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searun
Well-Known Member
Guess my point keeps getting missed, which is to make sure before you go out into the media that you are armed with a media package that leaves nothing to chance or interpretation. Most basic media relations courses tell you to have a one page hand out with your article and key messages already written. So often the case will be the reporter will cut and paste their article directly from your media release. By having key messages and strict speaking points prepared and handed out to all the participants in advance they can then refer to the material if interviewed etc. That way you control the message and not leave that to chance. Sorry, but there were a number of "joe fishermen" interviewed that spoke from the heart, but didn't position the message so that it couldn't be interpreted or made to sound like a headline clip to sell some papers..."fishermen mad as hell over cut back in daily catch limit."
Sorry, but I think we are trying to close the barn door after the cows have left. Best to get over the bad media, and move on.
I'm far more confident that our professional processes which are still ongoing will deliver better results for us. This protest just made us look bad to the public. Meanwhile behind the scenes there are others who are working more effectively (and quietly) to address concerns over catch limits for sporties. I'm confident the professional approach will ultimately deliver a result....just be patient.
I can appreciate folks wanted to do something, but this is a sensitive and complicated issue that doesn't lend itself well to a protest. Diplomacy is better in my view. Nice effort, well meaning but not the right strategy to advance our issue and in fact in the fullness of time it will become apparent that this actually hurt us.
Sorry, but I think we are trying to close the barn door after the cows have left. Best to get over the bad media, and move on.
I'm far more confident that our professional processes which are still ongoing will deliver better results for us. This protest just made us look bad to the public. Meanwhile behind the scenes there are others who are working more effectively (and quietly) to address concerns over catch limits for sporties. I'm confident the professional approach will ultimately deliver a result....just be patient.
I can appreciate folks wanted to do something, but this is a sensitive and complicated issue that doesn't lend itself well to a protest. Diplomacy is better in my view. Nice effort, well meaning but not the right strategy to advance our issue and in fact in the fullness of time it will become apparent that this actually hurt us.
P
phnapa
Guest
Please dont get the idea that the sportsfishermen are the only people getting cutback here. In 2007 if a commercial fisherman had 1% of the TAC (quota) it allowed them to catch 110,000lbs of halibut, if he happened to buy his quota in 2007 it would have cost him $34.00 per pound at a cost of just under 4 million dollars for the right to catch fish which we as sportsfishermen pay nothing more than the cost of a fishing license. That 1% in 2009 is 62,000lbs @ $38.00 per pound which leaves thier investment at 2.5 million dollars, a loss of 1.5 million dollars on thier investment, on top of the 40 plus thousand pounds that they can not catch @ a net profitt of $2-3 dollars a pound (depending on the price) equaling another $80-120,000.00 per year lost revinue. Not to mention the cameras that DFO makes them keep on thier boat ( $10,000 to buy), and the validation costs (approx $500.00 per trip). Just so DFO knows exactally how much fish the commercial sector is taking, not the guess work they do on the sport sector. Tere isint any sportsfishermen loosing their houses, boats or livelihood, because the limit is down this year, but comming from a small fishing town I can assure you there are commercial fishermen who are!!! Be happy with what we get for free, enjoy a day on the water with your family or friends, and be happy that you can . There are many people in the world that only dream of being able to do , and have what we do here!!!!!
W
walter
Guest
What sort of professional processes are you speaking off Searun?
