wolf
Well-Known Member
Hello all,
I know most of you very well and I believe all of you have a deep abiding interest in conserving Chinook & Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW's), while preserving our valuable southern BC marine recreational fishing opportunities now, and for future anglers to enjoy, whether you are still fishing or not.Our fisheries are in serious peril of being permanently destroyed because of irrational Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) past management actions and proposed, but scientifically unsupported, 2026 options for additional regulations on recreational fisheries from the mouth of the Fraser River, through Lower Georgia & Juan de Fuca Straits and up the west coast of Vancouver Island as far as Ucluelet.
These restrictions began seven years ago with the imposition of Chinook non-retention regulations beginning April 1st and lasting until as late as July 31st in some areas of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Straits. They were intended to rebuild Upper Fraser River Chinooks, collectively identified as stream-type 4-2 and 5-2 populations. The first number denotes the dominant adult age class, and the # 2 identifies these as salmon that stay in fresh water one extra year before going to sea.
Rebuilding weak salmon stocks is a goal that the angling community supports wholeheartedly. Our commitment to funding this goal and volunteer efforts in habitat restoration and salmon enhancement takes a back seat to no one. However, the incremental destruction of the most valuable salmon fishery on the Pacific coast was not part of the deal.
Yet DFO has been on that exact mission for most of the last decade. This assault on the public fishery has accelerated with additional, and often overlapping, measures to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) using fishing restrictions and no-go-zones that can last from early spring until the end of October. Government language defines these as 'spatial and temporal' regulations. I see them as a creeping cancer that cannot be justified by existing data, or measured in terms of whether they are successful or not.
Our fishery has been in similar situations before. However, during my 45 years of direct and indirect involvement with DFO I have never seen it as dangerous for angling's future as we are currently facing.
Some of you are already aware of the problems and have written letters and personally contacted politicians. Frankly, the issues are too complex to explain in this email but much more needs to be done and sustained for as long as it takes. This process began two week ago when over 200 anglers attended a meeting in Duncan to express their frustration to MP's in attendance; and to find out what actions they must take to get Fisheries and Oceans fisheries management and whale recovery bureaucrats to come to their senses, and change course from a plan that is destined to fail, at great cost, to one with a much greater chance of success.
There is another opportunity to do the same thing at a town hall event which will be held at 7 PM, November 13th in the Langford Legion located at 761 Station Road, Langford. Every greater Victoria angler and fishing related business should attend..... so get there early. Guest speakers will explain the issues based on facts, not half-truths and biased data, while providing guidance on how to combat this unprecedented assault on the public fishery. I also urge those who attended the Duncan town hall to come as well for updates and additional perspectives from different guest speakers.
Questions and comments are not only welcomed, they are encouraged.
Forward this to as many of your friends and fishing buddies as possible.
Your fishery needs you to be there,
Tom Davis
I know most of you very well and I believe all of you have a deep abiding interest in conserving Chinook & Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW's), while preserving our valuable southern BC marine recreational fishing opportunities now, and for future anglers to enjoy, whether you are still fishing or not.Our fisheries are in serious peril of being permanently destroyed because of irrational Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) past management actions and proposed, but scientifically unsupported, 2026 options for additional regulations on recreational fisheries from the mouth of the Fraser River, through Lower Georgia & Juan de Fuca Straits and up the west coast of Vancouver Island as far as Ucluelet.
These restrictions began seven years ago with the imposition of Chinook non-retention regulations beginning April 1st and lasting until as late as July 31st in some areas of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Straits. They were intended to rebuild Upper Fraser River Chinooks, collectively identified as stream-type 4-2 and 5-2 populations. The first number denotes the dominant adult age class, and the # 2 identifies these as salmon that stay in fresh water one extra year before going to sea.
Rebuilding weak salmon stocks is a goal that the angling community supports wholeheartedly. Our commitment to funding this goal and volunteer efforts in habitat restoration and salmon enhancement takes a back seat to no one. However, the incremental destruction of the most valuable salmon fishery on the Pacific coast was not part of the deal.
Yet DFO has been on that exact mission for most of the last decade. This assault on the public fishery has accelerated with additional, and often overlapping, measures to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) using fishing restrictions and no-go-zones that can last from early spring until the end of October. Government language defines these as 'spatial and temporal' regulations. I see them as a creeping cancer that cannot be justified by existing data, or measured in terms of whether they are successful or not.
Our fishery has been in similar situations before. However, during my 45 years of direct and indirect involvement with DFO I have never seen it as dangerous for angling's future as we are currently facing.
Some of you are already aware of the problems and have written letters and personally contacted politicians. Frankly, the issues are too complex to explain in this email but much more needs to be done and sustained for as long as it takes. This process began two week ago when over 200 anglers attended a meeting in Duncan to express their frustration to MP's in attendance; and to find out what actions they must take to get Fisheries and Oceans fisheries management and whale recovery bureaucrats to come to their senses, and change course from a plan that is destined to fail, at great cost, to one with a much greater chance of success.
There is another opportunity to do the same thing at a town hall event which will be held at 7 PM, November 13th in the Langford Legion located at 761 Station Road, Langford. Every greater Victoria angler and fishing related business should attend..... so get there early. Guest speakers will explain the issues based on facts, not half-truths and biased data, while providing guidance on how to combat this unprecedented assault on the public fishery. I also urge those who attended the Duncan town hall to come as well for updates and additional perspectives from different guest speakers.
Questions and comments are not only welcomed, they are encouraged.
Forward this to as many of your friends and fishing buddies as possible.
Your fishery needs you to be there,
Tom Davis
