Halibut restrictions + salmon closures = zero tourism !

The big breeder argument is invalid, as the fleet that kills 85% of the halibut will take them. If it was coastwide, it would make a difference, but unfortunatly, it's a moot point as there is no point in letting a big animal go to wind up on a longline..

I'm not going back to look, butt I believe that majic number for most "productive" breeding female was between 45-75 pounds. Those old girls are at the end or their productive cycle and life.
 
high tide
i feel your pain but what is wrong with that.it is all about the trip not the fish lets protect the fish and have fun and i think you are wrong about we tourism i dont nor do most people i know. i feel bad for people in the bizz but like i say maybe time to move on the good lodges make it without huge limits.i hope you change your mind and come back to the island it is a great place
 
yeah, right!!! killing all of the big fish did wonders for the kenai fishery. at somepoint, the fish have to come first and bragging rights need to do down the toilet.

The Kenai is being killed off by two things 1) ocean conditions creaded by the PDO in the Bering Sea and 2) the Kenai are also part of that bycatch of those bottom draggers people are scraming about.
 
The Kenai is being killed off by two things 1) ocean conditions creaded by the PDO in the Bering Sea and 2) the Kenai are also part of that bycatch of those bottom draggers people are scraming about.

Thanks for the continued info Charlie. Please keep it coming.

I am I correct to assume from your post that the US lets bottom draggers in Alaska? I thought they stopped them in US waters awhile ago?

I thought Canada (i.e. DFO, Dead Fisheries and Oceans) where the only retards to allow bottom draggers. They are the bad stuff indeed. Vacuuming the bottom of the sea bed, sucking up all the lifeforms and destroying the sea bottom and corals, etc, and help create true biological dead zones - disgusting, as it is stupid!
 
Sad to read your cancelling but if your only in it for the meat then as you likely know its a lot cheaper to head to the store for some (commercially caught) fish. Bringing home meat for me is usually down the list on reasons for a fishing trips. Go enjoy the hundreds of other reasons to fish.
 
Thanks for the continued info Charlie. Please keep it coming.

I am I correct to assume from your post that the US lets bottom draggers in Alaska? I thought they stopped them in US waters awhile ago?

I thought Canada (i.e. DFO, Dead Fisheries and Oceans) where the only retards to allow bottom draggers. They are the bad stuff indeed. Vacuuming the bottom of the sea bed, sucking up all the lifeforms and destroying the sea bottom and corals, etc, and help create true biological dead zones - disgusting, as it is stupid!

Ay... yep, I believe you are right there (2007 maybe?), that is unless that crab fishery is getting any? :)

I really don't follow that; however, it is the Bering Sea that is the key. If, I rememmber right I should have used "groundfish" bycatch. Come to thnk of it, it even might have been the "cod" bycatch! It's not hard to find, just google "alaska chinook bycatch" it's all over the place! Ours actually get hit in the Gulf of Alaska!
 
I fish for one primary reason only. The incredible satisfaction of hooking (fooling) a fish, particularily the adreniline rush I get from the initial strike and reality of "fish on." Nothing in the world beats that in my opinion. Sure the meat and pretty sights are fine too but i would just take up nature watching and go to the grocery store otherwise if things get to the point of "no expectation."
 
Response from Keith Ashfield.....


Dear Dave Salmons:

Thank you for your correspondence regarding the Pacific halibut allocation.

I appreciate your concerns and assure you that the Government of Canada understands the importance of the Pacific halibut fishery.

For the halibut fishery in British Columbia, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) allocates access among the recreational, commercial and First Nations sectors through an integrated fisheries planning process that involves all fishing sectors. Allocation decisions incorporate legal requirements, treaty agreements and Aboriginal rights, as well as the equitable use of the resource. In all cases, the Department’s first priority is to manage fisheries in a manner that ensures the conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks, while creating economic and social benefits for Canadians.

The Canadian halibut total allowable catch (TAC) is determined on an annual basis through the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), which was established in 1923 by a Convention between Canada and the United States. Canada remains committed to meeting its obligations to the IPHC and to providing long-term sustainability of the halibut fishery for the benefit of all Canadians. Declining abundance has resulted in fewer halibut for all sectors to harvest. Canada’s TAC for 2012 is 7.038 million pounds, down from a high in 2006, when the TAC was 13.2 million pounds.

