Halibut issue

[GLG]

Yup that’s right. You need a boat to have a license. You need a license to have quota.
You need quota to lease out to working fisherman. You need a mailbox to get paid.
You need an accountant to manage your winnings. You need a house down south to stay warm. Did I miss anything?

Apparently DFO has no problem with slipper skippers having a 9 foot halibut fishing boats that are registered as private boats (k or bc numbers) In fact you might be able to go to the local hobby store and pick up a model of the titanic and register that as your company halibut fishing boat. Not sure if TC would like the idea but I bet DFO might not notice.
GLG

 

[Charlie]

DD’s breadcrumb = slipper skipper. Fish-hunter if you are interested in contact names I can send you some of them. It’s not hard to figure out if you look here.
http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Ops/VRNdirectory/LicReportSelect.cfm
Do a search on Halibut and then download the text file. Take the text file and pull it into Excel for the purpose of sorting. Remove the FN data and try a sort on OAL (m). That would be over all length. Do a formula to convert from meter to feet and look at you results. My guess would be for boats that are 9 - 30 feet you would find a slipper skipper.
Goggle and the phonebook is your friend. Most of the companies keep a low profile, can you blame them, but the info can be purchased from the provincial government.
https://www.bconline.gov.bc.ca/corp_reg.html
Try goggle search for some of the people’s names and you might find, that as a concerned citizen, they have sent letters to the newspapers sharing their outrage that the recreation sector demands the allocation be changed. Others have websites that are claiming to have quota for lease. It’s out there but personally don’t think any would want to simply donate their quota back to the people of Canada where it belongs. If they do want to give it up they have an option to turn it in to the government under this program.
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/picfi-ipcip/acquisition-eng.htm


GLG

I am impressed with your research!

Thank you... I have actually been looking for this link and wella here it is:

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/picfi-ipcip/acquisition-eng.htm

 

[Fish-Hunter]

DD’s breadcrumb = slipper skipper. Fish-hunter if you are interested in contact names I can send you some of them. It’s not hard to figure out if you look here.
http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Ops/VRNdirectory/LicReportSelect.cfm
Do a search on Halibut and then download the text file. Take the text file and pull it into Excel for the purpose of sorting. Remove the FN data and try a sort on OAL (m). That would be over all length. Do a formula to convert from meter to feet and look at you results. My guess would be for boats that are 9 - 30 feet you would find a slipper skipper.
Goggle and the phonebook is your friend. Most of the companies keep a low profile, can you blame them, but the info can be purchased from the provincial government.
https://www.bconline.gov.bc.ca/corp_reg.html
Try goggle search for some of the people’s names and you might find, that as a concerned citizen, they have sent letters to the newspapers sharing their outrage that the recreation sector demands the allocation be changed. Others have websites that are claiming to have quota for lease. It’s out there but personally don’t think any would want to simply donate their quota back to the people of Canada where it belongs. If they do want to give it up they have an option to turn it in to the government under this program.
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/picfi-ipcip/acquisition-eng.htm


GLG

Yeah, I got the slipper skipper connection, what I am interested in is if DD's list of people to talk to are any that are included in the group of people that are "currently working toward a solution". These are the people that I would like to talk with. The slipper skippers are not likely going to talk, and if they do it will most likely not be revolving around the issue of improving OUR Halibut fishery. We will need to talk to and work with the Active commercial fishermen at some point and time, no question. As they are being screwed just as bad as we are (the Sport Sector) by the Slipper Skipper Fish Lords.
I've seen that list before, and you will drive yourself crazy trying to track all of the real owners down. The size of some of the boats listed are ridiculous for commercial boats indeed. In fact I was talking with a retired Commercial Halibut Fisherman a while back, and some of the things that he has told me went on and still do go on would make your toes curl. At least most of the boats listed on that list are in fact boats, this same guy was telling me about a "boat" that he knows of that is only a white-washed sheet of plywood with a number on it!!!! In the slipper skippers back yard!!! No he would not tell me the guys name, or I would have already had the News media out there to see it. This type of BS is what has to change, and the upper levels of DFO are ultimately to blame for letting $#!T like this take place, and they have to be changed out also.

