Emerging Issues for SVI Chinook Regulations

Eric, I believe that many people writing posts here are speaking from passionate emotions and not from embedded racist beliefs. I always have to read what I have written before hitting the send button. After taking the time to read my own words I more time than not alter my post to reflect a position coming from a calmer and more thought out place.
 
To me, it doesn't really matter what race is involved. We should all be acting in the same way to help restore our fisheries to their original plentiful stocks. With an uneven balance of responsibilities, it cancels out the conservation efforts of everyone else attempting to do their part. I'd rather see the entire westcoast fishery closed down entirely for any and all people regardless of being a commie, rec fisher, or FN, than see one group of people turning a blind eye to conservation efforts all the while wiping out salmon altogether due to complete selfishness.

Salmon were here long before any of us humans showed up, the salmon's rights to live and not go extinct should trump any cultural, food, and or business rights of any person, no matter who is involved...
 
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Unfortunately, here is what is going to happen. The FN groups are not stupid. They went ahead with this motion knowing they will never get it. So the question is "What do the FNs really want?" The answer is more fish and more political clout. What is going to happen is that the government will try to keep everyone happy and they will give the FNs PART of what they are asking for. The idea being that DFO will be making everyone happy. We will be all thankful that we have SOME Chinook season, and we will have the false sense that our letter writing and foot stomping has had some effect. The FNs will be the real winners because they got to the decision makers first with a proposal that they knew was over the top ridiculous. They targeted "middle ground" and that's exactly what they will get. Mark my words, our Chinook season will be reduced in some way and the politicians will laugh their a$$es off at us as we thank them for hearing our voiced. We however will not be able to hear them laughing over the guffaws of the FNs groups who will get exactly what they wanted in the first place.

So could we use the same strategy in the future? Go to DFO and demand that the FN harvest be curtailed for three months in order to increase sportfishing opportunities? Of course not. We would all be labelled as bigots.
 
unfortunately anytime anybody disagrees with any position a recognizable group takes-he or she is immediately labelled a bigot or racist---end of dissent. That is a recognizable and effective tactic in p.c. Canada today!
 
Category(s):
RECREATIONAL - Salmon

Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0378-RECREATIONAL - Salmon - Areas 18, 19 and 29 - Chinook Management Actions

Consistent with the 2015/16 Southern BC Salmon Integrated Fisheries Management
Plan, the Department is implementing management measures to protect Fraser
River Spring 4(2) chinook populations as they migrate to the Fraser River.

Effective Dates: 00:01 hours May 9 until 23:59 hours June 17, 2016

Waters: Subareas 18-1 to 18-6, 18-9 and 18-11, 19-5, and that portion of
Subareas 29-4 and 29-5 that lies south of a line from a point on the east side
of Valdes Island located at 49 deg 05.562 min N, 123 deg 39.989 min W then
extending 57 degrees True for 5 nautical miles to a point at 49 deg 08.316 min
N, 123 deg 33.669 min W.

Management Measures: The daily limit is two (2) chinook salmon per day of
which only one (1) chinook may be greater than 67 cm.

The minimum size limit for chinook salmon in these waters is 62 cm.

The Department is currently reviewing management measures to protect Fraser
Spring and Summer 5(2) chinook that will be required after June 17, 2016. An
update on these management measures will be announced in a subsequent fishery
notice.

Variation Order: 2016-199
 
DFO would never tell lies, would they?
They use words "will be required"?
Required for what?
What do you think the general public will assume?

The spin goes on!



The Department is currently reviewing management measures to protect Fraser
Spring and Summer 5(2) chinook that will be required after June 17, 2016. An
update on these management measures will be announced in a subsequent fishery.
 
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Late to the game but letters sent. Thanks for letting me plagiarize everyone's letters, but I have thrown in some personal twists for fun.


Dear Mr Tootoo, DFO and Honorable Members of Parliment:

Unless the there is a complete ban that includes Commercial, First Nations, and recreational fishing, I cannot urge you enough to not put a ban on recreational fishing for
Chinook/Spring fishery in Juan de Fuca Strait from May to September 2016.

I fish to feed my family and 10 nieces and nephews. As one of the recreational boaters who contribute direct revenues of about $4.4 billion per year and directly employs about 40,000 people. The loss of tax revenue alone to the federal and provincial coffers could not be imagined if the crown jewel of Canadian recreational fishing is cancelled which will result in the death of the guiding business and many boaters selling their vessels. http://www.nmma.ca/assets/cabinets/Cabinet485/NMMA Boating Economic Impact Study 2.pdf

Then there is the tourism and salmon guiding business that would be destroyed by such a regulation. People come from all over the world to catch B.C. salmon in the Juan de Fuca Strait where the cost of going out on a trip is more economical for families and tourists!
The administrative cost of returning funds to those who purchased yearly licenses and salmon fishing tags would not justify the closing of this fishery!