M
mason.jar
Guest
My personal view on the overall strategy of the Friday May 9 protest, I think boasted fairly well in the public review. However I do believe the message that the Coalition was trying to communicate was lost in the media reporting. I can envision what Searun is trying to present in his dialog, but I think, he too is not offering an easy to follow instruction. The main issue is the division of TAC for halibut between user groups, the issue is not about conservation, however should be conservation minded in placing the message. By no means am I trying to steal the thunder away from the Coalition or it's participants, I believe that they did a an awesome job in showing that we as anglers can come together in order to deliver a message. Further we have learned something, we have developed problem solving dialog that is constructive and conducive to creating a successful end result once our ideas have been perfected. Now is not the time to give up, it is also not the time to stay the coarse, take your lessons and ideas and develop them further, perfect them and encourage every angler to help in what ever way they can. We can all do something and we can deliver the message that we are looking for substantial change in relation to our fishery opportunities. A good model to follow or develop ideas from is a group of anglers from Australia who formed from similar circumstance and created RecFish Au. http://www.recfish.com.au/ We don't need to copy, but certainly we can find some great ideas and vision, some solutions and direction. Mason
[www.savebcsalmon.ca]
[www.savebcsalmon.ca]
beemer
Well-Known Member
Another letter in todays Times Colonist.
Halibut limit makes sense
Times ColonistMay 14, 2009
B.C. Wildlife Association spokesperson Mel Arnold, arguing against the current halibut limit, states, "Nobody wants to go out and catch just one fish, so the money isn't being spent."
Not true. Every person who has a sports fishing licence is entitled to catch one beautiful big halibut, four salmon, some lingcod, rockcod, a great feed of crabs and hundreds of prawns each and every day of the season.
Slip away from the dock at first light. It's still, peaceful and quiet, save for the birds chattering up the morning. Skim over the deep, slow down by the shoreline to throw the crab traps overboard. On a perfect day, you jog by a family of killer whales and an eagle is giving you the eye from a scraggly treetop. Who could ask for anything more?
The charter sports fishing boats are different. It is a serious business with bigger, faster, more efficient boats. They are first on the halibut spot. Only the biggest halibut come on board. The others are knocked off the hooks. The monitoring for the charter sports boats is virtually nonexistent.
The B.C. Wildlife Federation is rallying for more and more. It is not rallying for the halibut.
Patricia Walters
Qualicum Beach
Halibut limit makes sense
Times ColonistMay 14, 2009
B.C. Wildlife Association spokesperson Mel Arnold, arguing against the current halibut limit, states, "Nobody wants to go out and catch just one fish, so the money isn't being spent."
Not true. Every person who has a sports fishing licence is entitled to catch one beautiful big halibut, four salmon, some lingcod, rockcod, a great feed of crabs and hundreds of prawns each and every day of the season.
Slip away from the dock at first light. It's still, peaceful and quiet, save for the birds chattering up the morning. Skim over the deep, slow down by the shoreline to throw the crab traps overboard. On a perfect day, you jog by a family of killer whales and an eagle is giving you the eye from a scraggly treetop. Who could ask for anything more?
The charter sports fishing boats are different. It is a serious business with bigger, faster, more efficient boats. They are first on the halibut spot. Only the biggest halibut come on board. The others are knocked off the hooks. The monitoring for the charter sports boats is virtually nonexistent.
The B.C. Wildlife Federation is rallying for more and more. It is not rallying for the halibut.
Patricia Walters
Qualicum Beach
To All who didn't see the message being sent out by the coalition. Here is the press release that was sent out to media to alert them of the event.
Halibut Anglers to Protest Unjust Allocation Policy
No longer willing to accept unfair treatment from Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, anglers are set to voice their anger. The Shock and Awe Protest Rally will take place in Victoria on Friday May 8th at 10:00 a.m. Outraged halibut anglers will congregate on Government Street in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with their boats on trailers to protest the failed Thibault halibut allocation policy.
This conflict results from Fisheries Minister Gail Shea refusing to implement the halibut allocation solution as recommended in the Hugh Gordon Report. The resulting negative impact to anglers and those businesses that supply them goods and services on the coast is significant. The public halibut fishing season has been cut by 27% and in 2009 Minister Shea authorized slashing the daily halibut catch limit by 50%. All this when the problem is a resolvable inter-sectoral allocation matter and has nothing to do with conservation. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IHPC) addresses all halibut conservation matters in the North Pacific by setting precautionary harvest levels in each area and BC’s halibut anglers have no intent to see Canada fish beyond their IPHC designated catch.