 

[searun]

Nice post Fish-Hunter. Interesting to see how corrupt the current allocation system really is for both recreational anglers and real commercial halibut fishers. I think most of us have no issues with the guys fishing the quota - they are just guys like us trying to earn a living and enjoy a way of life.

What is distasteful is the slipper skippers who can sit back and use the allocation ownership to generate personal profits while never intending on using the quota. There should be no "ownership" model attached to the allocation - fish it or lose it. Any unused allocation should revert to the crown for re-distribution, and this would cut the slipper skippers out of the picture and make the guys who actually fish their quota more profitable. In the end, there needs to be a fair process to ensure balanced allocation between the users.

Not so surprising is the commercial hali fishers who actually fish their quota would like nothing more than being able to access quota without having to pay a randsom to the slipper skippers. Moreover, they would like to be free of fearing ramifications of speaking out against the current system out of fear for being black listed by the slipper skippers and not get access to quota.

We are building momentum, keep pressing DFO and the Federal politicians for change.

 

[Fish-Hunter]

thanks searun, right back at ya!
Yes what you said is all true. Sooner or later this current system will change one way or another.

 

[Rockfish]

Letter to the Editor

Take care of halibut, don't try to manage

Over the past three months there has been an ongoing struggle to garner a larger halibut quota for the sports sector. Several things should be made clear.

Firstly, the 88-12 sector split between commercial and sports sector. That makes 100 per cent. Where does the First Nation food and ceremonial quota fit in?

It is actually part of the commercial sector allocation. Next, there are actually two sport sectors. Those that use the resource for their own profits and those that go out to simply take home a halibut to eat.

Commercial operations should have a separate quota from the "non-commercial" sports sector. The data for catch statistics has been a problem with the commercial sports sector since the '90s. I saw it first hand in Haida Gwaii.

I firmly believe that a quota is needed for the commercial sports sector but it must be bought from the commercial sector quota with two per cent coming from the non-commercial sector quota. The 10 per cent left in the sports sector would suffice for the foreseeable future for the weekend true sports fisherman.

The commercial-sports sector could internally dispense their quota among operators as they see fit and the commercial sector could survive with their remainder after the First Nation requirements.

The main issue here is to take care of the halibut and not to use social economics to try and manage it. This would be a grievous error.

Bob Tritschler
Parksville
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist


Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/L...halibut+more/4432855/story.html#ixzz1GXyw5loE

I thought you would like to see the latest letter to the editor in support of the slipper skipper quota owners by one Bob Tritschler of Parksville.

Even a primary lobbyist for the slipper skipper halibut owners such as Chris Sporer would not try this and I quote Chris from his Letter to the Editor of the Charlottetown Guardian; “The long-standing Pacific halibut allocation policy provides commercial sector 88 per cent and recreational sector 12 per cent share of total allowable catch, after First Nations constitutional fishing rights have been met”. In short, First Nations get an allocation off the top before the remainder is divided 88/12. I am surprised the Editor let it stand without doing a little fact checking.

The slipper skipper quota owners keep trying to deflect from the allocation issue by the use of many questionable arguments; in this case implying that anglers are trying to take away halibut from first nations to justify the unfair 88/12 allocation.

Since 95% of Canada’s commercial caught halibut is exported there should be more than sufficient room to reduce our commercial catch for conservation purposes (not catch all of our TAC for a year or two to increase the number and size of halibut) while easily meeting Canada’s domestic need for commercial caught halibut, increase the First Nations allocation and meet the needs of anglers. Let’s get rid of the privatized quota system and move to an allocation system.

Currently there is 12% of the allocation held by the federal government for recreational anglers and I understand another 17% is held by the Feds for future First Nations land claims settlements. So currently 71% is owned by the fish lords and should be clawed back and reallocated. I have no problem reducing the commercial allocation while increasing the First Nations allocation; in fact I don’t care if the First Nations get all of the commercial long line allocation. That should get the slipper skipper quota owners snorting expensive cognac out their nose as the reach for the keyboard.

The best use economic and social future of halibut fishing on our coast is the recreational sector and the sooner it is expanded the better for First Nations, anglers, our economy and the coastal communities of BC.