There is always a concern for the survival of the B.C. salmon stocks especially in the Fraser River. After being a commercial fisher in 1999 and 1998, and following the industry for the last 20 years, I have observed there are three solutions to this problem that DFO seems reluctant to implement.

First, cut back the amount of herring (one of the main sources of salmon food) taken each year in the herring spawning season. Sending this herring overseas does nothing but erode our salmon stocks, reduces the food available for whales and to BC residents.

Secondly, the amount of commercial fishing needs to be cut back severally, at least by 50% and should be limited to high-value mature Salmon. The number of young coho and chinook caught by commercial fishers should be avoided by a shorter later season. Yes this will hurt the commercial fisherman but in terms of the amount of revenue generated by them as small.

Third, reduce the seal population through oral contraception, as seals are responsible for 55 per cent of natural mortality of juvenile coho and 45 per cent of chinook. https://afs.confex.com/afs/2015/webprogram/Paper19720.html


Please give the recreational fisherperson more consideration before closing the fishery, killing jobs and reducing the abilities of families to provide healthy local food.
 
Attn: The Honourable Hunter Tootoo
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street, 13th Floor, Stn 13E228
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0E6

Dear Minister,



I'm a life long resident of Victoria B.C. and have fished and owned my own boat since the age of 13 years. I'm now 57 years old. I'm the vice-president of the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, an elected director of the Juan De Fuca Salmon Restoration Society, an alternate to the Victoria SFAC, was a director for 10 years with the "Pink Salmon Festival -Take A Kid Fishing" event and a professional sport fishing guide since 1986. The first half of my professional involvement with the sport fishery was in the capacity of making a living for myself and providing for my family. The last 10-15 years has been equally about giving back to ensure that the next generations will be able to enjoy the lifestyle I was able to enjoy. I'm also concerned about the welfare of our local resident killer whales, brown and black bear and birds like our bald eagles that all depend on healthy salmon runs to sustain their populations. For the past 3 years I've also been the co-lead organizer of the Alpine Group Juan De Fuca Fishing Tournament which is held every June on the Father's Day Weekend. This tournament's proceeds are supporting a project that is in fact included in the 2016 IFMP and is awaiting your signature so we can proceed. The project involves transferring 500,000 Chinook smolts from the Nitinat Hatchery in the spring of 2017 down to the Sooke Harbour where they will spend a few weeks in sea pens while they imprint to the Sooke River. These Chinook are intended to become a stable supply of food for our local resident killer whales. DFO's upcoming decision could negatively affect funding and put this worthy and well supported project at risk.

I've been more than willing to do my part to help conserve fish species at risk when the science branch at DFO suggests their is a need to reduce the exploitation rate and has sound science backing their position. When fish need to be avoided or released to provide enough fish on the spawning grounds I have no problem complying. The recreational anglers in the Victoria and Sooke areas have met or exceeded DFO's request for a drastic reduction in the exploitation rate on early timed Fraser River Chinook since being asked to do so. With the suite of restrictions that have been in place since 2012 our impact on these stocks is at or below 2%. No other sector has done and continues to do more to conserve these stocks of concern. To hear that DFO is considering a total sport fishing closure in areas 19 and 20 or staying in zone 1 regardless of the Albion test fishery results is a slap in the face. Especially when the small number of Chinook we give up will simply be transferred to another sector instead of being allowed to spawn and improve these fisheries for all concerned. The only way I foresee the thousands of anglers on southern Vancouver Island accepting further restrictions or a complete closure is for all fisheries to be restricted equally and with verification by all parties, so that these fish are not caught but are given the chance to reproduce. I seriously don't think you can sell that to any other group except the recreational sector.

Yours truly,

Rollie Rose/president
Sooke Salmon Charters Ltd
 
Letter sent - sorry for tables not lining up well in this view.


West Coast guides Association

May 5, 2016

Re: Proposed Recreational Salmon Closure


Honorable Minister Tootoo

Delivered via e-mail


Dear Minister Tootoo,


I’m writing to you in my capacity as the President of the West Coast Fishing Guide’s Association. We are a membership organization representing over 120 active guides, and growing.


Our organization is committed to working with government and NGO’s to ensure the diverse fishery on the west coast of BC is well understood and protected. We have recently learned of a proposal to close the recreational fishery from the west coast of South Vancouver Island to the Gulf of Georgia in the approach to the Fraser River. Our understanding is DFO is proposing to move to Zone 1 conservation measures.


