The "New" Restrictions on Chinook Are Up

where in 29 and 28 can we catch and release chinook? it looks all closed
I was thinking that catch and release was still in effect ..... MY mistake if it's not. I fish area 19 only
 
I disagree with this, Fraser Returns actually don't have that much to do with restrictions. Based on my conversations with local fraser river DFO resource managers its mostly to do with FN allocations especially when you start getting into the August restrictions. If more fish would help we would of seen less restitions this year as Fraser FNs will most likely get over a million sockeye allocated to them for FSC. With FSC being met with sockeye there is no reason for them to have 30K plus fraser summer 4-1 chinook allocated to them and that would free them up for ocean fisheries.

Pretty much all the stocks of return are also in the river by August 23rd, DFO's on science is pretty clear on this.

What we are seeing is a result of Minister decisions based around FN allocations, ENGO Lobby and PMO policy. If you recall back in 2018 with the A and B options put out by lower level DFO staff based on scientific measures they were much less restrictive then what the minister ultimately decided. Some of these restrictions were actually planned to go back in 2008.

A conservative government would make a big difference for recreational access to fish.

Also lets not forget about the goal posts being moved, Its not Just about fraser stocks of concern but also, GST stocks of concern now like squamish, Nanaimo and others.

You are right though a MSF does see to be the only path forward.

A minister that's more favorable to the recreational fishery IMO would make a HUGE difference.
I sat across the table with a group of concerned anglers from Jonathan Wilkinson then fisheries minister in 2018. We brought a proposal that was data based to get an opening before the then July 15th end of the closure date. When asked what we had to do to get this opening looked at or approved he said "You need to get Fraser River First Nations to agree." So in his mind DFO was no longer the regulator!


There are two SFAB proposals right now in for consideration by Fisheries Murray that would create a one-a-day hatchery Chinook retention opportunity from April 1 to May 31. These would bring openings to the Vancouver area and the South Island. They've been worked on very hard with a huge amount of volunteer time and we are still waiting for a final decision.

My best recommendation is you call or write to your MP asking them to reach out to Minister Murray in support of these proposals.

Both the Public Fishery Alliance and SFI have been in direct meetings with ministerial staff. It's important if you want to see this work continue that you support both these organizations by joining and getting a membership and donating. As pointed out in earlier posts there's only a small group of volunteers and we need more and better financial support!


 
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I sat across the table with a group of concerned anglers from Jonathan Wilkinson then fisheries minister in 2018. We brought a proposal that was data based to get an opening before the then July 15th end of the closure date. When asked what we had to do to get this opening looked at or approved he said "You need to get Fraser River First Nations to agree." So in his mind DFO was no longer the regulator!


There are two SFAB proposals right now in for consideration by Fisheries Murray that would create a one-a-day hatchery Chinook retention opportunity from April 1 to May 31. These would bring openings to the Vancouver area and the South Island. They've been worked on very hard with a huge amount of volunteer time and we are still waiting for a final decision.

My best recommendation is you call or write to your MP asking them to reach out to Minister Murray in support of these proposals.

Both the Public Fishery Alliance and SFI have been in direct meetings with ministerial staff. It's important if you want to see this work continue that you support both these organizations by joining and getting a membership and donating. As pointed out in earlier posts there's only a small group of volunteers and we need more and better financial support!


i joined the PFA this morning others should as well, i can't afford the 1000 dollar chinook membership in the SF
 
Not sure if it's been posted elsewhere but has anyone seen/created any current charts showing the openings/closures by area/time? I know last year there were several nice charts with colours/shading/lines showing coordinates/etc that made it easy to see exactly what areas/sub-areas are open to what during various times of year. I think the guys at Pacific Angler included some in one of last year's reports they send out but I haven't seen anything for this year.

Would be nice if DFO did this but obviously they have some weird kink about making their Fishery Notices as difficult to comprehend as possible for the avg person. thanks in advance.
 
I sat across the table with a group of concerned anglers from Jonathan Wilkinson then fisheries minister in 2018. We brought a proposal that was data based to get an opening before the then July 15th end of the closure date. When asked what we had to do to get this opening looked at or approved he said "You need to get Fraser River First Nations to agree." So in his mind DFO was no longer the regulator!
My recollection of Minister Wilkinson's comments to us in various meetings (yes I was there) related to getting FN's on-side with recreational fishery proposals was because he was referencing the risk of litigation that might come from decisions that we were advocating. Wilkinson understood the inherent risk for both parties and chose to avoid those...which he plainly stated post decision explanations. Something we rarely see from other Ministers before or since. I think also he was suggesting that there is more to be gained if the recreational community embraced the concept of working more closely with FN's to find areas of common interest to avoid sorting out our issues in the courts. While it is likely overly idealistic to think we can strike a working relationship with all FN's communities, I do think on the whole there is more to be gained from professional, science-based diplomacy that helps build working relationships with both FN's and DFO. That is certainly the approach the SFI takes, and is highly effective in building relationships that open dialogue.

Having said that, we should never shy away from litigation if we are being treated unfairly and doors to professional diplomacy have been closed.
 
My recollection of Minister Wilkinson's comments to us in various meetings (yes I was there) related to getting FN's on-side with recreational fishery proposals was because he was referencing the risk of litigation that might come from decisions that we were advocating. Wilkinson understood the inherent risk for both parties and chose to avoid those...which he plainly stated post decision explanations. Something we rarely see from other Ministers before or since. I think also he was suggesting that there is more to be gained if the recreational community embraced the concept of working more closely with FN's to find areas of common interest to avoid sorting out our issues in the courts. While it is likely overly idealistic to think we can strike a working relationship with all FN's communities, I do think on the whole there is more to be gained from professional, science-based diplomacy that helps build working relationships with both FN's and DFO. That is certainly the approach the SFI takes, and is highly effective in building relationships that open dialogue.