In early 2008 the Sport Fishing Advisory Board, the Pacific Halibut Management Association (who speak for 90% of commercial halibut fishermen), the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, the Ocean and Marine Fisheries Branch of the Provincial government as well as Pacific Fisheries and Oceans Canada came to a consensus under the facilitation of Mr. Gordon. The agreement was to authorize a compensated adjustment of halibut share between harvest sectors to maintain Canadian’s long-established access to the halibut resource.
“Local anglers are really ticked off; they’ve just had enough. This allocation mess must be resolved immediately. We’ll never ever permit other species of fish to be managed this way,” states Christopher Bos, the Steering Committee chair of Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, adding “Gail Shea is yet another Minister who comes from Canada’s east coast and appears content to unfairly restrict anglers from the British Columbia.”
The Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, who are organizing this rally, are an ad hoc group that represents the rights of resident tidal waters anglers, angling clubs, angling guides, fishing charters operators and all the businesses who provide service to the angling public. The Coalition was formed in February 2009 specifically to resolve the allocation injustice through education and action.
I do not read into this carefully written media release that the coalition ONLY wants is to BONK TWO FISH A DAY. CERTAINLY NOT! The media have fallen for the enviro Birkenstock crowd mistruths again.
Our best way is to keep this issue in the media. Relentlessly ensure the rebuttals and corrections come day in and day out. Now we have gone public we cannot wilt like delicate wallflowers without water. Stand up for your access to the resource you know we're right. Remember DFO poo pooed the Broughton lice infestation issue at first and dismissed Morton as a crackpot. Media bought that too at first. Now she's a legend.
What's wrong with getting the anglers and the public from the East Coast to understand that the lobster that live in the sea are theirs, but 100% quota gift to commercial and FNs blocks their access and government gave'em away too! Educate them to know that today's market for commercial caught lobster is so way down that Eastern Commercials are leaving their boats tied up and not even fishing their quota, yet poor Joe Public goes to jail if he catches a lobster as there is no public fishery.
Let's keep up the fight. The stakes for our fishery tomorrow are far too high not to. The pressure on Minister Shea needs to be racheted up even more. Ideas of how and what public action should be next are all welcome. The coalition are planning a trip to Ottawa to lobby politicians on allocation face-to-face and feel it would be very beneficial to have their delegates team up with others reps from all the big angling and sport fish industry groups and go as one, united in our major lobby effort.
Gov
God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton
Halibut Anglers to Protest Unjust Allocation Policy
No longer willing to accept unfair treatment from Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, anglers are set to voice their anger. The Shock and Awe Protest Rally will take place in Victoria on Friday May 8th at 10:00 a.m. Outraged halibut anglers will congregate on Government Street in Victoria’s Inner Harbour with their boats on trailers to protest the failed Thibault halibut allocation policy.
This conflict results from Fisheries Minister Gail Shea refusing to implement the halibut allocation solution as recommended in the Hugh Gordon Report. The resulting negative impact to anglers and those businesses that supply them goods and services on the coast is significant. The public halibut fishing season has been cut by 27% and in 2009 Minister Shea authorized slashing the daily halibut catch limit by 50%. All this when the problem is a resolvable inter-sectoral allocation matter and has nothing to do with conservation. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IHPC) addresses all halibut conservation matters in the North Pacific by setting precautionary harvest levels in each area and BC’s halibut anglers have no intent to see Canada fish beyond their IPHC designated catch.
In early 2008 the Sport Fishing Advisory Board, the Pacific Halibut Management Association (who speak for 90% of commercial halibut fishermen), the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, the Ocean and Marine Fisheries Branch of the Provincial government as well as Pacific Fisheries and Oceans Canada came to a consensus under the facilitation of Mr. Gordon. The agreement was to authorize a compensated adjustment of halibut share between harvest sectors to maintain Canadian’s long-established access to the halibut resource.