We support conservation measures by all sectors to protect salmon runs when and where they make good sense. In this particular proposal, the intent is to severely restrict recreational fishing opportunities to essentially transfer Chinook to First Nations as compensation for a total conservation closure for Sockeye. Our view is this represents dangerous policy, and amounts to an allocation transfer from one user group to another rather than managing each individual fishery based on conservation, prior allocation policy, and law.


As Minister your first priority should be ensuring conservation needs are met for each fishery independently, and not to blur the lines by horse-trading Chinook for Sockeye. Any decision to manage the fishery as currently proposed represents a serious breach of your fiduciary duty as Fisheries Minister.


Beyond these concerns, we want to point out that any decision that harms the recreational sport fishery will have serious and long lasting implications to the economy of B.C.’s coastal communities. The recreational fishery continues to expand, and has eclipsed the commercial fishery in terms of economic value to Canada. The table below illustrates this shift:


Commercial Troll Fishery vs Recreational Salmon Fishery


Economic Driver Commercial Recreational


GDP $15.7 million $219.1 million

Workers employed 157 3,580

Household Income $8.4 million $143.1 million

Taxation $2.5 million $60 million


Our view is keeping the recreational fishery strong and vibrant makes solid sense, contributes tremendously to rebuilding Canada’s economy, creates employment and represents the wisest use of a common property resource.


We urge you as Minister to reject the aforementioned proposals to shift Chinook opportunities to the proponents.


Sincerely,



Pat Ahern

President, WCFGA


cc


WCFGA Members

Kelly Binning Kelly.Binning@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
 
Alright ladies and gents, I've tried looking, but can not find anything on this question I'm about to ask...

When was the last time we had a rec opening for sockeye in area 19 or 20? I legitimately can't remember. It seems like every time I have gone fishing for salmon in the last 5+ years it's always been closed at the time...
 
2014 and before that 2010. The 2010 run was the big 34 million return year and 2014 was the offspring from that brood year. The 2014 run wasn't as big as 2010 and over 95% of them migrated down the east coast of the Island. So while areas 19 and 20 were open in 2014 the fishing sucked for sockeye as they went the other way to the Fraser.
 
Extracted from that paper, 2010 Total Fraser River Chinook Harvest:

Commercial - 175000
FN - 18000
Fraser R Rec - 6000
Ocean Rec - ??

?? - Based on the Nicola stock data 06-09, where FN harvested avg 20%, ocean rec fisheries harvest ranged from 2%-10%, though this number might rise for the more abundant later returning stocks. In any case, commercial sector takes the lion's share of Fraser chinook, as always - ten times FN harvest (yes there's in-river poaching unreported, though more so for sockeye fisheries; also unreported by-catch of chinook/failure to properly handle or release by-catch in the large scale sockeye, pink and chum commie fisheries is also pervasive).

Since this 2010 data, due to conservation concerns the in-river Fraser rec fishery has been closed during the spring and summer chinook stock migration and the Area 19/20 fishery severely restricted so at worst forecast rec harvest would be at the low end of the impact shown by the Nicola stock charts, or less than 2% of harvest in the Ocean and with the total in-river closures, 0% for Fraser rec.

Not sure how DFO can justify further restrictions than that on the rec sector if there isn't a conservation concern that shuts down all sectors?

Cheers!

Ukee
 
Not sure how DFO can justify further restrictions than that on the rec sector if there isn't a conservation concern that shuts down all sectors?

Just watch, DFO will screw over area 19/20 again
we get shafted every year :(
 
Here is the letter structure Profisher posted earlier as a guide for everyone to use as well as who to send it to. According to the latest SVIAC information your letters need to be sent no later than Monday May 9.


SEND TO: Hunter.Tootoo@parl.gc.ca;min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca;
Kelly.Binning@dfo-mpo.gc.ca;

COPY TO: Randall.Garrison@parl.gc.ca; Murray.Rankin@parl.gc.ca; Elizabeth.May@parl.gc.ca: Scott.Simms@parl.gc.ca; Mark.Strahl@parl.gc.ca; Fin.Donnelly@parl.gc.ca;
info@anglerscoalition.com;

Attn: The Honourable Hunter Tootoo
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent Street, 13th Floor, Stn 13E228
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0E6

Dear Minister,

Your letter here.

Cc’d –


Randall Garrison – NDP MP Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke,
Murray Rankin - NDP MP Victoria,
Elizabeth May – Green Party MP Saanich – Gulf Islands
Scott Simms – Liberal MP - Parliamentary Standing Committee on DFO,
Mark Stahl – Conservative MP (BC) – Fisheries Critic,
Fin Donnelly – NDP MP (BC) – Fisheries Critic, and
South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalitio

 
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