I have no problem leaving the greedy few out in the cold; many of which have had the right to print money for doing nothing and are now pulling every manipulation possible to block a fair allocation to anglers. They are the ones raising the First Nations card to keep their quota, I am sure they won’t like having it turned back on them.

One thing is certain; whatever allocation eventually remains in the non First Nations long line fishery, those actually doing the work should not have to pay some private halibut owner for the privilege.

 

[searun]

Couldn't agree with you more Rock Fish. Nice post.

 

[IronNoggin]

Yup that’s right. You need a boat to have a license. You need a license to have quota. You need quota to lease out to working fisherman.

Wanted to thank you for your post previous to this GLG! VERY interesting and useful information!

If you review the Licensed Boats, there are a good handful that carry "K" or "BC" numbers or are very under-sized. These are simply NOT Commercially Licensed boats, as they require a CFV number. Many are in fact sport boats, tenders, and according to rumor even simply a plank with a number on it in one Broker's back yard! A properly Licensed commercial boat is a prerequisite to owning/acquiring quota, no mistaking that. So either DFO is aware of the illegal "Licensing" of non-compliant rigs, or woefully ignorant of this sleight of hand (which really would not surprise me at all). Either way they are directly involved in the commission of illegal activities, whether that be by collusion or dereliction of duty. I'll be doing a little looking into this matter...

Cheers & Thanks!
Nog

 

[IronNoggin]

Letter of rebuttal sent to the Editor of the Colonist this date:

Letter to Editor:
From: Matt Stabler, Recreational Angler, Port Alberni

Regarding Halibut Allocations

I am writing in response to the letter from one Bob Tritschler regarding the allocation of halibut in British Columbia.

As one of the key lobbyists for the commercial sector publicly noted (Letter to the Editor Charlottetown Guardian): “The long-standing Pacific halibut allocation policy provides commercial sector 88 per cent and recreational sector 12 per cent share of total allowable catch, after First Nations constitutional fishing rights have been met”. Mr. Tritschler's assertions to the contrary aside, First Nations receive an allocation off the top before the remainder is divided 88/12. Therefore attempting to suggest that our First Nations would be negatively effected by providing Fair and Equitable Access to the rightful owners of the resource, ALL Canadians according to the Supreme Court of Canada, is much more than a questionable argument. In reality it is not based in fact whatsoever.

Many of those within the commercial sector, chiefly those who don't even set foot on a working boat and haven't for years, often suggest that there are in actuality two separate sport sectors involved. Those being the guides and lodges, and the other the every day "Average Angler" who heads out out to collect a little food for the table. Those same people would also have you believe that the vast majority who engage the services of a guide are inordinately wealthy, and chiefly from outside of Canada. The facts of the matter point to the exact opposite, and in reality the "two" sectors are one and the same. In order to get out and fish for halibut, the Canadian Citizen is faced with two rather simple choices: purchase, outfit, insure and maintain an expensive ocean-capable boat, or choose to ride with a guide who takes care of all of that for them. It is obvious which represents the more economic approach for the Average Canadian Wage Earner to engage in. It comes therefore as no surprise that those who choose the latter option are somewhat greater in numbers than those who choose to purchase a large boat along with all that entails. Further the vast majority of those who engage a guide are Canadian, ranging upwards from 85% of those who do so in any given year. And most are nowhere near as wealthy as some would have you believe. In fact, the majority save for months just to be able to take themselves and their family or friends out for a safe and pleasurable adventure to catch a few fish. Again, an argument based on deception.

That said, there are a handful of downright wealthy participants in our halibut fishery. Namely those who acquired their slice of the pie for free directly from DFO back in 2003, and who today don't even bother to fish it themselves. These individuals simply sit back, setting the exorbitant prices affixed to leasing their quota as high as the market can possibly bear, and reaping in the massive profits from those sales without ever having to set foot on a working fishing boat. This is grossly unfair to the honest Working Fishermen along our coast who are held to ransom by these absentee Fish Brokers, and who end up padding those absentee pockets much more so than their own for their efforts on each and every landing. It is also unfair to the Canadian Public who's access to their own resource is curtailed in order to inflate the Fish Brokers already burgeoning wallets.

