There have been a couple of different threads talking about the initiative started to raise funds and get the message out to the masses regarding the important role that sport fishing, and the people who enjoy it, play on so many fronts when discussing the future of Salmon. Many of you have already donated and we are happy to support this group in their endeavours during this critical time. Please consider helping out in any way possible and sharing the message through social media and the forum whenever possible. Here is more information provided by Searun.
On December 19, the Minister of Fisheries announced a Critical Habitat (CH) Order designating Swiftsure and La Perouse Banks as Critical Habitat (CH) for Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and Northern Resident Killer Whales (NRKW). This decision was based on science advice that incorporated flawed assumptions, and largely absent data to verify these areas were of critical importance to SRKW. The Orca Outreach Fund was created by the West Coast Fishing Guides Association to help fund development of a website, initiate social media campaigns, and to start reaching out to local business and community leaders through Chamber of Commerce meetings. Our main goal being to create public and leadership awareness about the vital importance recreational fishing contributes to the economic and social well being of small coastal communities in areas touched by existing Critical Habitat and the proposed expansion Area.
In the lead up to the December CH announcement our efforts lead to a partnership forged with the BC Chamber of Commerce and SFI to help align 18 community Chambers to a single outreach campaign called Thriving Orcas, Thriving Communities. Our Coalition met with Minister Wilkinson on October 11, to provide a strong science-based message outlining the economic cost to Canada if the Minister repeated Area Closures in CH Areas going forward in 2019. We continue working with the BC Chamber and in 2019, have plans to expand outreach efforts including speaking at community Chamber meetings to help build greater awareness and understanding of the real benefits of recreational fishing that provide significant economic contribution. Our key messages being:
1. Held Media Event, called Thriving Orcas, Thriving Communities in Victoria Dec 6th
2. Developed website to help share information www.orcawhales.org
3. Developed Facebook Page www.facebook.com/bcorcawhales/
4. Developed Instagram Page www.instagram.com/p/Bqs4q2Dneva/
5. Initiated Community Outreach - speaking at Chamber Meetings and other community groups
Now that these banks are officially designated as Critical Habitat, our focus is to work with DFO and key stakeholders to design management and recovery measures that provide protection for SRKW, while also allowing responsible marine activity to successfully share CH areas with whales. As stated above, we will continue working with the BC Chamber and the SFI to forge ahead with our public and community leadership awareness campaigns to help build a strong foundation of support for the value of the recreational fishery.
Our desire is to build a network of Third Party Endorsers (TPE’s), who understand the value the recreational, commercial and FN’s fisheries brings to Canada – we will ask those TPE’s to speak out in support of these fisheries and advocate for measures that protect SRKW, while allowing responsible marine operations to co-exist successfully creating ongoing social and economic values for Canada.
Please contribute to our go fund me campaign. Your donations will help us to continue our work to fund social media outreach, refine our website, purchase media boosts, and to fund travel to community Chamber of Commerce meetings to help build our network of Third Party Endorsers. To date we have spent just over $8,000 developing the website and purchasing social media boosts that has reached over 400,000 viewers. Here’s a link to the go fund me campaign:
https://ca.gofundme.com/orcaoutreachfund
On December 19, the Minister of Fisheries announced a Critical Habitat (CH) Order designating Swiftsure and La Perouse Banks as Critical Habitat (CH) for Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) and Northern Resident Killer Whales (NRKW). This decision was based on science advice that incorporated flawed assumptions, and largely absent data to verify these areas were of critical importance to SRKW. The Orca Outreach Fund was created by the West Coast Fishing Guides Association to help fund development of a website, initiate social media campaigns, and to start reaching out to local business and community leaders through Chamber of Commerce meetings. Our main goal being to create public and leadership awareness about the vital importance recreational fishing contributes to the economic and social well being of small coastal communities in areas touched by existing Critical Habitat and the proposed expansion Area.
In the lead up to the December CH announcement our efforts lead to a partnership forged with the BC Chamber of Commerce and SFI to help align 18 community Chambers to a single outreach campaign called Thriving Orcas, Thriving Communities. Our Coalition met with Minister Wilkinson on October 11, to provide a strong science-based message outlining the economic cost to Canada if the Minister repeated Area Closures in CH Areas going forward in 2019. We continue working with the BC Chamber and in 2019, have plans to expand outreach efforts including speaking at community Chamber meetings to help build greater awareness and understanding of the real benefits of recreational fishing that provide significant economic contribution. Our key messages being:
- We can provide effective protection measures for SRKW that also allow for responsible use of CH areas by marine operators
- Recreational fishing creates significant social and economic benefits to small coastal communities – these are real jobs providing benefits for families and businesses
- Canada has too much to risk by closing vast areas of CH – recreational salmon fishing alone provides over a $billion in economic activity, $440 million USD to our GDP, and 6,150 full time jobs
- We want to work closely with DFO to design future management measures that make sense
1. Held Media Event, called Thriving Orcas, Thriving Communities in Victoria Dec 6th
2. Developed website to help share information www.orcawhales.org
3. Developed Facebook Page www.facebook.com/bcorcawhales/
4. Developed Instagram Page www.instagram.com/p/Bqs4q2Dneva/
5. Initiated Community Outreach - speaking at Chamber Meetings and other community groups
Now that these banks are officially designated as Critical Habitat, our focus is to work with DFO and key stakeholders to design management and recovery measures that provide protection for SRKW, while also allowing responsible marine activity to successfully share CH areas with whales. As stated above, we will continue working with the BC Chamber and the SFI to forge ahead with our public and community leadership awareness campaigns to help build a strong foundation of support for the value of the recreational fishery.
Our desire is to build a network of Third Party Endorsers (TPE’s), who understand the value the recreational, commercial and FN’s fisheries brings to Canada – we will ask those TPE’s to speak out in support of these fisheries and advocate for measures that protect SRKW, while allowing responsible marine operations to co-exist successfully creating ongoing social and economic values for Canada.
Please contribute to our go fund me campaign. Your donations will help us to continue our work to fund social media outreach, refine our website, purchase media boosts, and to fund travel to community Chamber of Commerce meetings to help build our network of Third Party Endorsers. To date we have spent just over $8,000 developing the website and purchasing social media boosts that has reached over 400,000 viewers. Here’s a link to the go fund me campaign:
https://ca.gofundme.com/orcaoutreachfund
