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Thread: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

  1. #1
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    BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    Great segment on Global last night regarding steelhead.

    Coles Notes for those unaware: Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead are in dire straits. Triple digit returns for Thompson, single digit for Chilcotin. Extirpation is on the horizon.

    Key takeaways from the fact that this got on Global at 6:00

    - Chris Gailus' comment a the end of the story: "Wow. That merits a follow up";
    - lots of mention of BCWF in very positive terms;
    - a sub-theme to steelhead, ie, a year and a half process to get public information out of the government that the government did not want to share, indicating that perhaps (and I'm going out on a limb here) that government might just be the enemy;
    - evidence that managers in DFO changed what scientists were saying and recommending (wait, aren't ewe all supposed to follow the science? Kind of nice when we can prove that the government isn't doing that);
    - pictures of redacted government documents where the guys who work for us and are paid with our tax dollars to take care of the public resource are screwing the pooch and treating the documents as if they were some sort of high level CIA spy stuff;
    - the reporter said the words "What's at stake here is the loss of a species - not because of a lack of solutions, but because of mismanagement".


    None of us could buy that kind of airtime to paint such a stark picture of what's happening and why.

    Compare that coverage to discussions about social license to hunt and wolves.

    We absolutely *need* more coverage like the above. Like I say: none of us can buy that kind of advertising.

    The announcement of the recent coalition combined with this coverage is proof that we're going n the right direction and that BCWF and other groups are delivering value to hunters, anglers and conservationists in BC.

    Please watch the video, share it with your friends, and go to the Facebook group "Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program- BCWF (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?...rogram-%20bcwf)
    and share that too.


    Last, please visit Global's page (here's the right link: https://globalnews.ca/author/linda-aylesworth/ ) press "Contact Linda" and give her a thank you for doing a valuable story.




    https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/5f1a5a04-b77e-11eb-98aa-0242ac110006/?jwsource=cl
    Rob Chipman
    "The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
    "Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey

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  3. #2
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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    Did the BCWF not propose a kill fishery for Bulkley steelhead and hatchery for the Thompson?

  4. #3
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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    Quote Originally Posted by THE SWEDE View Post
    Did the BCWF not propose a kill fishery for Bulkley steelhead and hatchery for the Thompson?
    Not to my knowledge, but that could have occurred in the past. If you have any accurate info by all means post it.

    Hatcheries are an interesting topic. A lot of people really support them even though there is evidence that they are not the solution. My club runs a hatchery, like many other clubs, and so when we screened "Artificial" there were some mixed reactions; I'm sure you know how that goes.

    And that brings us to an important point: BCWF is a volunteer organization with lots off different viewpoints on specific issues. Not every member of BCWF agrees with every thing BCWF does, and BCWF changes it's mind on things as volunteers cycle through, as perspectives change, and as new information emerges. Some things we get right and some things we get wrong.

    We got this one right, I think, and I think it's right in a big and valuable way.

    What do you think? Are we on the right track on this one, today? If so, watch the vid, share it, promote the Facebook page and thank Linda Aylesworth for reporting on it. It takes a lot of time and effort to get that material and build the relationship that gets it on air.
    Rob Chipman
    "The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
    "Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey

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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    2016... I’m all for more opportunities for anglers, harvest as well as catch and release. But not at the cost of wild fish.

    http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...45#post1769145

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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    Quote Originally Posted by THE SWEDE View Post
    2016... I’m all for more opportunities for anglers, harvest as well as catch and release. But not at the cost of wild fish.

    http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showth...45#post1769145
    Thanks for that. As you point out, it's from 5 years ago. Lot's has changed in that time.

    The thread demonstrates how much people can argue with each other over whether hatcheries are good or bad, whether catch and release is good or bad, and most important: who among the people who care about fish (or wildlife) are the good guys and who are the bad guys. And, of course, nobody agrees on that last question unless the answer is: "It's the other guys who are the bad guys; my guys are the good guys".

    I don't want to be too harsh, but that's a pointless argument with no pay off. Look at the numbers going back to the Thompson and Chilko cited in the thread for 2016, and look at what they are now.

    We've got a simple problem in BC with fish and wildlife management. That problem isn't hatcheries, and it isn't catch and release and it isn't recreational fishing.

    The problem is government mismanagement, screwed up government priorities, lack of funding, lack of science, a public that doesn't understand what's happening, a media that doesn't educate the public, and a government that lies, fudges the science, and tries to keep their actions hidden.

    Noting in that news item talked about opportunity or hatcheries.

    Nothing in that news item talked about replacing wild fish.

    It did talk about a real conservation threat, which is a welcome change from day after day coverage of two women having a Facebook spat over some wolves. We need to recognize and celebrate that, not resurrect a 5 year old bun toss that maybe would move a needle, somewhere, about 1 degree.

    It did talk about government mismanaging and lying about the science. The media did that. They did it bluntly. They did it pretty convincingly. We need to recognize that and celebrate it, not....(you know where I'm going).