As you may be aware, Mr. Randy Kamp, my Parliamentary Secretary, recently completed a review process with First Nations, stakeholders and DFO officials to develop options for the future management of the fishery. After considering comments received during the review, I determined that a correction to the allocation formula was required.

Following First Nations food, social and ceremonial (FSC) requirements, 85 percent of the resource will be allocated to the commercial sector, and 15 percent of the resource will be allocated to the recreational sector.
The experimental licence introduced last year, which allows recreational harvesters to lease Pacific halibut quota from commercial harvesters based on market value, will continue to be available. Improvements to the program will be made, reflecting feedback received from 2011 participants. DFO will move forward with regulatory changes to continue this market-based transfer mechanism for the long term.
The 2012 Pacific halibut recreational fishing season opened March 1, 2012. Recreational anglers with a tidal water licence are permitted to catch one halibut per day, with two in possession. The Department will monitor catches in-season to ensure that the recreational sector remains within its allocation and that Canada respects its treaty obligations. In addition, DFO will continue to work with recreational community representatives to improve monitoring, and identify management measures that will provide the greatest flexibility and season length, while staying within their allocation.
This correction to the allocation formula will not impact First Nations FSC opportunities for halibut. The commercial and recreational allocation formula adjustment will be made after these First Nation fisheries FSC opportunities have been addressed. DFO will continue to work with First Nations to ensure priority access for FSC purposes, and will also engage First Nations in pursuing opportunities for communal commercial access to halibut through existing programs.

Should you have further questions, I encourage you to contact Ms. Tamee Karim, Regional Groundfish Manager, by telephone at 604-666-9033, or by email at < tameezan.karim@dfo-mpo.gc.ca >.

Thank you for sharing your views about this important matter.


Yours sincerely,

Original Signed By

Keith Ashfield
 
It's word for word the same letter i got today...
lots of thought involved to these responses.
Just finished reading mine and yes it is the standard form letter I got too. What a load of crap.
 
Yea mine had an extra part that said "no we won't put a check box on the experimental license website to tell us to eff off" so there you have it, no going to the website and putting your feelings as we don't what you being counted as an "expression of interest".
 
High Tide


The under sized Halibut helps extend the season for all the people that can't go on their fishing trip before the beginning of August. It's only for this year.

I hope that you find a way to get out for some relaxing fishing anyways

I hope you are correct....but there is no guarantee, that the halibut sport fishery won't be closed early. Maybe with crap weather and people cancelling their trip because of reduced fishing opportunities, the sport TAC won't be reached so soon? As for the size limits being temporary, no guarantees there, either. A precedent has been set....and if we accept it quietly....it will never go away. IMO
 
The Kenai is being killed off by two things 1) ocean conditions creaded by the PDO in the Bering Sea and 2) the Kenai are also part of that bycatch of those bottom draggers people are scraming about.
I 100% agree with you on this one,stop the bottom dragging up north and you will be amazed at the amount of hali's and chinook that will come back in numbers for us as well as south of the border.
 
I 100% agree with you on this one,stop the bottom dragging up north and you will be amazed at the amount of hali's and chinook that will come back in numbers for us as well as south of the border.
Did you read the "correction?
Nice try... oh btw:
trollspray.jpg



Have a great day!
Cheers!

 
Sad to read your cancelling but if your only in it for the meat then as you likely know its a lot cheaper to head to the store for some (commercially caught) fish. Bringing home meat for me is usually down the list on reasons for a fishing trips. Go enjoy the hundreds of other reasons to fish.

Kelly, I respect you man...really....but I have to have my say. It's an easy thing to make your comment...however...you live on the Island, you have opportunities, I'd give my left nut for. Unfortunately, I don't live on the Island, and probably never will....I'd love to, though. I love the outdoors, the Island, the rivers, the ocean...the entire process......and I also love fresh seafood....all of it! When I come to the Island I also expect to take home fish, as my friends that live over there are good fishers, and can put me into, prawns, salmon, crab, and halibut. It's okay for you to go out and get a halibut and a ping pong paddle, because you'll probably have an opportunity the next day or the next weekend. Not me...I'm going to catch a 20 pound halibut the first day, but I'll be letting it go, the slot size limit imposed on us, says I can only keep one over 15 pounds! I just found out at the Area 14 SFAC meeting on Monday, the mortality rate for released halibut is 15%! So am I killing more halibut, trying to catch a bigger one

Cheaper to head to the store to buy it...yes....and how fresh is that fish? If you've been around a fish store away from the fishing grounds, you will know even if it's advertised as fresh, it's probably 7-14 days old. That is not fresh in my books. I prefer to immediately bleed it, clean it, and put it on ice. Then into a freezer within the next few hours. It is fresh, frozen and a lot fresher and better cared for that anything I can buy in a store.

