fishingbc
Active Member
February 22, 2009
The Honourable Gail Shea
Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Honourable Minister;
I am writing you today to express my deep concern and confusion over your February 12th decision delivered to the SFAB regarding the 2009 Halibut fishery.
Frankly Minister I am at a loss to understand how you could so totally ignore the facts in this matter. As I had noted to you in previous correspondence regarding our meeting in January, I, and the others attending actually believed you comprehended the information we gave you on this issue.
We, the representatives for the recreational sector, have bent over backwards in an attempt to reach the type of management regime your predecessors and now it appear you, demanded. We spent countless days in travel and meetings with your officials and representatives, we thought, from the commercial sector coming to a number of mutual agreements for the management of the Halibut fishery. In every instance, after the agreement was reached, the commercial sector breached or ignored that agreement. Now your government has spent over a year, reviewing the latest proposal that we jointly put forward and the commercial sector has again breached, and after a year, you reject it out of hand.
To say this is unsatisfactory would be the understatement of the century. Your playing Pontius Pilot with this issue will not resolve it and I can assure you will amount to nothing more than throwing gasoline on the flames.
At a time when your government is making continuous claims about your concerns over losing jobs in Canada and the need to keep our economy stable and growing, you make a decision that will ensure the loss of hundreds of jobs in the recreational fishing industry in 2009. Moreover we will see losses in the millions of dollars to the British Columbian and Canadian economies because of your decision.
The amount of Halibut needed to maintain a viable and vibrant recreational fishery amounts to far less than the commercial sector will leave in the water in 2009. A transfer of this amount would cost the commercial sector nothing but would, as noted, have saved hundreds of jobs in the recreational industry as well as create an infusion of tens of millions of dollars into our economy. This is hardly living up to your duty to achieve the highest possible return to the people of Canada for the use of their fishery resource.
Either your staff failed to tell you or you have chosen to ignore the fact that at the recent meetings of the International Pacific Halibut Commission the processing industry advised the Commission that they currently have in storage some 10 million pounds of Halibut from last years harvest. That is more than all of the 2008 B.C. allocation and over 30% more than the total 2009 harvest. Every indication was given that commercial halibut prices were going to be but a shadow of what they were in 2008. In fact the processors made it clear that they cannot even sell their current stock even at ex-vessel prices, never mind at wholesale prices.
Yet you chose to allocate this valuable public resource to the lowest possible use for 2009.
Moreover you continue to support the practice of giving this resource to a major portion of the commercial quota holders who do not even fish for them. Of the 435 holders of commercial Halibut quota in 2008, only 168 actually fished for Halibut. The majority Halibut quota holders, 267 take this resource that was gifted to them by the government and sit on the beach while they collect rent for a Canadian resource from the few who are actually willing to go to sea and fish. All fish allocated to and caught by recreational fishers are taken by the anglers themselves not by third parties..
Madam Minister you are perpetrating a farce and supporting the lowest possible benefit to Canadians for the use of their resource. I ask you to immediately reverse your position and provide for the 2009 recreational Halibut fishery to proceed as it should and create an atmosphere and a basis for development of a rational long term management plan.
Yours in conservation.
Bill Otway
P.O. Box 326
Merritt, B.C.
V1K 1B8
The Honourable Gail Shea
Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Honourable Minister;
I am writing you today to express my deep concern and confusion over your February 12th decision delivered to the SFAB regarding the 2009 Halibut fishery.
Frankly Minister I am at a loss to understand how you could so totally ignore the facts in this matter. As I had noted to you in previous correspondence regarding our meeting in January, I, and the others attending actually believed you comprehended the information we gave you on this issue.
We, the representatives for the recreational sector, have bent over backwards in an attempt to reach the type of management regime your predecessors and now it appear you, demanded. We spent countless days in travel and meetings with your officials and representatives, we thought, from the commercial sector coming to a number of mutual agreements for the management of the Halibut fishery. In every instance, after the agreement was reached, the commercial sector breached or ignored that agreement. Now your government has spent over a year, reviewing the latest proposal that we jointly put forward and the commercial sector has again breached, and after a year, you reject it out of hand.
To say this is unsatisfactory would be the understatement of the century. Your playing Pontius Pilot with this issue will not resolve it and I can assure you will amount to nothing more than throwing gasoline on the flames.
At a time when your government is making continuous claims about your concerns over losing jobs in Canada and the need to keep our economy stable and growing, you make a decision that will ensure the loss of hundreds of jobs in the recreational fishing industry in 2009. Moreover we will see losses in the millions of dollars to the British Columbian and Canadian economies because of your decision.
The amount of Halibut needed to maintain a viable and vibrant recreational fishery amounts to far less than the commercial sector will leave in the water in 2009. A transfer of this amount would cost the commercial sector nothing but would, as noted, have saved hundreds of jobs in the recreational industry as well as create an infusion of tens of millions of dollars into our economy. This is hardly living up to your duty to achieve the highest possible return to the people of Canada for the use of their fishery resource.
Either your staff failed to tell you or you have chosen to ignore the fact that at the recent meetings of the International Pacific Halibut Commission the processing industry advised the Commission that they currently have in storage some 10 million pounds of Halibut from last years harvest. That is more than all of the 2008 B.C. allocation and over 30% more than the total 2009 harvest. Every indication was given that commercial halibut prices were going to be but a shadow of what they were in 2008. In fact the processors made it clear that they cannot even sell their current stock even at ex-vessel prices, never mind at wholesale prices.
Yet you chose to allocate this valuable public resource to the lowest possible use for 2009.
Moreover you continue to support the practice of giving this resource to a major portion of the commercial quota holders who do not even fish for them. Of the 435 holders of commercial Halibut quota in 2008, only 168 actually fished for Halibut. The majority Halibut quota holders, 267 take this resource that was gifted to them by the government and sit on the beach while they collect rent for a Canadian resource from the few who are actually willing to go to sea and fish. All fish allocated to and caught by recreational fishers are taken by the anglers themselves not by third parties..
Madam Minister you are perpetrating a farce and supporting the lowest possible benefit to Canadians for the use of their resource. I ask you to immediately reverse your position and provide for the 2009 recreational Halibut fishery to proceed as it should and create an atmosphere and a basis for development of a rational long term management plan.
Yours in conservation.
Bill Otway
P.O. Box 326
Merritt, B.C.
V1K 1B8