trophywife
Crew Member
how about making a reg against grading? that i am sure would help our lil ***** TAC!!
Halibut Quota Taboo Subject on SFBC?
- Thread starter UkeeDreamin
- Start date
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
How about getting rid of the one under reg in the fall season if the it looks like the TAC for the entire year is going to come in under quota. The lodges are already closed, so the actual poundage caught would not be significant. That would encourage tourism to Vancouver Island in the off season because many guys can't justify spending the money to bring the boat over to the island for one large Hali, and one ping pong paddle. Let them keep two decent size Hali at that time of year and then they wouldn't be having to grade their fish. That would make it worthwhile to do a late season Hali trip. It would really help the tourism in the off season, when all the marinas and lodgings are pretty near empty. Win, win, why leave empty TAC in the water at the end of the season if we are continually under. Allow a variance in the regs in the fall, if we are under quota. If it looks like we will we fill out our TAC then the regs don't get varied. It would mean more work in season to assess the catch statistics and meeting would be needed to decide if the regs could be varied in the fall. It would make a whole lot of difference to guys having to trailer to the island, and give them a time when a trip actually would be more worthwhile. I know that would encourage me personally to do a late season trip, when I wouldn't bother with the current regs.
casper5280
Crew Member
I still find it funny that we are arguing over the one under, one over thing. Instead we should be lobbying for a better percentage. Isn't 1% or 2% and we wouldn't even be talking about this.
trophywife
Crew Member
we are not arguing? sharing ideas and fellow fisherman who care, explaining them. we ALL know we need more TAC.
casper5280
Crew Member
Ok wrong choice of words. But I still say we need to demand more of the TAC.
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
We can "demand" till we're blue in the faces, no one will listen. Too many bucks from the commercial lobbyists against us for them to give a dam about what we think. The only thing that will change it is a Supreme Court challenge to the rights of the citizens of Canada being denied access to a common resource. Until a group comes forward with the money to fight a challenge in court we can stomp our feet and hold our breath all we want, nothing is going to change. It takes money to fight the big commercial fishing interests with lobbyists in Ottawa. The federal govt doesn't give a dam about the sport fishing industry, we are just a nuisance to them.
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vic-tory
Guest
18% and we would have just under 1.4 mill pounds and no restrictions on size with 1/2 daily/possession.
I think what some are just trying to point out is it is very probable we could have less restrictions on size than we have now with the same tac.
I think what some are just trying to point out is it is very probable we could have less restrictions on size than we have now with the same tac.
trophywife
Crew Member
edited for ya...
I think what some are just trying to point out is it is very probable we could have less restrictions on size than we have now with MORE tac.[/QUOTE]
no such thing as same tac . please delete.
We need more TAC !!
I think what some are just trying to point out is it is very probable we could have less restrictions on size than we have now with MORE tac.[/QUOTE]
no such thing as same tac . please delete.
We need more TAC !!
V
vic-tory
Guest
Both are true. With all the leftovers there's lots of room for improvement next season
Clint r
Well-Known Member
We've got tons of cash as a group. The revenue generated by our fishing licenses. But sport fisherman as a whole are not very unified. Government would defiantly notice if nobody bought a fishing license this year. But it'll never happen. Too many willing to accept what ever scraps we're left with. Wonder who we lobby for a reduction in the price of a fishing license? Limits go down, license price should go down as well.
GLG
Well-Known Member
I have updated the graph to add the 6 per year rule change and added the 2016 dfo draft data (lost it when I edited to add the 2010 data). I can't think of any way, with the data I have, to see if the 6/year rule changed much. I think it's clear that size restrictions do have an effect.
Derby
Crew Member
Just a little perspective from a neighbor to the south. The entire quota for the states of WA, OR and California is 1.33M pounds. That gets split between commercials, native Americans and recreational fishermen. BC gets 7.45M pounds or 5.6 as much as the entire west coast of the lower US. The 15% of that 7.45M pounds that is allocated to recreational fishers in BC is 1.12M pounds or 84% of what the entire west coast of the lower US gets for ALL fishers combined. The recreational portion of the catch for WA,OR and CA is 0.53M pounds or 47% of the recreational portion for BC. The population of BC is about 4.7M. The populations of WA, OR and CA are 7.2M, 4M and 39M respectively or 50.2M in total. So down here, we are really fighting over the scraps with 10x the population fishing for 47% as much fish. Our season in WA usually last a total of 3 days and it's a complete cluster $*#k at every boat ramp remotely near halibut grounds. Moorage near halibut grounds was reserved within the first 1-3 days of reservation taking (usually on Jan 1-3). The ability to catch any hali in WA depends on being able to fish on one of those three days and be willing to fight the crowds.