In Canada, it is a Legal Prerequisite that a Licensed Commercial Boat is required to own or procure halibut quota. Fact. However a simple investigation of the boats these Licenses have been, and continue to be issued to today, leaves a lot of questions. Many are registered with simple "K" or "BC" number registrations, which are very much NOT commercial fishing boats (those require a CFV - Commercial Fishing Vessel assignment). And many are far to small in size, as little as NINE Feet to realistically fall into the range of legal classification. Most of the rigs in this category are obviously held by those same absentee Fish Brokers as a method of eliminating expenses. And ALL in that fall outside the range of the Licensed Fishing Vessel category are ILLEGAL. Fact. Thus, DFO, whether by collusion or gross dereliction of duty, is actively involved in the commission of ongoing illegal activities.

The absentee Fish Brokers would also have you believe that their operations provide food for the table for the majority of Canadians who cannot get out here to fish them for themselves. Another argument based upon deception, as the product is chiefly exported to both the US and Europe. As much as 95% of that that product leaves Canada each and every year, leaving very little behind in Canada to grace the tables of Canadian Citizens.

The Supreme Court of Canada has already ruled that Private Ownership of fish stocks is not legal in Canada. To some, and apparently to DFO, that ruling is simply a stumbling block to find ways to get around. With the halibut issue, they very much have done so. And that travesty continues today.

One absentee Fish Broker recently had the audacity to publicly say "Let Them Play Golf" when referring to the recreational sector, even going so far as to suggest the "Best and wisest use" (DFO's mandate) of the resource centered on exported products rather than public access. I do believe the Canadian Public, as rightful and legal owners of that resource, may beg to differ.

Finally, on one point Mr. Tritschler and I agree: "The main issue here is to take care of the halibut". Absolutely! Conservation is not the question here, never has been. The halibut are indeed well looked after under the management of the world-acclaimed International Pacific Halibut Commission, as they should be. What is at issue is the Allocation of the allowable catch through DFO, and a grossly unfair system of distribution that favors absentee quota owners over the rights of the Canadian Public and Honest Fishermen. And that, very much, is a "grievous error". For the Minister of DFO to now suggest to the Canadian Public that should they desire, they can now buy back their own resource from those same wealthy Fish Brokers is even more so.


Cheers,
Nog

 

[craigs28]

here, here, well said

 

[Charlie]

Okay, you impressed me, again! Keep up the work!

May I suggest reading a study, 'The elephant in the room: The hidden costs of leasing individual transferable fishing quotas'? You might be surprised to find out "WHO" really is controlling those halibut fish quotas! But then again, what does the "School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University" know?

http://www.ecotrust.ca/sites/all/files/Elephant_in_Room_Report.pdf

 

[Hindsight]

Thanks for your work on the rebuttal.

 

[Rockfish]

Wanted to thank you for your post previous to this GLG! VERY interesting and useful information!

If you review the Licensed Boats, there are a good handful that carry "K" or "BC" numbers or are very under-sized. These are simply NOT Commercially Licensed boats, as they require a CFV number. Many are in fact sport boats, tenders, and according to rumor even simply a plank with a number on it in one Broker's back yard! A properly Licensed commercial boat is a prerequisite to owning/acquiring quota, no mistaking that. So either DFO is aware of the illegal "Licensing" of non-compliant rigs, or woefully ignorant of this sleight of hand (which really would not surprise me at all). Either way they are directly involved in the commission of illegal activities, whether that be by collusion or dereliction of duty. I'll be doing a little looking into this matter...

Cheers & Thanks!
Nog

It is beginning to look like the reeking underbelly of the rotting quota system is starting to see the light of day. We know the corporate media likes to play softball with big money interests but one would think that somewhere a good investigative reporter would love to sink their teeth into this one.

 

[searun]

Nog that was outstanding. Looks like the slipper skippers will be running about the back yard looking for somewhere to hide the plank they have their CFV numbers thumb tacked onto.

 

[Islandgirl]

AWESOME writing Nog!

 

[Jahfreddy]

Succinctly put, and straight to the point ...


Well done Matt!

