Possession question

[Peppysan]

We were talking about possession limits and an interesting question arose.

If one was to take say a large halibut into a place like Hardy Boys for processing, freezing etc. Is it then now classified the same as if you had taken it home and processed it yourself. OR is this fish still part of a (fresh catch) daily/possession limit?

Just thinking about sportsmen going out for like a week trip, (once a year) how is it possible to fill an annual allotment of 6? If the fisherman does not exceed the daily catch limit, say 3 fish in 6 days, I see no way of taking it home otherwise.

 

[hippaisland]

If your referring to staying somewhere, fishing multiple days, and dropping your catch off each day to be processed or simply vacuum sealed and frozen at a facility then you still have to adhere to the possession limit on your trip (for your trip home too). Not sure if this is what your referring to though.

 

[Pippen]

From DFO regs. Basically until you return your catch home you are maxing out on your possession limit whether you fish 2 days or 6 days. In your example of Hali, you are allowed 2 within slot regs until you go through your front door at home.

It is illegal to:

• possess more than your daily limit or possession limit except for what is at your ordinary residence

 

[BearCove]

Until this fish is taken home and put in your freezer at your place of residents it is still in your possession no matter where it is. Once you have brought you fish home you can now start over on your two day possession limit.

 

[Aces]

Until this fish is taken home and put in your freezer at your place of residents it is still in your possession no matter where it is. Once you have brought you fish home you can now start over on your two day possession limit.

Yes, their permanent residence

 

[ericl]

If we all got 6 a year then there would be a shorter season. I too live far from the fishery but have no problem with those closer taking 6 if there eat them.

 

[Fishalot]

I have some difficulty agreeing with the interpretation above. I have left fish to be processed at St Jeans that took a month or more to get back to take home. I don't think DFO would argue I wasn't entitled to fish during that lengthy period.

 

[Whole in the Water]

I have some difficulty agreeing with the interpretation above. I have left fish to be processed at St Jeans that took a month or more to get back to take home. I don't think DFO would argue I wasn't entitled to fish during that lengthy period.

I would think that if you are talking common sense and reasonability, then you may be correct. As a matter of the letter of the law, you would be wrong.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

I think the key factor is POSSESSION. If fish are at a licensed processor, until they reach your home I believe the reg considers that those fish are still possessed by you. While that may be the technical interpretation, of course it would be nearly impossible for enforcement folks to pursue such a situation unless they set up surveillance, which would be highly unlikely unless they suspected someone of grossly abusing the system. I think as rec anglers navigating the regulations we also have to realize that the regs don't cover every eventuality, like what if you took your fish home and then from home to a local processor to be smoked - do those fish become part of your possession limit, a second time, until the processing is complete and you get the product back home (and what if that takes months)? As with most fishing regs, they are written to stop intentional poaching and to prevent poachers from getting off due to loopholes but can't cover off every possible scenario.

With regard to the OP, I do believe that some, if not all, licensed fish processors are allowed to ship your fish to your residence while you are still on your fishing trip and once the fish they've processed and shipped reaches your home residence, you are free to harvest more fish. On the surface, the cost for such a service may not seem worth it but, given the current price for fresh halibut, if you were into some good hali fishing and had room on your license, it may be worthwhile to ship home your first couple of fish.

As I've said many times on here, with an annual quota of just 6 halibut and a desire to stretch the rec allocation across the entire season, traditional possession quota doesn't provide the best solution for all anglers. With the requirement to record your catch it would be easy enough to set a daily, monthly and annual quota. The slot limit, even though its never been proven to have any impact on harvest, could still be implemented as part of the monthly and/or annual quotas - say no more than 3 of the annual 6 fish can be over a certain size limit and/or no more than one or two "overs" harvested each month. Locals would still have access to a lot of halibut meat over the full season and travelling anglers may get a bit more flexibility.

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[ILHG]

I have some difficulty agreeing with the interpretation above. I have left fish to be processed at St Jeans that took a month or more to get back to take home. I don't think DFO would argue I wasn't entitled to fish during that lengthy period.

If you are away from home & on a fishing trip then the rule should apply. Imagine if the lodges allowed people to catch a freeze there possession limit to take home, & then allow them to send there daily limit to the processers for every additional day they are fishing. The way the rule is written this would in theory be allowed,, Maybe.. But the question is... Should it happen??

 

[Aces]

Any other way people will just take advantage of it and load up beyond what they need.

I remember the old days when the bus out of Campbell River used to be loaded right down with canned/jarred up salmon by the case heading out of town

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Or folks continually coming to/from fish camps transporting everyone's fish "home" when we were allowed to transport other's fish with a letter.

I think DFO needs to close the loophole of folks printing off as many licenses as they want. If everyone had just one, official, license with the requirement to record in ink the date of harvest for the key restricted species, managers could be more creative in how they manage daily, possession, monthly and annual quotas. Every license should have to be returned at the end of the season, as well, so they can get better stats than an unreliable, voluntary survey.

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[scott craven]

I think DFO needs to close the loophole of folks printing off as many licenses as they want. If everyone had just one, official, license with the requirement to record in ink the date of harvest for the key restricted species, managers could be more creative in how they manage daily, possession, monthly and annual quotas.

That is exactly how it used to be prior to the "on-line" world taking over.
The only way you could get a replacement was to sign an affidavit.

 

[BearCove]

The rule reads, until your possession limit is in your freezer at you place of residence (6 months or longer I believe) then it is still in your possession.

Yes it can be at a processing facility waiting to be shipped home but until it is to your home it is still in your possession.

As stated above by Ukeei, common sense would factor in to what DFO may do.

 

[tubber]

I drive back and forth from the Okanagan to Ukee for 4-6 trips per summer. I might fish 2,3, or 4 days at a time. I don't always limit out by any means. I'm not smart enough to fathom how all the people who talk about being in a destination for a month, or even two weeks manage their fish. I just assume they are cheating.

 

[profisher]

I think there should be a distinction between sending fish to a processor while you stay and keep fishing and someone who drops fish off to be processed and then goes home...then goes fishing again before the processor ships them back. I've dropped fish off in the big sockeye cycle year and waited from early August until early November to get my fish back.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

By the letter of the law I suppose you're not allowed to have more than a possession's worth of fish at the processor at any one time - i.e. no more than 8 salmon total, only 4 of which could be springs? Again, the regs certainly don't cover every eventuality.

Cheers!

Ukee