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Thread: Draconian Fisheries Closures

  1. #71
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    Thumbs up Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    Quote Originally Posted by Edward Teach View Post
    Oh I agree.
    The DFO has done to salmon fishing what they did to East Coast cod...almost exactly. It's as if they planned it.
    But I'm pretty certain the truth is they couldn't pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel.
    AbSo****ingLutely!!!

    Nog
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related

    Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.

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  2. #72
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    A good commentary by Jason Tonelli from Pacific Angler. https://www.pacificangler.ca/pacific...april-19-2019/


    Well it’s official. The DFO and Fisheries Minister have made it non-retention for chinook salmon on the south coast. They just shut down some of the best fishing I have ever seen in our local waters and what is very likely the best fishing on the entire coast right now. That’s just our area. Let’s not forget about the iconic sport fishing communities on the Island like Tofino, Ucluelet, Bamfield, Campbell River, Renfrew, and Victoria, just to name a few. The result is thousands of people are going to lose their jobs and it is going to cost this province hundreds of millions of dollars.
    So how did we get here? Well it’s a complicated scenario and the road to this closure has a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns, but it goes something like this. Chinook stocks are diverse. Some come from the Fraser, some from rivers that empty directly into the ocean, some spend 2 years in the freshwater before they leave to the ocean, others out migrate right away, some spend their ocean life in local waters, some go way offshore. So, as you can imagine, some stocks might be suffering while others are doing very well. Large blanket closures are an ineffective way to manage such a diverse resource.
    Enter interior Fraser chinook. These fish spawn in the interior tributaries to the Fraser, and they hang out in these rivers for 2 years before out-migrating. To say things are not going well up there is an understatement; less water, long hot summers, warm water, forest fires, siltation, are just a few of the issues these fish have to face for 2 years. The end result is the survival rate is extremely low. The few that do make it after 2 years then have to make it past the seals as they leave the Fraser. Of all the out migrating salmonids, these 2 year old chinook smolts are some of the biggest, only second to steelhead smolts. As a result, the seals focus on them, as they do steelhead smolts. As many as 47% of them are consumed by seals. The few that make it then head offshore to feed and return 2 years later. In general, they come back around the south end of Vancouver Island and into the south arm of the Fraser, returning in the months of April, May, June, and July. There is no doubt these fish need to be protected and we are all for that. Sport fishing regulations have been in place to do so for many years, so much so that our exploitation rate for these fish is either at 0% or so small that it is negligible.

    So, what about all these fish off South Bowen right now and over in Nanaimo and Gabriola? Well these are not the fish I just described above. DFO has a lot of DNA data that shows what fish we are catching, that is how we can be so certain. This is a scientific fact, not speculation. The fish we are we catching in these areas are from a variety of rivers where things are not as dire as the conditions seen in the interior of the province. The chinook stocks from these systems are stable, and in some cases are at or near record returns. There is no conservation concern for these stocks and a 2 per day limit is sustainable. A 1 per day limit is certainly sustainable and acceptable from a scientific fisheries management viewpoint. If you have been fishing these past 2 weeks you know how many fish are out there.

    Then why did we get shut down? This is the question you should be asking and I am going to tell you the politics behind it. The reality is this. The interior Fraser chinook need protection. Sport fishing regulations have been in place to do so for many years as noted earlier, and commercial troll opportunities for these fish have been reduced heavily in the past and this year are non-existent. The last piece of the puzzle is First Nations in river fisheries for these same fish. You can’t carve any more meat off the bone from the recreational or commercial fleet, the rest has to come from First Nations in river fisheries. This isn’t me speaking; this is the DFO science that was presented in a variety of meetings and forums. The only way to put more of these fish on the spawning beds is to stop in river netting of these fish. Hence the recent closures and reduced opportunities for First Nations over the coming months as per the announcement yesterday. I hope you are connecting the dots here and asking yourself this question. So why is a sustainable fishery like we see off South Bowen, for non-interior Fraser chinook, which are experiencing good to excellent survival rates, closed? You should also be asking yourself why this fishery is closed when it has absolutely nothing to do with these interior Fraser chinook. Well we asked these very questions to the Minister and DFO these past few days. The answer we received was this. Despite the fact our current local chinook fisheries have no impact on these interior Fraser chinook, they have to close the recreational fleet on a grandiose scale so they can reduce First Nation in river harvesting opportunities for interior Fraser chinook. We pointed to their science that shows we aren’t catching those fish and asked if we could have 1 a day, the answer was no. We asked if we could keep a hatchery only, which has absolutely 0 effect on Fraser fish as these fish are from the USA, the answer was no. In short, the answer is the recreational fleet has to be closed first, and then they can take fisheries measures for First Nations second. That precedent was set in a case that is often referred to as the Tommy Case. Let me make this clear. If there is a conservation concern, I will be the first to put the rods away, and if anyone has a right to the first harvest of those fish, I agree it should be First Nations for ceremonial and food fish purposes. I get that if we are fishing for the same fish. What I don’t agree with and what I don’t get, is the DFO shutting down one distinct fishery and user group so they can shut down another user group on totally different fish. This is ludicrous and political, this is not scientific, and this is mismanagement of the resource at the highest level. So, I think it is important that we are all very clear that this Minister just shut down the entire south coast so they can attempt to reduce First Nation in river impacts on interior Fraser chinook. On our home waters that means they just shut down South Bowen, Thrasher, Nanaimo, which are all experiencing amazing fishing (for non-interior Fraser stocks), just to have the opportunity to keep First Nations nets out of the Fraser to save interior Fraser stocks. You can see my frustration. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is going to do much to help these fish. DFO needs emergency hatchery production for these fish, the habitat needs some help, and we need to deal with the seals. None of that is happening anytime soon from what I can see. Since the DFO has sacrificed the whole south coast, I hope they plan on making sure the Fraser is net free until July 14. I hope fisheries like this have now been closed 2019 Open Times for the Mid & Upper Fraser River First Nations Fisheries – Week 16. I will give the DFO the benefit of the doubt on this one and assume that is the case; I certainly hope so for the fish. In the meantime, diverse and sustainable recreational fisheries remain closed and the south coast marine fishery and economy has been cut off at the knees.