“Local anglers are really ticked off; they’ve just had enough. This allocation mess must be resolved immediately. We’ll never ever permit other species of fish to be managed this way,” states Christopher Bos, the Steering Committee chair of Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, adding “Gail Shea is yet another Minister who comes from Canada’s east coast and appears content to unfairly restrict anglers from the British Columbia.”
The Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, who are organizing this rally, are an ad hoc group that represents the rights of resident tidal waters anglers, angling clubs, angling guides, fishing charters operators and all the businesses who provide service to the angling public. The Coalition was formed in February 2009 specifically to resolve the allocation injustice through education and action.
I do not read into this carefully written media release that the coalition ONLY wants is to BONK TWO FISH A DAY. CERTAINLY NOT! The media have fallen for the enviro Birkenstock crowd mistruths again.
Our best way is to keep this issue in the media. Relentlessly ensure the rebuttals and corrections come day in and day out. Now we have gone public we cannot wilt like delicate wallflowers without water. Stand up for your access to the resource you know we're right. Remember DFO poo pooed the Broughton lice infestation issue at first and dismissed Morton as a crackpot. Media bought that too at first. Now she's a legend.
What's wrong with getting the anglers and the public from the East Coast to understand that the lobster that live in the sea are theirs, but 100% quota gift to commercial and FNs blocks their access and government gave'em away too! Educate them to know that today's market for commercial caught lobster is so way down that Eastern Commercials are leaving their boats tied up and not even fishing their quota, yet poor Joe Public goes to jail if he catches a lobster as there is no public fishery.
Let's keep up the fight. The stakes for our fishery tomorrow are far too high not to. The pressure on Minister Shea needs to be racheted up even more. Ideas of how and what public action should be next are all welcome. The coalition are planning a trip to Ottawa to lobby politicians on allocation face-to-face and feel it would be very beneficial to have their delegates team up with others reps from all the big angling and sport fish industry groups and go as one, united in our major lobby effort.
Gov
God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling - Izaak Walton
searun, you keep missing the point! Those political or how you call them professional processes have been trying in vain for many years now to come up with a reasonable solution. At some point you need to try or add different approaches - which was done here. Protesting cannot replace the boardroom negotiations but it can greatly improve your bargaining position with politicians. So nothing was wasted but rather gained. Nothing was made worse - your statements here are unjustified. Could there have been an even better organized protest including some of your suggestions? Probably yes. There is always room for improvement. Maybe the next rallys along the west coast will embrace some of the ideas you and others can bring forward. But was this rally the right action at the right time? Absolutely! Don't get confused over a few ill-informed letters - I have seen tons more objection letter on glass-clear issues such as e.g. potable water needs to be clean....
M
mason.jar
Guest
Governor
The best front and successful resolve will come from actions less passion and anger. Both do not mix well as a fruitful tasting cocktail. Adjust your strategy to become more level and informative. Win the public with well thought out meaningful dialog. Passion is good, but mixed with anger, it is fruitless. Mason
[www.savebcsalmon.ca]
The best front and successful resolve will come from actions less passion and anger. Both do not mix well as a fruitful tasting cocktail. Adjust your strategy to become more level and informative. Win the public with well thought out meaningful dialog. Passion is good, but mixed with anger, it is fruitless. Mason
[www.savebcsalmon.ca]
searun
Well-Known Member
The best front and successful resolve will come from actions less passion and anger. Both do not mix well as a fruitful tasting cocktail. Adjust your strategy to become more level and informative. Win the public with well thought out meaningful dialog. Passion is good, but mixed with anger, it is fruitless. Mason
Thanks Mason, well said. Time for us to engage in some positive steps to sit down with DFO again and press our point professionally through a process such as the SFAB as opposed to showing our angry side. Plenty of good progress being made even outside the SFAB process by others who are engaging DFO in ongoing discussion.
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