Meeting on halibut allocation with MP Randy Kamp etc.

Cuba Libre

Well-Known Member
Sat through a 3 hr meeting this afternoon to discuss opinions and options to "resolve the halibut allocation.

There were 5 commercial fishermen, 2 First nations, 5 recreational fishermen and one guy that said he was a rec fishermen but did everything he could to slag recreational fishing out of Ukee. Turns out he was John Duncan's campaign manager in the last election.

There were also 5 feds, including Kamp, and 2 provincial reps.

As expected, it was a round table. My contribution was to pointedly let Mr Kamp that that not only had the govt broken their promise not to put in closures mid season, but also to point out that they were ignoring the recreational vision paper that was supposed to be a blueprint for the future development of sport fishing. It is called "A Vision for recreational Fisheries in British Columbia 2009-2013" Its on the DFO recreational website if you want to look at it. Minister Shea signed off on the document and then promptly ignored it when the allocation issue came along.

Anyway- each side presented the expected statements. about 5 min each. The commercials believe that have worked for thier 88% -- we dont think there is a real ownership of a common property resource.
Mr Kamp explained that he had visited Or, Wa and Ak. to see how they are managing-- his comment that Alaska seemed to be working well, got me responding that while the managers may like it.. the guides are suing !

The same arguments were brought up by the commercial guys --- guides and lodges are no different from them and should buy quota. That got the usual response from us that they just facilitate. -- the clients do the catching, Then the so- called other rec guy started calling down OMG and guides in Ukee in general. Canadian Princess caught 3000 halibut.. He said he is a retired Ukee guide, now a rec fishermen. . When I got a chance I asked him WHO in OBMG caught the fish-- "Well their clients" Right-- Canadian sportfishers, not the facilitators. He also started slagging the Ukee guides he stated only 2 out of 40 guides in Ukees when he guided there were full time.. So what????? he also pulled some statements from several years ago that none of the guides accounted for their catches to DFO.

Jeremy Maynard blew the monitoring thing apart-- stating that it was good enough for DFO and the IPHC so what was his problem? Anyway the commercial guys grinned at his statements . Jerk----

The commercial guys did a credible job of defending their livelyhoods,, and feel that the Experimental halibut Program should be allowed to run for at least another 2 years to see if it works--- we said it was basically garbage that solves nothing.

Anyway-- I am not dumb enough to think that what we had to say will influence the decision on what happens.

This statement is from Randy Kamp: he will
"Host round table meetings with interested stakeholders in coastal communities to receive input , especially new ideas and perspectives . Because the Prime Ministers statement was made in Vancouver Island North, meetings will be held there in collaboration with Minister John Duncan's office. Due to the short timeline (to have options for the 2012 season) it will be difficult to schedule many meetings elsewhere but written submissions will be welcomed. "

He is planning a meeting, possibly in October with sector representative groups such as SFAB, PHMA, etc.

he is also taking written submissions from interested fishers

Postage free--- Randy Kamp, MP, House of Commons, Ottawa, On, K1A 0A6

or kamprO@parl.gc.ca


I am now going to get a strong drink......
 
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Thanks CL. Not sure if there is anything I find promising though, as much as I'd like to see it...
 
Thanks guys,, but it wasnt just me. Jeremy Maynard, John Shepherd, Keith Mackenzie and Chris C (didnt get the last name) all chimed in.

( I am kinda fond of Rickerts Red Holmes! :))

Since it appears that there isnt going to be a meeting on the West Coast ,Victoria or elsewhere any time soon, you might want to start writing letters again
 
Good on ya CL for going to these meeting.
I sure hope it is not all smoke and mirrors with duncan
From what I have seen with duncan... the only person he has been serving here in the valley has been himself for the last decade.
 
This statement is from Randy Kamp: he will
"Host round table meetings with interested stakeholders in coastal communities to receive input , especially new ideas and perspectives . Because the Prime Ministers statement was made in Vancouver Island North, meetings will be held there in collaboration with Minister John Duncan's office. Due to the short timeline (to have options for the 2012 season) it will be difficult to schedule many meetings elsewhere but written submissions will be welcomed. "

.....

