Also Just a heads up First Nations are coming after our fishery in the ocean. see attachment
· Can you clarify the term “prey availability”. What’s the reason for finfish or salmon closures? How will DFO account for a shift in effort from closed to open areas? Has DFO modelled how much more prey will be available?
· DFO: 1) Availability means abundance and accessibility (protection from vessel disturbance). A recreational finfish closure would have more impact than a salmon closure (these are the two tools we have available). Anglers can move so we will use overflights to monitor how much of that is going on. Modelling prey quantum is very difficult to do in practice, but monitoring can help track hunting behaviour. We are still working on the experimental design questions and can follow up with JTWG.
· Closing those areas will just shift recreational effort inside, putting more pressure on Fraser chinook, including 41s. It’s just a band-aid solution. What measures are planned for inside?
· DFO: That will be addressed in the presentation.
· It feels like DFO is giving them an allocation before First Nations. Maybe that’s important but it feels like DFO is taking action without considering First Nations impacts. We have an allocation for chinook that we have yet to take in Campbell River. The impacts are primarily from a recreational industry that reaches around the world. We are managing our fish to extinction. If there are not enough to go around, you have to stop something. Is it commercial, recreational or First Nations fisheries? Our rivers and streams in Northern Vancouver Island are being lost in all this.
· DFO indicated yesterday that the only feedback is what is written in the Forum letter. What about feedback here? What feedback is considered?
· DFO: We welcome letters, and also the direct feedback that we hear at this table and that is captured in meeting notes.
· We are hearing about more involvement and consultation with First Nations and consent-based decision-making, but we’re frustrated that DFO’s actions are not consistent with those commitments, while our fundamental right to the fish is being destroyed. There has been no mention of dollars. If we’re protecting chinook, what’s the bottom line? It will require major investments if Canada is serious about restoring our rivers and the rights of First Nations.
· Proposed chinook management actions will allow recreational anglers to move around and continue taking our fish. If DFO is unwilling to shut them down entirely, reduce their limits. The current measures create inequitable access to chinook, with anglers allowed to catch far more relative to our communities. Question... about CWTs. The Province was still allowing recreational catch and release fisheries last fall despite the extreme conservation concerns. These fish are being managed into extinction. DFO needs to shut down all catch and release fishing for steelhead. It’s politics, colonialism and another form of genocide.
· DFO: We will be looking at all fisheries and we can look at reducing recreational catch limits, among other tools, to achieve reductions. CWT recoveries for some populations such as Nicola are limited, which creates some uncertainties. Re steelhead, we are discussing proposed measures with the province.
· Does DFO propose time and area closures, reduced limits or restricting the number of licences sold? DFO tells us to reduce the number of vessels fishing when there is not enough fish. The Avid Angler program shows large numbers of fish being caught and there are far more rec licences than Aboriginal.
· DFO: We will be looking at inside waters, using available management tools, and at all fisheries, including northern fisheries. DFO is looking for feedback on the draft IFMP and those fisheries will be considered for proposed reductions.
· At a Victoria meeting, anglers discussed moving their boats up the coast if local fishing was closed, whereas we can’t move our fisheries. It’s a concern that many of the fish they’re catching are the ones, like chinook 42s, that we are trying to conserve. I’m also concerned about reports of livestock wandering through salmon spawning grounds so I hope DFO makes a serious effort to stop this. Additional concerns include recreational anglers being allowed to fish for steelhead and having their fisheries open by default, unlike ours.
· DFO: It will be important to craft measures that allow us to track their effectiveness.
· An important question in the chinook and coho reductions is how DFO will implement Aboriginal priority and questions about whether catch and release mortality is really incidental mortality. This kind of joint First Nations consultation is essential to meet the test set by the courts in earlier cases, which would require having another meeting like this one before the end of March.
· DFO: We can look at how best to address that and how to share technical information.
· Matsqui has a protected right that is second to conservation, and it’s very difficult to watch recreational fishers chasing our fish. It hurts to hear that killer whales may get more fish than my grandchildren. We need recreational closures until we rebuild these stocks, not more band-aids. It’s
easy for DFO to just shut us down and there is a conflict of interest regarding recreational fishers.
· We are at the gates so we can see what’s happening to the fish as they return, including hundreds of sea lions taking our fish. We can’t compete with them, especially in low years. We need to do something about both sea lions and sport fishermen.
· I want to commend DFO for considering reductions (Slide 14). This, along with changes to the Fishery Act, provide a glimmer of hope. When you consider allocation priorities, DFO should reference industry first when referencing cuts. We need a unified approach with DFO to secure the funding needed to implement the necessary actions. The IFMP should include a section about values relating to Aboriginal rights vs access privileges for other sectors.
· We need to start regulating the sports sector like the US does. They catch their limits and then come up here and fish some more. Recreational access needs to be capped. First Nations should also be allowed limited harvest for seals and sea lions. DFO should also address high-grading in the recreational fishery by anglers looking for trophy fish.
· DFO: Tools include daily and possession limits, gear restrictions, etc. We will review options and make recommendations as we proceed.