Do you love to catch chinook?

[knucklebuster]

O.K. people. This is the BIG meeting I talked about. If you fish chinook anywhere along the east and west coast of Vancouver island or even the Charlottes, you need to come to this meeting.The Cowichan run of chinook are in crisis. This is YOUR chance to have a say as to whats going to happen.YOUR favourite fishing spot could be closed to allow these fish through. There may be alternatives. If you don't come out and be heard then you can't complain when your spot is closed.
I will confirm details at a later date.
Tentative date is November.28
7:00
Ocean front Grand resort,Cowichan bay,
Mermaid room

 

[Barbender]

No offense but I attended a meeting last year there and I found it a little simplistic and I have not seen anythign change. I will attend the meeting again this year don't get me wrong but hopefully there is more action and less talk.

 

[knucklebuster]

This is not an annual SFAB meeting. This meeting is being held for the first time to discuss this issue with this group. There will be people from fisheries who haven't come to other meetings.This will be the first of hopefully many to discuss this issue. Things ARE going to come out of this. It won't be a waste of time.

 

[Brokenrod]

I won't be there NUCK but my fishing patner lives in Duncan he'll be there. Do we know what waters these fish migrate through? At any rate please keep us posted.

 

[knucklebuster]

quote:Originally posted by Brokenrod

I won't be there NUCK but my fishing patner lives in Duncan he'll be there. Do we know what waters these fish migrate through? At any rate please keep us posted.

That info will be there. We do know that they are caught as far as Queen Charlottes. Also caught in Campbell river,Port Renfrew,Sooke and uceulet.

 

[Time]

I'll be there.
Please post confirmed date and time when available.
The last meeting was very informative.

Luckily the local press - Cowichan Valley - has picked up on the story. A bit of publicity on the failing Cowichan stocks is necessary.

Has anybody noticed any coverage in other media, such as DC Reids column in the Victoria paper?

Time for a bit of umbrage and political wrath to be dished out?

Thanks for the updates Knucklebuster.

 

[Little Hawk]

Howdy,

Maybe somebody can fill us in on some of the particulars about the demise of this run of fish, ie. habitat loss, commercial pressure, Natives, pollution in Cow Bay killing the smolts?

What?

After learning what I did about the DFO's involvement (call it collusion) in the fish-farming fiasco on our coast and how it reflects on their wild-salmon management mandate - FORGIVE ME FOR SOUNDING APATHETIC, BUT I NO LONGER HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE IN MY GOVERNMENTS ABILITY TO MANAGE THIS PRECIOUS RESOURCE.

No disrespect intended for those hard-working dedicated Fisheries personell who are really trying to make certain there are still some wild fish around for our kids.

It's the policy-makers and string-pullers calling the shots at the higher levels, they are the ones that need to replaced (lynched) by competent West-Coasters who have a grip on what's really happening to our fish out here.

No, I'm not trying to re-open the fish-farming thing; I, along with many others have fought that battle long and hard only to have our concerns fall on deaf ears...

Cheers,
Terry

 

[Barbender]

Hi Terry. I think you need to realize that salmon stocks started crashing in the 70's. Easily 10 years before salmon farming started on the west coast. I think you are grasping at straws there. Ocean conditions, habitat destruction, commercial fishing, pesticides, el nino, genetic manipulation, poor hatchery selection are just some the major factors in declining salmon stocks. Not to mention terrible management on behalf of DFO. The fish farming thing has yet to be proven but I am sure on some level it does not help. ALthough for the time being I would focus on hard facts as opposed to rhetoric.

 

[Klink]

Cant we all just blame the Americans?


<3


Klink

 

[Little Hawk]

Howdy Barbender,

If you actually took a few moments (before you began typing faster than you could think) to research fish-farming on our coast, you would learn that the first fish-farm was started by Crown Zellerbach at Ocean Falls, BC, in 1970 or 71'ish...

We all know there are many factors contributing to the decline of our beloved wild-salmon, however, as you offhandedly label my comments as rhetoric I believe your conduct is inflamatory and dis-respectful towards a fellow sport-fishermen.

We are all in this together... remember?

