Concerned angler

[drhook]

Is anyone else getting concerned about the numbers of fish showing up this year? Although it appears that the inside is doing a little better than previous years, it seems like its shaping up to be a pretty awful year in general.
Also look at the continued restrictions placed on us like the closure of all chinook on the inside. Knee jerk reactions to a salmon fishery that looks to be ready to collapse.
Fifteen years ago there were fish taken regularly at Porlier, then that died. So we went to Juan de Fuca and thats been a former shadow of itself. So we go to Rennie and thats been scratchy at best so far this year.
What does the future hold for us as sporties? We're on the teminal end of the fishery after U.S. and Canadian commercials and we're the ones to get closed down when it looks like there are too few fish.
We spend more time flogging the water for fewer and fewer fish.
I love fishing but it seems like there isn't a reasonable expectation of catching fish any more and when you do DFO won't let you keep it anyway.
I know, I've been ranting. But if you look back a few years the spiraling decline of our fisheries is alarming!
Judging by the poor showing of winter springs this year in Juan de Fuca and Barkley Sound, the future looks grim.

 

[scott craven]

i have been concerned for 4 or 5 years now...
as you said, fewer and fewer fish.
we used to have a good fishery in OakBay years ago
it's all but gone now.[xx(]
hopefully things will improve with proper conservation.

 

[Tips Up]

Interesting topic...

This is just my opinion and I have no "expertise" to back it up but...
Yes I believe that fish stocks are down from the past and there are many contributing factors but most of the topics that I read and hear about on this subject are pointing out the same old issues of DFO mismanagement, aboriginal netting, comercial fishing...

I believe another huge impact that does not get alot of discussion is the change in our environment and global warming. The water temperature in local waters is up from the past. I feel this changes the migratory patterns of fish. Alot of anglers are still fishing the same places and the same depths as they have for the last 20 years and wondering why they are not catching fish. Last year was a pink year on the west side and instead of being the usual nuisence I caught very few. The one day that I made an effort to catch them I finally found them on the 3rd tide line at 180 feet!! Also last year more springs seemed to be caught at the tide lines. I am finding fish deeper this year than in the past. Coincidence?? Maybe we need to try some new tactics, new places and new depths??

Any thoughts??

 

[drhook]

Thanks for your reply 'tips up'. If anyone has a lot of time this makes for interesting reading and coroborates a lot of the last post.
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sci/psarc/OSRs/StateofOceans2005fnl.pdf