Thanks Cuba for the update and standing up for us sporties. :D

No criticism to you Cuba but I can't help but call bullshyt of John Duncan's reason for few public meetings on this topic! :mad: This issue impacts all rec. fishers along the coast. We need more meetings. Let's have some in Prince Rupert, Port Alberni and Victoria at the very least? Also the short timetable is another lame excuse to limit public input so they can just ram through what they have already decided to do (i.e. more of the same BS for sportfishers). We need to demand more meetings and fill them up with people with the facts and figures to back up our position. We also need to start the letter campaign again to let them know we are not going to roll over and die on this issue. My 2 bits!
 
Letter sent and will craft up another.
GLG
 
Perhaps we could gather the troops here in the Comox Valley and organize our next move in the fight.
Would be a good time to buy CL and others a beer.
Maybe meet at BP for some Rickards Red.
GLG
 
I did get some feedback from the meeting. The rec reps did a food job of putting there position forward, there are a few points that the commercials put forward.

- when quotas came in most commercial boats got 50% of what they caught in a derby style fishery.
- 60-80% of quotas have been bought since the inception
- with fleet integration over 15 species are traded between fleets so there is no disguarding
 
Yeah, thanks Cuba and to the rest of the crew who stand for the 'Rod & Reel' gang.

I honestly feel we need to rally as 'One Voice!' in order to pool our resources and be heard at the highest level.

300,000 or more (if we add the freshwater guys) as a collective with one executive/management group could thoroughly ROCK OTTAWA & VICTORIA!

Right now we have the SFI, the PSF, the SFAB and who knows how many I've forgotten who stand for the long-term conservation of the species as well as ours and our children's right to go out and catch them.

We're so fragmented it's laughable.

We need ONE unified and all Powerful voice to get things done and look after things when DFO & Victoria screws up or takes another **** on us.

As a rec-fisherman I would happily contribute to a fund (annual membership fee) if I was confident that that money was going to ensure the long term viability
of both Pacific salmon/halibut and our right to equal access to them; be it funding court-battles to kick DFO's butt or paying for high profile advertising campaigns to get the almighty Public Opinion on our side. Politician's hate that.

I really do think we need to become ONE if this is ever expected to get results.

One Organization. (To fight for Wild Salmon/Halibut conservation/rehabilitation and our equal-right to catch them)

One President.
(A passionate guy/gal who is good at meeting's and PR situations and is, like all of us, at the end of their rope with DFO)

One Vice President.
(to fill in when above can't make it)

One Treasurer.
(perhaps an accounting firm; to handle all the outfits finances, expenses, revenues, and reports.)

One Media Manager.
(Someone who articulates/writes well and stands the best chance of getting OUR-POINT across (published) both in print and on electronic media.

One Provincial Secretary/Stenographer
(to record/report meetings/organize & record votes etc.)

Regional Meeting Chairman. (to Chair local meetings ie. North/South/Mid Island etc.)
Regional Meeting Vice Chairman (to fill in for above.)
Regional Secretary/Stenographer (to record local meetings/votes and forward to Provincial Secretary)

Provincial Website & web-manager.

My vote would be that the organization would be 'quick on its feet' and able to organize meetings on very short notice to deal with issues as they rise. I would happily attend 4 to 6 meetings or more a year if required. I would also sanction a 'mass-vote' system whereby the Executive or Regional Chairman disseminates the problem/issue to the membership then we vote on an action plan Province-wide.

A secure internet vote-registry and payment-vehicle could be fashioned. The memberships majority vote would dictate the resulting action, be it small, like another useless letter writing campaign, or bigger, like a full-blown TV commercial that fingers a particular crooked Politician or the fu#kin' fish-farmers!

Maybe this organization already exists to some degree.

Thoughts Gentlemen?
 
