RE: Fall Victoria Sport Fishing Advisory Board Committee Meeting
Dear fellow anglers,
I would like to shed some light on the recent rumours circulating about sport fishing meetings occurring around Victoria in the near future.
On Tuesday November 13th the Sport Fishing Institute of BC (SFI) is holding a meeting in Victoria. Please note this meeting is not associated to the local Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) process or the fall SFAB localcommittee consultations. The SFI event is one of a number of coast-wide SFI open-house events. As I understand, the intent of each open house is to provide an overview of SFI activities, provide relevant information about BC’s sport fisheries and gain feedback from the angling community. For your information, I support their efforts and plan to attend their Victoria event myself.
OnWednesday November 14[SUP]th[/SUP]there will be a small invitation-only Victoria SFAB Committee meeting. This meeting is being held in this NEW closed-door format solely because Fisheries and Oceans Canada (FOC) have informed us they will no longer pay for facilities for the normal well-attended open-format meetings, which we have held in the past five years. Furthermore, FOC no longer supports the broader public-welcome attendance style any more, even though it is in-line with both the SFAB Terms of Reference and the Recreational Vision Document (which were both signed by senior members of FOC).
Please clearly understand that Tom Cole, your Victoria SFAB elected representative and I, your Victoria SFAB Committee chair, are both very upset and disappointed with FOC’s decision to force change upon our meeting format. Over five plus years we have built a sizeable SFAB attendance (between 125 and 350 people – the largest on the BC coast) and felt pleased we were reaching the many anglers who wanted to participate in the SFAB process. You should also know the Main Board SFAB chair, Gerry Kristianson, who has in the past expressed his support for the style of meetings we have hosted in Victoria, has also pled our case to FOC to no avail.
More importantly, I ask all of you who may be upset, even angered by the fact you are being cut out of the local SFAB process unfairly by FOC; please do not despair. I am delighted to announce you will still have the chance to participate in SFAB business and vote on SFAB motions prior to the fall South Coast SFAB meeting. Due to the generosity of a local angling group, an open-format fisheries meeting will still occur and all local anglers are welcome to attend.
On TUESDAY November 27[SUP]th[/SUP]at 6:30 p.m. in the West Shore Ballroom of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel there will be an open-to-the-broader-angling-community meeting specifically to discuss local fisheries issues. Tom Cole and I, your elected SFAB representatives, will be present and will provide a summary of the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] November closed-door SFAB meeting and include all local anglers in the advisory process. More details about this meeting and an agenda will be sent out in the near future. Please make a point of marking this date in your calendars and attending in person.
It is most unfortunate FOC has placed me in this extraordinarily difficult position by changing the format of the official SFAB Committee meetings, as I am deeply committed to having all local anglers who are interested in our fishery to have a voice at the table. I believe in being inclusive. Please rest assured I will continue to represent all our best interests at the SFAB and promise you I will do everything it takes to allow you to voice your thoughts, give me your suggestions and share your expertise in the interest of crafting better fisheries for all of us.
I truly hope you can join me on Tuesday November 27[SUP]th[/SUP].
With kindest regards,
Chris
Christopher Bos
Victoria Committee Chair
Sport Fishing Advisory Board
(778) 426-4141
C.Bos@shaw.ca
Dear fellow anglers,
I would like to shed some light on the recent rumours circulating about sport fishing meetings occurring around Victoria in the near future.
On Tuesday November 13th the Sport Fishing Institute of BC (SFI) is holding a meeting in Victoria. Please note this meeting is not associated to the local Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) process or the fall SFAB localcommittee consultations. The SFI event is one of a number of coast-wide SFI open-house events. As I understand, the intent of each open house is to provide an overview of SFI activities, provide relevant information about BC’s sport fisheries and gain feedback from the angling community. For your information, I support their efforts and plan to attend their Victoria event myself.
OnWednesday November 14[SUP]th[/SUP]there will be a small invitation-only Victoria SFAB Committee meeting. This meeting is being held in this NEW closed-door format solely because Fisheries and Oceans Canada (FOC) have informed us they will no longer pay for facilities for the normal well-attended open-format meetings, which we have held in the past five years. Furthermore, FOC no longer supports the broader public-welcome attendance style any more, even though it is in-line with both the SFAB Terms of Reference and the Recreational Vision Document (which were both signed by senior members of FOC).
Please clearly understand that Tom Cole, your Victoria SFAB elected representative and I, your Victoria SFAB Committee chair, are both very upset and disappointed with FOC’s decision to force change upon our meeting format. Over five plus years we have built a sizeable SFAB attendance (between 125 and 350 people – the largest on the BC coast) and felt pleased we were reaching the many anglers who wanted to participate in the SFAB process. You should also know the Main Board SFAB chair, Gerry Kristianson, who has in the past expressed his support for the style of meetings we have hosted in Victoria, has also pled our case to FOC to no avail.
More importantly, I ask all of you who may be upset, even angered by the fact you are being cut out of the local SFAB process unfairly by FOC; please do not despair. I am delighted to announce you will still have the chance to participate in SFAB business and vote on SFAB motions prior to the fall South Coast SFAB meeting. Due to the generosity of a local angling group, an open-format fisheries meeting will still occur and all local anglers are welcome to attend.
On TUESDAY November 27[SUP]th[/SUP]at 6:30 p.m. in the West Shore Ballroom of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel there will be an open-to-the-broader-angling-community meeting specifically to discuss local fisheries issues. Tom Cole and I, your elected SFAB representatives, will be present and will provide a summary of the 14[SUP]th[/SUP] November closed-door SFAB meeting and include all local anglers in the advisory process. More details about this meeting and an agenda will be sent out in the near future. Please make a point of marking this date in your calendars and attending in person.
It is most unfortunate FOC has placed me in this extraordinarily difficult position by changing the format of the official SFAB Committee meetings, as I am deeply committed to having all local anglers who are interested in our fishery to have a voice at the table. I believe in being inclusive. Please rest assured I will continue to represent all our best interests at the SFAB and promise you I will do everything it takes to allow you to voice your thoughts, give me your suggestions and share your expertise in the interest of crafting better fisheries for all of us.
I truly hope you can join me on Tuesday November 27[SUP]th[/SUP].
With kindest regards,
Chris
Christopher Bos
Victoria Committee Chair
Sport Fishing Advisory Board
(778) 426-4141
C.Bos@shaw.ca
Last edited by a moderator:
. Keep up the good work man. Nice to clear the air from some of the misleading post's on this site that might deter folks from getting involved. We have to keep this up to get as many sports anglers involved with the process as possible.