    If you think this management strategy is unacceptable, you need to let DFO know. Send an email to these people and let them know this is not acceptable. Let them know how it is affecting you and let them know how you are going to vote next election.

    Hon Jonathan Wilkinson Minister Jonathan.Wilkinson@parl.gc.ca
    Rebecca Reid, DFO Regional Director General, Pacific Region Rebecca.Reid@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

  3. #73
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    Proof the DFO doesn’t listen to local input even from their own people is when they shut down all fishing west of Otter point last year( including halibut) so the whales wouldn’t be disturbed by the noise( you anchor for halibut) The local fisheries guys had suggested west of Sherngham,but DFO shut down went of Otter...no, the whale watching boys were not shut down...

  4. #74
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    Good post up Hoggy and bang on the money
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  5. #75
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related

    Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.

    Guess he got to Know me

  6. #76
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    DFO. I can,t say anything positive about their track record. The kicker is that for any changes like we are seeing to have any effect these rules will have to be in place for many many years.These new regs will be with us for a long time. Going to hurt a lot of businesses.

  7. #77
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    Agreed....the only problem at age 72, I just don’t HAVE ‘many years’...what really galls me is it was so unnecessary,this was coming on for years while DFO did nothing....volunteers were the only guys doing something
    yeah,I’m choked ,looks like the days of the thrill of a big Chinook ripping out 100 yards of line three or four times before coming to the boat are gone..

    the very least east we can do is vote the liberals out in October and hopefuly get someone in who WILL listen to facts and reason and DO something other than ‘study’ it....som3 things we can’t do,like water temperature but there are things we can do -MORE hatcheries NOW ,curtailing the massive increase in seals and sealions
    Last edited by ratherbefishin; 04-21-2019 at 09:01 PM.

  8. #78
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    Exclamation Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    The Federal government caved into demands from FN's that all others be swept from the water and so used both the recreational and commercial sectors as negotiating points to service that particular form of blackmail. In Area G's May fishery, interception of Canadian Origin fish has been proven over decades to consist of less than one percent - and exponentially lower than that in the case of Fraser stocks of concern. The same can be said for many of the recreational fisheries. The largest and most continuous removals of these threatened / endangered stocks are via the in-river FN fisheries.
    Paying the blackmail by forcing thousands off the water will do nothing to improve the fishery for the FN's nor anyone else.
    The government understood that when it proceeded.
    The FN's did as well, and now some are publicly stating they will not comply.

    This was / is not a case of adhering to nor addressing conservation, it is rather a case of paying blackmail to one sector at the cost of all others. Period.

    Here's a close analogy:

    YOU are sitting at your desk one day, when in walks a fed or two. Clear out your desk, you are leaving and you may not come back. When you demand to know why, the answer is "a select group of folks who happen to be more entitled than you (in our opinion) has decided they don't like you nor your employment. No, you really don't effect what they do at all, but we decided to cater to their demands. You are simply collateral damage. Now hurry up and please move along now".

    No compensation even considered.

    Many of those they are forcing off the water are in their 60's or more, and as such do not represent "good candidates" for retraining or re-entry into the work force.
    Again, the government is completely aware of that.
    Again they could give a rat's ass regarding whose lives, families and communities they put in jeopardy.
    And for that, I fully intend to ensure they are held accountable.

    For you see, I am one of those affected.
    We may well lose our house.
    Already relations with my Lady are beyond strained.
    Life, as I built it and knew it is basically over.
    With one stroke of the government pen.
    That will realize no benefit to the resource whatsoever.

    But they have given me something they did not count on.
    Time.
    Time to do whatever I can to ensure the public understands just what the reality of this situation is.
    And time to do my damnest to ensure they pay in full at the polls this coming fall.

    Extremely Upset,
    Matt
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related

    Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.

    Guess he got to Know me

  9. #79
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    Good luck Matt, and I mean that. keep up the information on all the fronts you do. People need to understand.

  10. #80
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    Re: Draconian Fisheries Closures

    What’s particularly galling is volunteers who have worked for years at stream rehabilitation and salmon enhancement have been shut right out ,sacrificed for political correctness and pressure groups ,and there’s not one darn thing can be done about it ,they call the shots .Trudeau talks about ‘jobs ,jobs ,jobs’ but NOT out here as a whole industry has been first ignored then sacrificed. Nobody in Ottawa cares and nobody is listening while pretty boy spouts his spiel...

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