Question: Can you elaborate on Jeremey Maynard and what happened? I'm not really clear on this. Thanks!


ooops-- I can see where the confusion can arise now that I re-read my comment. What happened was that the so-called rec fisher, and former part time guide, who was Duncan's campaign manager started by putting down the recreational fishery , by saying what a great job the the commercials are doing when it come to accounting for their catch. (Cameras, dock side monitoring etc) What he said was correct until he started what can only be called a dated attack on recreational fishing. He is a retired cop who guided part time out of Ukee. He has a great dislike for other guides and rec fishermen who refuse to account for their catch.... but he is talking history!!!! Think back to a number of years ago when a lot of us were very reluctant to provide salmon heads as it was felt the info would be used against us???? It was apparent that he was trying to tie that into halibut. He inferred he was the only good guide in Ukee that played by the rules. It had NO place in the halibut discussion. He then rattled on into the nasty lodges argument---- "Canadian Princess caught 3000 halibut in one year!!!" Well- I had hear enough and sometimes I have trouble keeping my mouth closed. ( any of you that know me must find that hard to believe!) I told him I hear John Duncan coming right out of his mouth (that is Duncans opinion on sport fishing too, from my past experience) Well that livened things up a bit and it was suggested I calm down. One of Duncans senior people did make a point of saying that if not for his interest, we would not be sitting there talking. Fair comment I guess, but at the time it seemed irrelevant.
After a break, Jeremy Maynard, who has been fighting the allocation issue through the SFAB since forever, in a much more calm assertive way, provided chapter and verse on what improvement had been made in monitoring the rec catch for halibut. Guide and lodge log books, increased creel surveys ( I was creeled 4 times this year-- 2 at Port Hardy, one at each CR and Comox) and increase overflights. He stated that all recognized the system was not perfect, but it had to be said that the the SFAB has committed to further improvements . But the most telling thing was that ultimately DFO is the responsible agency for proper monitoring--- not the rec fishery. The figures that are being generated now are acceptable to DFO AND the IPHC.. and that is what counts.

Sorry if it seemed from my earlier comments were negative toward Jeremy. I was very glad he attended the Courtenay session. He was going to go to the Campbell River session, but had a conflict in this schedule, hence he came to Courtenay.
 
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Question: Can you elaborate on Jeremey Maynard and what happened? I'm not really clear on this. Thanks!

Sorry if it seemed from my earlier comments were negative toward Jeremy. I was very glad he attended the Courtenay session. He was going to go to the Campbell River session, but had a conflict in this schedule, hence he came to Courtenay.

CL: Thanks! I kinda figured the situation would be something like that.

As you say, your wording was a bit clumsy - I can relate, as I like to get things posted quickly and sometimes miss getting the point out as clearly as I would like.

BTW, the "guide" who was John Duncan's campaign manager - Is his name Jim Clancy or Dick Clancy? If so, I have talked with him in the past, and he does seem to support the commies position, which may account for why Duncan is sticking to that position - he's getting bad advice.

Again, thanks for all you are doing. I wish I was more mobile to get to these meetings. Let me know if they ever plan on coming to Tahsis!
 
I like your ideas on this one voice, one group thing Little Hawk. I would be willing to support a much more coordinated attack on this important issue. Who else thinks it is a idea worth pursuing???
 
Originally Posted by Cuba Libre
Question: Can you elaborate on Jeremey Maynard and what happened? I'm not really clear on this. Thanks!

Sorry if it seemed from my earlier comments were negative toward Jeremy. I was very glad he attended the Courtenay session. He was going to go to the Campbell River session, but had a conflict in this schedule, hence he came to Courtenay.
CL: Thanks! I kinda figured the situation would be something like that.

As you say, your wording was a bit clumsy - I can relate, as I like to get things posted quickly and sometimes miss getting the point out as clearly as I would like.

BTW, the "guide" who was John Duncan's campaign manager - Is his name Jim Clancy or Dick Clancy? If so, I have talked with him in the past, and he does seem to support the commies position, which may account for why Duncan is sticking to that position - he's getting bad advice.



....I believe "John Duncan" was once upon a time a commercial halibut fisherman who fished out of Ukee..... :(
 
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