Cheers,
Terry

Cheers,
Terry

 

[Time]

From Littlehawk:

"It's the policy-makers and string-pullers calling the shots at the higher levels, they are the ones that need to replaced (lynched) by competent West-Coasters who have a grip on what's really happening to our fish out here."

I really don't know the internal structure of F&O, but the point, as far as I am concerned, of these meetings is not to solve or identify all of the problems associated with the decline of salmon on the whole of the West Coast, but to lend credence to the loss of the fish, and demanding action be taken.

Without a voice we are howling in the wilderness.

The SFAB is at least making some noise on our behalf, but without a constituency backing them up, they can be easily overlooked (ignored).

For that reason alone, I will attend, and would encourage others to also be there.

 

[Barbender]

quote:If you actually took a few moments (before you began typing faster than you could think) to research fish-farming on our coast, you would learn that the first fish-farm was started by Crown Zellerbach at Ocean Falls, BC, in 1970 or 71'ish...

Right back at ya Terry. You may have wanted to listen to your own advice there. The "fish farming" operation you are talking about in 1971 were actually salmon ranching experiments. Where domestic strains of Chinook and Coho were raised for a while in a net pen then set free to live in the ocean. The hopes were that they would return and be harvested. It failed miserably. Actual fish farming operations were not in operation here on the coast until roughly 1986 and then again it was with Pacific Salmon. Do a bit more thourough investigating before you question my information. I am not pro fish farming but I am not against it either. There are definite issues with raising fish here. However I dont for a second believe it is the bogey man everyone thinks it is. Much better evidence is out there that points in other directions. That being said I fear that we have done so much destrution to our resources out here that the ability to repair it may have passed us by. Every year the returns seem to be lower and lower and meeting after meeting is held. Yet very little seems to be done about it. I would hate for my kids to say "remember when there used to be salmon". That would kill me.

 

[Barbender]

Forgive the aggresive tone to my response. Not looking to start a fight or call anyone out, god knows there is enough emotion involved in this debate as it is. I am going to stay out of the fish farming thing for awhile. Heck at this rate I may put my boat up for sale and start up a hatchery on the Cowichan that grows only 55 lb springs. In the long run probably will be less expensive and far less frustrating than trolling for hours wondering where the fish went.
-Nick

 

[Rum Buddies]

I'm curious but how much money is needed on a yearly basis to actually create a quality hatchery program?

 

[Barbender]

You bring up a great point Poppa. I am going to do some research and see. Other sporting organizations do it. I imagine the start up costs are pretty good. I also here the Feds are paying less and less of the tab every year. Someone was telling me the hatchery in Nootka sound was struggling for cash due to cut backs.

 

[cpony]

It's amazing they are making more and more cutbacks but have billion $$ surplus, again. You have to make sure to get all the federal island MPs especially the ones in power to that meeting.
All Island residents will be impacted.

 

[Rum Buddies]

Well I would be very interested to hear what you find out Barbender. I'm sure funding an entire project like this might be a little far fetched but a group willing to put up their own money carries more clout then a group that in the eyes of DFO is just a bunch of whiners.

 

[chris73]

I know that the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society who run the Sooke hatchery have an annual budget of $25k. But all the work is done by volunteers. And of course this operation is of a way smaller scale than the Cowichan requires. Plus, even for the Sooke River watershed this hatchery is too small...

 

[Little Hawk]

Howdy Barbender,

After listening to you telling me about, 'what I need to realize' , then trying to convince me that 'fish-farming' and 'salmon-ranching' are somehow different, then advising me to, 'Do a bit more thorough investigating...' on the topic of fish-farming, I have realized something Nick: It's time for me to exit this thread before I lose-it.

By the way, and this is only a suggestion, you too, considering your - on-the-fence - posture on the issue, might want to learn more about the fish-farming industry on our coast. May I suggest looking up a feature article I wrote on the topic that was published in BC Outdoors Sportfishing Magazine(May 02'/I think). The article profiles the Canadian fish-farming industry and was a synopsis of a rather lenghty essay I wrote in school. I'd be too embarassed to tell you about the countless hours of research that went into the production of that few pages of work.

Peace

Terry

 

[knucklebuster]

Well, didn't this turn into a mess. I posted this to get people to come to a meeting. Thats all.Questions are welcome.WE all want the same thing. Come to the meeting and find out whats going on.(or not going on)