No recreational sportfishing in Nova Scotia... WTF??

[GLG]

All valid points but it does not change the facts that there is not enough fish now for the effort. I am in full support of habitat restoration and enhancement. Also just so it's out there i am not in favor of people sitting at home leasing quotas out for exorborant amounts of money.

Fish4all I agree with you on this statement. I am glad that you put this out there as my beef is not with active commercial halibut fisherman. I assume you are an active commercial fisherman and I hope others will take note and act accordingly. This debate seems to strike a nerve with many on both sides. I for one have let my better judgment escape me and may not have posted appropriate comments.

GLG

 

[Osama Bin Hopper]

I would prefer having AIDS to listening to your crap anymore fish4u.

 

[profisher]

The same reason the cod haven't come back on the east coast...the stocks were raped down to the brink...then throw in a few ill timed El Nino events (with its poor ocean survival), mackerel predation on the few remaining juveniles, an expanded FN fishery, water and land demands for ever growing human population and now fish farms...gee could any 2 year old figure it out? Do sport fishermen have an impact, of coarse we do. But there is a huge difference between fishing by the pound and fishing for fun or by the hour with 2 or 3 lines per boat.. As a charter operator I get paid the same amount if I find the customer his limit or nothing at all. How much does a commercial guy get paid for no fish? Which is more sustainable as our out of control population puts more and more pressure on eco-systems to support us?
The fact that the commercial net fleet is a mere shadow of itself still doesn't negate what they did then still impacts us now. I was around back into the 60's and witnessed their impact every weekend. I remember Alec Merriman writing the weekly commercial catch numbers in the TC paper and demanding a reduction in their take back then. I still have strong memories of great fishing until the nets got their 4 or 5 day openings...it was an immediate dead sea fishing behind them.

 

[fish4all]

The same reason the cod haven't come back on the east coast...the stocks were raped down to the brink...then throw in a few ill timed El Nino events (with its poor ocean survival), mackerel predation on the few remaining juveniles, an expanded FN fishery, water and land demands for ever growing human population and now fish farms...gee could any 2 year old figure it out? Do sport fishermen have an impact, of coarse we do. But there is a huge difference between fishing by the pound and fishing for fun or by the hour with 2 or 3 lines per boat.. As a charter operator I get paid the same amount if I find the customer his limit or nothing at all. How much does a commercial guy get paid for no fish? Which is more sustainable as our out of control population puts more and more pressure on eco-systems to support us?
The fact that the commercial net fleet is a mere shadow of itself still doesn't negate what they did then still impacts us now. I was around back into the 60's and witnessed their impact every weekend. I remember Alec Merriman writing the weekly commercial catch numbers in the TC paper and demanding a reduction in their take back then. I still have strong memories of great fishing until the nets got their 4 or 5 day openings...it was an immediate dead sea fishing behind them.

pro; i agree with your entire post. What was done in the past has affected the future. From the other side of the fence i have to point out that 250,000+ anglers with an estimate of 2.2 million fishing days is also part of the problem. Now that we have both had a chance to point fingers the true question is where to go from here?

 

[lorneparker1]

I still have strong memories of great fishing until the nets got their 4 or 5 day openings...it was an immediate dead sea fishing behind them.

fish the inlet after a commerial sockeye 12 hour opening. Its the same

 

[profisher]

Easy..DFO has got to go! Complete tear down and restructure from the top down. I have no remaining respect for the higher ups who allow political interference to destroy or impede the good work done by many sincere and concerned in the field employees. It's sad when good dedicated people leave out of frustration and the fat cats in Ottawa don't give a sh&t.

 

[fish4all]

Easy..DFO has got to go! Complete tear down and restructure from the top down. I have no remaining respect for the higher ups who allow political interference to destroy or impede the good work done by many sincere and concerned in the field employees. It's sad when good dedicated people leave out of frustration and the fat cats in Ottawa don't give a sh&t.

fully agree. I flew across with a senior retiring dfo guy 3 weeks ago. his comments were it was a great job for the first 15 years but over the last 20 since politics have gotten in the way of good management the job sucks.

 

[Ding Dong!]

Most anglers do not feel that there is any cause or effect by their individual effort, let alone think about the effort put forward by the entire rec sector. We all catch one fish here and one fish there, two fish, one fish. It can easily be described by the nickel and dime theory; you don't really notice a missing Nickel here or a missing dime there. add the entire rec sectors nickle & dime totals by all off the participants, the end result is quite large.

 

[profisher]

Ding Dong I'm not one of those guys. Those who know me will tell you that I think outside the box and often put fish first ahead of my needs and wants. Some things I want to see...both sport and FN to become 100% accountable for their catches...a study be commissioned to determine what impact uncontrolled growth in guide/lodge operations located in terminal areas are having or will have with those predominately terminal fisheries...annual limit of 8-10 for halibut...salmon hatchery production to be increased to previous levels to help sustain the wildlife and sea life that depend on those fish....more people from all fishing sectors getting involved in volunteer programs aimed at fish or habitat restoration. There are proportionally far more ex-commercial fishermen (that I've personally seen) involved over sport fishers doing this work now. Many say it is the guilt factor that motivates them to help out...doesn't matter the fact is they are there doing the work when most aren't.

 

[fish4all]

f4all, maybe cause im getting older and its my birthday, and ive had a bit of a zen moment, u and i have a completely different set of values in the terms of being Canadian, u probably werent born in Canada, and i can agree to disagree, but i am going to do my damndest to make sure that your type of spew is not passed on to the younger generations....holmes*

we definitly see things differently holmes and that is what this country is made of. Different walks of life and different opinions. As for me born and raised in PR and moved to the south to find some better weather.

by the way all differences aside.... happy birthday.

 

[searun]

Man it is time for the troll patrol to get out and kick some butt. Main point of this thread has been lost. If we all looked closely at the east coast rec fishery (what little exists) we would be marching down to our MP's office to pound on some tables. This is EXACTLY where DFO is going with all this ITQ stuff. And it plays directly into the hands of the Commies who are pining to have you and I off the water. Time for folks to wake up and smell the coffee - our days of sport fishing are numbered if we don't deal with this before it takes root like a bad cancer.

 

[MILLERTIME]

Man it is time for the troll patrol to get out and kick some butt. Main point of this thread has been lost. If we all looked closely at the east coast rec fishery (what little exists) we would be marching down to our MP's office to pound on some tables. This is EXACTLY where DFO is going with all this ITQ stuff. And it plays directly into the hands of the Commies who are pining to have you and I off the water. Time for folks to wake up and smell the coffee - our days of sport fishing are numbered if we don't deal with this before it takes root like a bad cancer.

Man did you ever hit the nail on the head with that one. But if we get rid of DFO what are we going to do?

 

[Gunsmith]

My answer to that question would be manage the fishery. That is what they are not doing.

 

[searun]

I think the main point is we need to keep the recreational fishery as ONE fishery, not add in a "commercial sport" fishery by selling quota to charter operators. This is a very dangerous concept and would only further severe the sport community. What folks at DFO and gov't seem to be missing is charter operators are simply facilitating other recreational anglers who do not have boats in getting out on the water. One recreational fishery, united is better than tempting a few charter operators with the financial incentive to purchase and own their own private stocks while other anglers sit tied up to the dock isn't good for the wonderful recreational fishing tradition this province has enjoyed for over 100 years. Stand up, or lose out.