 

[greenhornet]

dfo miss management as always

Well put together iron nog,hope you send this to all the right people!!What a crime the slipper skips are getting away with!!!! Wish I could sit on my butt down south play golf and make $H!T loads of money because I used to fish when then were giving out quotas..... These guys have no couth and it has to be changed for the hard working commercial and sporties alike... personal opinions always!!!!

tight lines
billydoo

 

[Mi Chica]

It is beginning to look like the reeking underbelly of the rotting quota system is starting to see the light of day. We know the corporate media likes to play softball with big money interests but one would think that somewhere a good investigative reporter would love to sink their teeth into this one.

I had an interesting chat with Fisheries and Oceans (Nanaimo) the other day and had difficulty believing what I was told. They indicated that a plank, flower pot, row boat, or smaller sport fishing boat is fine with DFO, if it is registered. They don't even have to have a commercial registration. Boat de-commissioned, sunk, or sold to foreign interests would result in suspension of quota... but wait... they don't communicate with Transport Canada so they wouldn't know squat. There is a reek alright!!! This rotten system is so fatally flawed and abused that I doubt if there is any amount of reform that will "save it". DFO is colluding in perpetrating a massive abuse of our common property resource and I am now convinced that nothing they say or do can be trusted to be in the interest of Canada and Canadians.

 

[Rockfish]

Another whiny BS letter in support of the greedy slipper skipper quota owners. It would be nice if someone from this guys riding or perhaps a guide from Prince Rupert writes a response letter since he accuses you of targeting and often having your clients catch 2 and 3 pound baby halibut because you almost guarantee your clients fish.

It looks like they are getting more desperate and farther from the truth with every letter as they see their absurd quota lottery winnings threatened.





Size limit would help halibut stock
By Don Ekroth, North Shore News March 23, 2011 Dear Editor:

As a former commercial halibut fisherman, I couldn't let Steven Panz's March 9 letter to the editor, Halibut Quota Is Some Cheek, pass without comment.

Mr. Panz complains that sport fishermen only get 12 per cent of the total allowable catch. Just 20 years ago, the sport fleet caught less than one per cent of all the halibut on the B.C. coast. The truth is, the recreational halibut fishery has had, until only recently, very little meaningful history in the halibut fishery.

In 2003, when the (then) Department of Fisheries and Oceans bowed to pressure from the sport charter lobby and allocated 12 per cent of the halibut to the "sports" fishery, it came directly out of the pockets of commercial halibut fishermen with little or no compensation. Not only that, it was done at a time when the sports catch was still only four to six per cent. It seemed like an incredible ripoff to the commercial industry at the time and an extremely generous gift to the sports fishery. You can imagine what we think of the latest push for an even larger allocation.

I especially take issue with the word "gifted" that Mr. Panz uses to snidely describe the commercial quota each fisherman received when quotas were first brought in. The halibut fishermen of this coast weren't "gifted" 88 per cent of the halibut allocation. They weren't gifted anything. They (and their fathers and grandfathers before them) worked diligently and under great hardship for every ounce of that quota.

When the quota fishery was first introduced, DFO imposed on the commercial fleet some of the most stringent regulations that could be devised. At the very heart of these regulations is the 30-inch minimum. Halibut do not reproduce until age eight, when about 30 inches (76 centimetres) long. It is for that reason commercial fishermen can not keep halibut less than this size. The same cannot be said for the sport fishery. Any size counts -- to everyone's detriment.

Commercial charter boat operators, these days, are pressured into almost "guaranteeing" salmon and halibut limits for their high-paying patrons. From my close observations of Prince Rupert charter operations, they often fill those quotas with two- to three-pound fish. It cannot be reasonably argued by any sensible person that killing off large numbers of baby halibut is sustainable.

Instead of whining that they are "owed" more fish and that it should come at the expense of the commercial fleet, it's time the recreation fishery took responsibility for its own actions, or, in this case, lack of action. More stringent regulations are long overdue. At the very least, a reasonable minimum size limit might possibly produce huge benefits for all halibut user groups and stop the bickering.

Don Ekroth

North Vancouver

© Copyright (c) North Shore News
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Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Size+limit+would+help+halibut+stock/4489648/story.html#ixzz1HZsj7f7z

 

[Cuba Libre]

OK-- we all know this is total BS. But which ones of you that live on the North Shore is going to write a letter. ????????????????? Dont let this crap go unchallenged