    It presented the BCWF as a conservation organization trying to reverse probably extirpation rather than as the "voice of hunters" to balance out a slick presentation by Raincoast. We need to recognize and celebrate that, not ....(again, you know where I'm going).

    Again, sorry to be a bit harsh, but I thin you're trying to make the perfect the enemy of the good and trying to resurrect a spat from 5 years ago, and you're presenting as evidence....an inconclusive spat with lots of disagreement and no real conclusion from....5 years ago.


    Without changing the subject from what I posted to something that happened....5 years go, wasn't conclusive, and was a typical unproductive spat that didn't reach any conclusion and was lots of heat but not much light, is there anything in my original post you disagree with or that I got wrong?

    If not, watch the vid, share it, promote the Facebook page and thank Linda Aylesworth for reporting on it. It takes a lot of time and effort to get that material and build the relationship that gets it on air. None of us could buy that kind of airtime or access that kind of primetime audience. No matter how much of an axe you have to grind with BCWF last night's segment is extremely valuable.
    Rob Chipman
    "The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
    "Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey

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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    I have been involved in salmon conservation since my mid 20s so close to 2 decades. That includes hatcheries. I have read as many of the articles for or against them as I can find. Everyone one brings up that hatcheries alter the DNA of fish (very slightly but it does happen) but people often fail to mention that in 2 generations of natural spawning the fish are 100% genetically the same as wild fish and it is impossible to tell if it has hatchery ancestry without comparing it to a known hatchery fish. Just think, if a temporary hatchery had been developed when first proposed 3 generations ago a there could be triple digit completely wild steel head returning from now rather the less than 100 that may not be able to successfully spawn enough to save themselves. Instead of always looking for problems in the solutions it would be great if we looked for solutions to the problems.

    As much as people wish the BCWF was a hunting and fishing organization it is not and never will be. Stop trying to beat that dead horse. What the BCWF is though, is the largest conservation organization focused solely on BC. The Thompson Steelhead are perhaps one of the most iconic species in this province and I am glad the BCWF is they are coming out so strong on their behalf.
    I don't shoot innocent animals... Just the ones that look guilty!

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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    I know when i talked to a bio for dfo that works the Thompson, he was pretty adamite about the fact that "they don't like hatcheries".
    I am going to have to fully disagree with him on that when you have a species on the verge of extinction.
    I know is reasoning was the "loss of diversity in dna" due to hatcheries, which i suppose is true to a degree.
    The other thing that i saw as an argument was that hatchery fish were not as "properly adapted" to their habitat as their wild brethren.
    Again, i cant argue that either.
    But, what is worse, hatchery steelhead or non at this point??!!

    Surely, i think everyone would agree the best solution is to have plentiful wild population of steelhead.
    But, that isnt going to happen over night.
    At least a make shift hatchery short term is the only way to assure their survival right now.
    That and removing all types of nets from rivers!

    I am glad it made the news.
    It did state the "commercial" end of fisheries and as to a reason for their decline.
    But, they still "skirted" who the main commercial end was!
    Think they even made sure they brought up some stock film from are regular commercial fisherman.
    Not the ones that are/have been bringing the low stocks down to virtually nil.

    I know what's going to happen.
    Sports fisherman are out, and so is the regular commercial fishing.
    We will end up on the media looking as if we were the ones to blame.
    And then they will move on to something else, leaving the public with a further perception that we who enjoy the outdoors are the ones to blame.

    More than happy to keep my line out of the water to make a difference.
    But it isn't my line that is creating the problem, or at least not to have impacted it so greatly as it stands now.
    That has to "fall on the real culprits"!.

    Dont know if the media has the balls to do that....I doubt it.

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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    [QUOTE
    [/FONT]Last, please visit Global's page (here's the right link: https://globalnews.ca/author/linda-aylesworth/ ) press "Contact Linda" and give her a thank you for doing a valuable story.[/SIZE]



    https://globalnews.ca/video/rd/5f1a5a04-b77e-11eb-98aa-0242ac110006/?jwsource=cl
    [/QUOTE]

    Great idea Rob. Just sent her a thank you message and asked her to please do more fish and Wildlife stories. If any other HBC members can find a bit of time, please take 1 minute out of your busy day to send her a thank you message
    "It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." - Benjamin Franklin

    "The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it" - George Orwell

  10. #9
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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    Rob, Thank you for sharing this important news with us and for your patience in reminding us in this thread and others to look at the big picture.

  11. #10
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    Re: BCWF on Steelhead and DFO on Global

    I also sent Linda a message to thank her, and hoped she would continue the reporting on this matter.....however she indicated it's her last week on the job and she's retiring, but "is hopeful other reporters pick up where she left off"

    I forwarded and shared my thoughts with all the global BC emails I could find...agreed it was very valuable exposure, perhaps with enough people reaching out they will keep the story going


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