Emergency SFAB Meetings About Proposed SRKW Fishing Closures

Last week 100 FN Chiefs from along the Fraser River met to discuss the massive problem of the seal infestation into the Fraser River. The problem of the thousands of seals eating the salmon smolts, in the River has reached epic proportions on the Fraser and many of its tributaries and they are now as far inland as Yale. They are also in the Vedder and Harrison river systems. On Vancouver Island they are wrecking havoc with the salmon smolts in the Campbell River, Big and Little Qualicum, Chemanis, Puntledge and Stamp systems just to name a few. I have asked the question of whether the seals still fall under the jurisdiction of the DFO once they enter fresh water? I maybe wrong on this but I think that the huge seal problem on the Puntledge River in Courtenay was temporarily solved by the BC Fish and Game Department and not the DFO?

No-- it was a local committee from a number of angling groups , the Komox Band ,the R&G club, a watershed protection society, local politicians and a couple of greens. Ruth Masters, who was until her demise the leading green activist in the Comox valley, said that her conscience would not allow her to vote for the cull, so she abstained from supporting the cull. But importantly, she did not try to obstruct the cull. The shooter was a DFO FO marksman from Campbell River . Full camo, tree stand over hanging the river so he could shoot straight down. He had to get authorization from Ottawa to possess and use a silencer . He did a heck of a job because I heard of no complaints from the public. They didnt know where he was. The hatchery also had a permit to use a shotgun on seals that entered the facility. Not sure of numbers, but I have heard from 40 to 70 habituated animals were removed.
 
No-- it was a local committee from a number of angling groups , the Komox Band ,the R&G club, a watershed protection society, local politicians and a couple of greens. Ruth Masters, who was until her demise the leading green activist in the Comox valley, said that her conscience would not allow her to vote for the cull, so she abstained from supporting the cull. But importantly, she did not try to obstruct the cull. The shooter was a DFO FO marksman from Campbell River . Full camo, tree stand over hanging the river so he could shoot straight down. He had to get authorization from Ottawa to possess and use a silencer . He did a heck of a job because I heard of no complaints from the public. They didnt know where he was. The hatchery also had a permit to use a shotgun on seals that entered the facility. Not sure of numbers, but I have heard from 40 to 70 habituated animals were removed.
kinda like the guy that walks around town and shoots all the pigeons...... you never know its happening but it does
 
Maybe this is how we get rid of a lot of the seals at River mouths? One River system at a time? It would be interesting to know how the folks in Courtenay arranged to have a Camo covered DOT shooter in a tree stand, over the Puntledge River, with an Ottawa approved silencer on his gun, pull off this undercover mission and not one complaint from the public? Maybe we are making some progress here?
 
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Hi Derby. How do you know? Any proof of what you are saying is true? If what you are saying is true what river systems is this going on and why is this be done on the QT and who is doing this?
 
We are trying to solve a fisheries destroying problem here. If you know how we might go about solving this problem why would you not share this information with us?
 
Just got an update from the Squamish streamkeepers. They did a count off the Squamish and there were a 197 Seals hanging out there. Has to be a bloody massacre for any smolts migrating out. We need some transients!
 
Here is some interesting information and stats although these stats are outdated I know that the Seal and Sea Lion situation is out of control and is far worse today.


An old gill netter friend of mine helped put on a presentation of the
damages inflicted on our salmon stocks on the B.C. coast by seals and
sea lions. This was presented in the late 1990s and was aired by Check
TV, then fell on deaf DFO ears
The figures are all from DFO studies: PSARC working paper S95-10
Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences No. 1730,
Diet of Northern Fur Seals Off Western North America and Annual prey
consumption by harbor seals in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia,
and Harbor Seals: Research toward management.
Let me summarize to give you some idea what the out of control
populations of seals and sea lions are doing to our salmon stocks as
presented in these studies.
Harbour seals:
1. North coast Pacific: 1987 - 350,000 1997 1,1266666000
2. B.C. Coast: 1987 65,000 1997 209,000
3. Georgia Stait 1987 12,500 ( note Dunagans paper states 7500)
1997 40,250 ( Dunagans' current paper now states 45,000 and an
additional 35000 in Puget sound)
These studies showed that the seals eat 4 to 7pbs of fish/day which
equals 3097 tons/day in the Gulf
Dunagans paper stated that the current chinook productions of both wild
and hatchery on the Pacific West coast ( basically the Columbia to the
Nass) is now 29,000,000 smolts and his studies indicate that the seal
and seal lion predation on these smolts is 24,000,000 (85%)
The good news is that the Feds have commited $1.3billioin) to study the
resident Orcas in the Gulf of Georgia to try and figure out how to
increase the chinook populations in the gulf to help feed the "starving
Orcas"
This would appear to me to choosing between Orcas or seals.
 
Hope this is a wake-up call to as many Forum members as possible to get engaged and involved! We need more fisherman to be involved with the SFAB process and to also stay in touch with their members of parliament to express their concerns. It's easy to sit back and criticize on a forum.
Roger that. More views expressed at the table the better our decisions will be. And of course if you don’t like the direction the group is heading towards on any topic you can ask questions and challenge the logic. Makes for better thought through decisions
 
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All i can say after going to the SFAC meeting tonight is GOD HELP US!

People have no idea the pain that's coming
 
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