Having said that, we should never shy away from litigation if we are being treated unfairly and doors to professional diplomacy have been closed.

fraser river First Nations don’t like the commercial recreational industry. Careful what you wish for in that regard.

ive seen advice for some that think the guiding industry should be regulated under commercial allocation policy.
 
50 bucks to be a memeber of SFI... the Team just got back last week from a week in Ottawa
@Derby Was there any update from the trip to Ottawa that you might be able to share with us? Just curious if there is really any traction with the new minister and her team on the MSF agenda.
 
My recollection of Minister Wilkinson's comments to us in various meetings (yes I was there) related to getting FN's on-side with recreational fishery proposals was because he was referencing the risk of litigation that might come from decisions that we were advocating. Wilkinson understood the inherent risk for both parties and chose to avoid those...which he plainly stated post decision explanations. Something we rarely see from other Ministers before or since. I think also he was suggesting that there is more to be gained if the recreational community embraced the concept of working more closely with FN's to find areas of common interest to avoid sorting out our issues in the courts. While it is likely overly idealistic to think we can strike a working relationship with all FN's communities, I do think on the whole there is more to be gained from professional, science-based diplomacy that helps build working relationships with both FN's and DFO. That is certainly the approach the SFI takes, and is highly effective in building relationships that open dialogue.

Having said that, we should never shy away from litigation if we are being treated unfairly and doors to professional diplomacy have been closed.
However, let’s be clear that ALL negotiations with the governments are Nation to Nation.
The public is not involved and is only advised of the agreements after they have been agreed to.

Therefore, our government is the only one who can help us?

Further, I May be wrong, but when they changed to fishery act, did we not loose our right to fish under the old charter?
 
@Derby Was there any update from the trip to Ottawa that you might be able to share with us? Just curious if there is really any traction with the new minister and her team on the MSF agenda.
I havent seen our report from the team that was there... I can say all indication from DFO is they are starting to move towards MSF and some stuff will be in the hands of the SFAB shortly outlining this.. in the meantime stand bye one
 
I havent seen our report from the team that was there... I can say all indication from DFO is they are starting to move towards MSF and some stuff will be in the hands of the SFAB shortly outlining this.. in the meantime stand bye one

looking at the Rec creel survey data it’s pretty obviously from a DFO perspective of why a MSF might be a better root to go.
 
My recollection of Minister Wilkinson's comments to us in various meetings (yes I was there) related to getting FN's on-side with recreational fishery proposals was because he was referencing the risk of litigation that might come from decisions that we were advocating. Wilkinson understood the inherent risk for both parties and chose to avoid those...which he plainly stated post decision explanations. Something we rarely see from other Ministers before or since. I think also he was suggesting that there is more to be gained if the recreational community embraced the concept of working more closely with FN's to find areas of common interest to avoid sorting out our issues in the courts. While it is likely overly idealistic to think we can strike a working relationship with all FN's communities, I do think on the whole there is more to be gained from professional, science-based diplomacy that helps build working relationships with both FN's and DFO. That is certainly the approach the SFI takes, and is highly effective in building relationships that open dialogue.

Having said that, we should never shy away from litigation if we are being treated unfairly and doors to professional diplomacy have been closed.
Definitely the sport fishing community should be sitting down with First Nation communities looking at ways where common interests can be found and relationships can be built. I have worked for over 20 years with my local first Nations in my area on finding ways we can work together for positive outcomes. We jointly worked to save the local DFO enforcement office, we've tackled ramping by BC Hydro and been part of a water use planning committee, worked jointly on side channel habitat restoration on a number of projects and tackled violations in a local pink fishery by commercial boats. Just to give a few examples.

That being said we need a regulator and DFO is supposed to make decisions based on the best science and data and not politics. That certainly hasn't taken place under Wilkinson or proceeding Liberal Fisheries Ministers. Diplomacy only gets you go so far if one group isn't treated fairly.

We need a strong voice and that's why I encourage everyone to join the SFI and the Public Fishery Alliance.
 
Definitely the sport fishing community should be sitting down with First Nation communities looking at ways where common interests can be found and relationships can be built. I have worked for over 20 years with my local first Nations in my area on finding ways we can work together for positive outcomes. We jointly worked to save the local DFO enforcement office, we've tackled ramping by BC Hydro and been part of a water use planning committee, worked jointly on side channel habitat restoration on a number of projects and tackled violations in a local pink fishery by commercial boats. Just to give a few examples.

That being said we need a regulator and DFO is supposed to make decisions based on the best science and data and not politics. That certainly hasn't taken place under Wilkinson or proceeding Liberal Fisheries Ministers. Diplomacy only gets you go so far if one group isn't treated fairly.

We need a strong voice and that's why I encourage everyone to join the SFI and the Public Fishery Alliance.

100 percent agree.
 
I think we are quick to forget that Section 35 FSC rights come ahead of other stakeholder fishery opportunities after conservation. Part of working with FN's communities to collaborate on how we can shape win/win fishery opportunities for everyone is also to respect the constitutional rights under Section 35.
 
"After conservation"

FSC fisheries targeting stocks that are on the brink of extinction.


Searun, any idea on how many early timed Fraser Chinook the rec fleet encounters in the Vancouver/Nanaimo during the April -June time period?
 
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I think we are quick to forget that Section 35 FSC rights come ahead of other stakeholder fishery opportunities after conservation. Part of working with FN's communities to collaborate on how we can shape win/win fishery opportunities for everyone is also to respect the constitutional rights under Section 35.

Agree. Good post. I am sort of getting tired of the us vs them dialogue. We never going to move forward if all sides don't drop the gloves.
 
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