My point is only that BC fishermen have it very, very good on a relative scale. On the other hand, you might notice that the portion of the catch allocated to recreational fishermen in WA, OR and CA is 0.53M/1.33M = 39.8%. If the recreational fishers in BC got that percentage, you'd be fishing for 2.96M pounds. So, the catch allocation could definitely be better but you're very lucky relative to us. That's why each year I spend about $150 to buy a BC fishing license and occasionally I fish for hali up there. In the past 3 years, I've taken a total of 2 halibut from the other side of the line. One about 35# and one around maybe 15#. I'm pleased to be able to fish there when the weather is good and when I don't have to fight long lines (3 hour waits) to launch a boat. I buy a license every year but fish it maybe every other year and even then only a time or two a year. So it's an expensive way for me to get hali but it's SOoooo much better than attempting to fish them on the 3 days I can in WA.
My point is only that BC fishermen have it very, very good on a relative scale. On the other hand, you might notice that the portion of the catch allocated to recreational fishermen in WA, OR and CA is 0.53M/1.33M = 39.8%. If the recreational fishers in BC got that percentage, you'd be fishing for 2.96M pounds. So, the catch allocation could definitely be better but you're very lucky relative to us. That's why each year I spend about $150 to buy a BC fishing license and occasionally I fish for hali up there. In the past 3 years, I've taken a total of 2 halibut from the other side of the line. One about 35# and one around maybe 15#. I'm pleased to be able to fish there when the weather is good and when I don't have to fight long lines (3 hour waits) to launch a boat. I buy a license every year but fish it maybe every other year and even then only a time or two a year. So it's an expensive way for me to get hali but it's SOoooo much better than attempting to fish them on the 3 days I can in WA.
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ziggy
Well-Known Member
Interesting, I guess we in BC have similar feelings toward Alaska! Lol. Small population huge quota. Grass is always greener I suppose
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
I feel for you guys down South. That is a terrible system, and you are definitely getting the short end of the stick. Unfortunately, your brethren in Alaska are very unwilling to reduce their catch and wastage of the migratory species in there waters. You guys are definitely getting a raw deal down South.
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vic-tory
Guest
While true seadna and agree with many things in your post somewhat irrelevant as that's like saying (an exaggerated example) that those in Mexico are so much luckier than those in northern Cali for yellowfin. Ya more yellowfin down there but the ocean conditions (temps etc) are also a heck of a lot better for yellowfin so it would be expected there would be more.
Similarly conditions in bc are way better (colder water, feed etc) than Cali and Oregon and even Washington for survival of halibut and abundance. And Alaska even better than us, so I think that comparison is a little skewed. What we need is 20-22% of the resource we deserve.
Similarly conditions in bc are way better (colder water, feed etc) than Cali and Oregon and even Washington for survival of halibut and abundance. And Alaska even better than us, so I think that comparison is a little skewed. What we need is 20-22% of the resource we deserve.
We in WA feel the same way about those #$*#& in Alaska (and commercials in BC) ! Between Alaska and BC commercial fisheries, it's estimated that >80% of Columbia River and Grays Harbor tributary fish are intercepted before they ever get to WA. WA has been getting low-holed by Alaska (and to a lesser extent BC) commercial fisheries for years.
ziggy
Well-Known Member
I think we are in agreement seadna both our Federal governments put the priority on the commercial fishery.
I might be mistaken but don't the two Federal government's have a salmon treaty as well as a Halibut one? Seems to me they have a commission that divides the pie up for each country? Wonder how our northern neighbours make out with your share? I think maybe WA, gets boned by its Feds, not Canada or BC?
I might be mistaken but don't the two Federal government's have a salmon treaty as well as a Halibut one? Seems to me they have a commission that divides the pie up for each country? Wonder how our northern neighbours make out with your share? I think maybe WA, gets boned by its Feds, not Canada or BC?
I think we get boned by our feds, the Alaskan commercial fisheries and the BC commercial fisheries. I also think BC recreational guys are getting boned by the same crowd. However, things are even worse for you guys as you have little to no hatchery capacity and your wild fish have to compete for food against the HUGE numbers of hatchery fish dumped into the waters by Washington, Alaska, Russia and Japan. There's a finite carrying capacity in the Berring sea and when all of your neighbors dump far more hatchery fish in than you do, it has impact. So while many on the West Coast of VCI are rightfully thankful for the WA hatchery fish you catch off the coast (now the majority of your rec catch), the bigger picture is that you're getting screwed by not competing in the "hatchery marketplace" and not being able to prevent the damage done by others who do.
