.

Chris, these meetings had been announced with some urgency and in your last sentence we are all encouraged to attend. This is important business. So my wife and I get to the meeting at the Prestige in Sooke at 7:30pm to find 25+ people stacked up outside in the long corridor. So we left. Who booked such a tiny meeting room!!? Why put the call out to attend if that is not possible!!. Totally and utterly ridiculous!!!:mad:
 
At PSF, we've been hearing from a lot of you in the Rec Fishing sector on the SRKW / salmon issue. We want you to continue to engage with us and we would like you to know that we are working behind the scenes with DFO, the Rec Sector, and other stakeholders as we all want to see healthy wild salmon and orca populations. Below is a short note pulled from recent correspondence on this issue that some of you may find of use.

View attachment 36865

It is good and needed that the PSF steps into the rink here too; they have paid staff and capacity to help even though they cannot effectively lobby. But they should be concerned about their own survival; the majority of members and donors are sportfishermen; if salmon sportfishing is done here in BC then PSF will fold too or do you think it will be easy to motivate thousands of volunteers and donors that run PSF projects to keep going while not being allowed to fish for their own fruits? Hardly! I also find it a bit odd that PSF lists as one of the major short term solutions to the Chinook/Orca crisis supporting Chinook net pen projects such as the currently only one in Sooke. Yet when the organizers of the Sooke net pen project asked for a PSF grant in 2018, they gave them only 20% of the requested amount. Shaking my head! I guess the Chinook recovery is NOT that high on their priority list after all as they want you to believe.
 
Well they didnt expect such a big turn out which was good . FINALLY .....
Alot of people had ******* and complaints people ive never seen before, I know its VERY frustrating but you all are forgetting one thing this is politically motivated. what you need to do is write letters to your mayors to the minister and EVERYONE in between send it to everyone. put in what YOU feel is right.
Maybe Searun or Derby or anyone who has the emailing addresses can post where to send to..
you have till the 15 th to send some emails so get on it.....

Good luck Wolf
 
So is March 15th the implementation day
of the new Chinook restrictions ?
I haven't seen anything in writing.

No it’s the deadline for you to provide your feedback on the management measures and the study proposal to measure the effectiveness of Area Closures as a tool. The IFMP is still in draft mode and open for comments up until early April. Can’t recall off top of my head the date. There are proposed Chinook measures which for all intents and purposes are going ahead likely regardless of any input to the IFMP.

I don’t have the email address handy for the contact at DFO to email your input to, but it was posted earlier in this thread.
 
Chris, these meetings had been announced with some urgency and in your last sentence we are all encouraged to attend. This is important business. So my wife and I get to the meeting at the Prestige in Sooke at 7:30pm to find 25+ people stacked up outside in the long corridor. So we left. Who booked such a tiny meeting room!!? Why put the call out to attend if that is not possible!!. Totally and utterly ridiculous!!!:mad:

Roland, I can agree with your frustration - seems counterproductive. However, I can't see the folks who booked the room selecting a room on purpose that would be too small - that is not their motive obviously. So what happened - most likely a case of having to book what facilities are available in a short time frame, in a small community with few appropriate venues.

So what can be done next? Reach out to someone who did attend the meeting and ask them what was said. The most important thing is for everyone to provide their feedback to the DFO proposed closures and study areas (linked posted on SVIAC, SFI-BC sites and this thread) for areas before March 15!
 
These restrictions coming down have nothing to do with the parties that are in power. Dfo has been saying 20 plus years salmon stocks were failing. We told them again and again. How many of you saw the graphs.

Fraser river perfect example. We just watched the stocks fall year after year until guess what not many fish left.


Still we need to keep it together. Stop pointing at first nations and commercials. Blaming our issues because we think this government sucks. We have to keep focused at this issues and facts within our group. Personally I think we are doing a good job with what little resources we have.

Bingo!!!!! This is bigger than any one sector. If there is any chance of change it’s by unifying the commercial and recreational communities and maybe some coastal FN and force government to produce more fish. The wild salmon policy is a failure and excuse to do nothing. Alaska produces enough fish for all there sectors to have reasonable access and you don’t see this problem up there. Again no one group has enough money or political influence to go up against the NGO lobby. Time for all of us to grow up.
 
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