You live in paradise, Kelly, and some of us need a slice of it every now and then.
 
Kelly, I respect you man...really....but I have to have my say. It's an easy thing to make your comment...however...you live on the Island, you have opportunities, I'd give my left nut for. Unfortunately, I don't live on the Island, and probably never will....I'd love to, though. I love the outdoors, the Island, the rivers, the ocean...the entire process......and I also love fresh seafood....all of it! When I come to the Island I also expect to take home fish, as my friends that live over there are good fishers, and can put me into, prawns, salmon, crab, and halibut. It's okay for you to go out and get a halibut and a ping pong paddle, because you'll probably have an opportunity the next day or the next weekend. Not me...I'm going to catch a 20 pound halibut the first day, but I'll be letting it go, the slot size limit imposed on us, says I can only keep one over 15 pounds! I just found out at the Area 14 SFAC meeting on Monday, the mortality rate for released halibut is 15%! So am I killing more halibut, trying to catch a bigger one

Cheaper to head to the store to buy it...yes....and how fresh is that fish? If you've been around a fish store away from the fishing grounds, you will know even if it's advertised as fresh, it's probably 7-14 days old. That is not fresh in my books. I prefer to immediately bleed it, clean it, and put it on ice. Then into a freezer within the next few hours. It is fresh, frozen and a lot fresher and better cared for that anything I can buy in a store.

You live in paradise, Kelly, and some of us need a slice of it every now and then.


Totally understandable but i still think the retention of one more hali shouldn't change things. Go enjoy the entire process, if things look bad there then move up island, try something new ect. One of my best trips was to telegraph cove and i only bonked one 15 lb hali the entire trip. The scenery, the people, the wildlife ect ect is second to none. The islands paradise and its hard not to enjoy yourself once you get here.
 
I will probably still be heading to the Vancouver Island this summer to fish. I have contributed thousands of dollars to the local economy through gas stations, ferries, the hotel, the marina, restaurants e.t.c. Vancouver Island is one of my top favourite places in North America to visit because of the second to non scenery, friendly residents, and I believe that the halibut and salmon fishing is a blast! I nearly caught my limit of pink salmon in a day off of Sooke and also one day had three chinook salmon on which only one was landed but it was still a blast. I also caught a few coho and a black sea bass. I also trapped a load of crab.

I just spent 2 nights writing and revising a lengthy letter to DFO about the proposed South Island Salmon Closure and let them know that the net pen fish farms have likely been largely contributing to the salmon population decline.
 
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Kelly,

READ my posts again, do I sound like a MEAT FISHERMEN ? Hardly ....... I ask for and have suggested some things that would give us that DO NOT live on the island more of an opportunity to actually take a couple fish home WHILE SPENDING HUGE CASH HELPING TO KEEP TOURISM ALIVE on the Island. I am one of thousands and thousands ........ yet your comment about "meat fishermen " and "if it's all about going home with something" "go to the STORE" YOU MUST BE DAFT! I have made comments with concern for the THOUSANDS that have been affected by these regulation changes and WILL BE MORE affected because of STUPID RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SFAB and DFO and this government not SEEING THE ENTIRE PICTURE ......... if YOU KELLY are in the tourism industry in regards to our West coast FISHERY ........... GOOD LUCK !

Man there are some real DINOSAURS ON HERE !

I travel to the ISLAND ONCE, CASH IS NOT OVERFLOWING OUT OF MY JEANS, I spend THOUSANDS on my recreation yet am deemed a MEAT FISHERMEN .......... well if I ever return, because of the new REGULATION ....... I'll really be helping out the halibut fishery killing a big BREEDER NOW WON"T I .......

PLAIN AND SIMPLE DFO, SFAB and GOVERNMENT DO NOT look at the FULL PICTURE ........ WHERE WILL THESE MANY that depend on the SPIN OFFS OF TOURISM BE WITHOUT TOURISTS !

Again ......... PATHETIC of many !

HT
 
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