Everyone needs to attand this meeting..sfab

[wolf]

Here’s hoping each of you had a great summer and were able to get out and catch a fish or two.



Our South Coast Sport Fishing Advisory Board post-season meeting is coming up in early December. In order to provide guidance to your local representatives who will be attending that Nanaimo meeting, we need to hold our own local Victoria-area SFAB Committee meeting in advance. For that reason I have confirmed the West Shore Ball Room at the Four Points Sheraton Victoria Gateway Hotel in Langford for the Victoria SFAB local Committee meeting on Wednesday 24th November 2010 at 7:30PM.



A meeting agenda and directions map to the hotel will be circulated in the near future. Please add this important meeting date to your calendars and plan to attend. Please also advise all your angling friends that they are welcome to attend as well (room seating capacity takes 150 easily). This will be an important meeting as again discussion will focus on how Early Timed Fraser Chinook will affect our local fisheries next spring and the difficulties associated with the 2011 sport Halibut season.



I look forward to seeing you there,



Chris Bos

Local Victoria-area Committee Chair

Sport Fishing Advisory Board

(250) 652-4141

C.Bos@shaw.ca

What ive been told fellow members is:

They want to shut down halibut and have a very very very short opening !!!!!!!!this is going to be coast wide also our summer spring season will be worse then last year so I PLEASE ASK you all to attend this meeting as it is very important. any questions im sure chris will answer any e-mails

Guys this is going to be really really bad from what ive heard, Chris and the sfab and comittee members need your support and just not people ranting now is the time to stand up and fight for our fishery if not it will be all gone.
again PLEASE mark this date down on your calendar and attend

Thanks Roy

 

[sammyslabber]

Is the sky falling or is it just bad news never the less it's time to round up the troops & defend are position boys & girls lets hope for a good turnout express are concern Regards to all members Sammy

 

[Time]

TTT because it may be important.

 

[wolf]

This is very important but and you will hear how much afterwards our fishery is in bad hands right now. as from the interest ive seen seems not too many care so be it thats fine but when its gone dont say you havent been warned.Unfortunatlly ill be out of province as all of you know I attend every one of these meetings so please go and stick up for me once.thanks

Good luck Wolf

 

[dohboy]

i am planning on going, is anyone else from here attending

 

[Deewar25]

i am planning on going, is anyone else from here attending

I should be there

 

[chris73]

I'll be there.

 

[Rob H]

I'll be there along with at least 4 fishing partners.

...Roib

 

[fahcups]

I will be there! Will drum up a couple of fishin buds as well! Cheers FC

 

[sammyslabber]

With this weather might be a little Ify for me if someone is comming from town or Gorge area maybe I could hitch a ride you can email me sammyslabber@shaw.ca thanxs Sammy

 

[Deewar25]

Update from the meeting - decent turnout seeing the weather risk - I counted around 58, well off the spring session, but of course we aren't screaming in the fall for openings. No real guidance as to openings, there has been a closed door discussion to present an idea to DFO regarding the current 88/12 halibut. We are of course wanting to bump that up but a true % is not known. Looking for a 2/2 or 2/3. As profisher mentioned, current status looks pretty grim as we were 71000 lbs over last year and have zero cash this year to buy. We are looking at a 830k quota vs the 1.1m we ended up with last year. This of course is being fought by the SFAB.

As for salmon - just as grim there. Still have current ongoing FN pressure to shut down sports for the early Fraser. We are not budging. What got us in the mess is lack of data. We MUST turn in all clipped heads to give a good indication of true run passing through JDF. They based last year on 2 tags of which there were few additional heads in the sample to judge consumption. If there were 1000's of non CWT clipped returned and only the 2 tags, they could extrapolate the fact that we have little impact, but given how few heads come in, they have to 'assume' much greater % and slapped a 20% impact on us for those 2 heads! This is our fault and the fault of the collection depots. How many of you realize Cheanuh still has a collection depot? Apparently it is the freezer in the office. Please use it. Same problem at Esquimalt Angler - they have freezers, but they are inside, and by the time you come in from fishing, they are locked up. How is this helpful???? This happened to me this year and we ended up trucking our heads to Outfitters, but how many people would bother? The underlying message, get those heads in regardless of how much of a pain it is. So in essence, we will likely find the same restrictions for early season, but once again SFAB is arguing the fact that we have little impact on these precious runs.

Also of discussion was the issue of snagging in the lower reach of the Sooke River. Apparently quite a major problem and the enforcement is constantly trying to tweak the rules to try to eliminate this. They went from treble, to single, and now want single no bigger than 15mm (I think). We also recommended better signage around the river so there are no excuses. It was mentioned that fly fisherman that are generally not monitored can infact snag much easier than those with a big ol shank hook. Those that are fined have typically not been repeat offenders, but I'd say the fine ($150) is too low. At the same time, it is a hard case to defend seeing that you have to be certain its a true malicious snagging motion and not just 'feeling a bump' and trying to set the hook. I can appreciate that can sometimes be difficult.

That was the meat/potatoes of the meeting. Other notes. It was all agreed that we will recommend first nations on the fraser get their data collected by an independent third party collection just like we have with Creel survey. We can't rely on the numbers given by the tribes. Prawns - expected to be closed from Jan 1 to April as there are concerns a bit much was taken this year. Crab traps - no floating lines allowed and they are proposing we ALL use the same buoys for flyover counts - red/white. Resistance to that as how the hell do you tell one from the other when you are going to pull your trap??? Was also approved to review the impact to salmon stocks that the seals have on the Cowichan (not sure if it was just Cow or all island rivers). Thats about it from my notes.

Interesting catch facts for 2010 from the creel surveys - March to Sept.

Area 19, chinook 1029, halibut 3634, coho 22, sockeye 95
Area 20-5 (us) chinook 6522, halibut 1052, coho 654, sockeye 10471

area 19 released chinook 353, halibut 476, coho 13, no socks
area 20-5 released chinook 2702, halibut 86, coho 1536, sockeye 756

Hope that helps you all - if I missed anything important, or anything is wrong, please correct!

 

[casper5280]

thanks for posting the notes Deewar25

 

[sammyslabber]

Thanx Deewar for lettn us in on the info from the meeting hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come note; cheanuh reg, maybe it would be better to drop our hatch heads off @ pedder bay marina on the way home to ensure they get counted in a more timely matter !

 

[dohboy]

i wish i could have made it , but was sick as a dog, still trying to kick this damn bug
tks for the info from those that did attend

 

[wolf]

hello from sask boys,Very glad a lot of you showed up. If you remeber guys I asked a lot of you in the summer to get ahold of Chris and get a survey book so DFO could have data as I was doing it and implored you ALL to do the same, well the piper has piped apperntly!!!!!! this is the $hits!!!!!!
ill be putting my book in this year because what the real truth is the CREEL survey people is false information, and VOODOO counting.
So for all of you who said ahhh yeah ill get to it well our season next year may be in the pipes we need to take action and maybe do it for the future whats it really going to hurt????? as if we dont you might as well say good bye to any future fishing.
NO action is bad if we just sit back and do nothing well thats your right but dont get mad when it is gone !!! WE have the most people on our coast fishing vic/sooke area as we have the most fishing but seem to think let the other guy fight??? what is wrong with fighting back????.

Frustrating yes but the end NO. imn going to fight even harder and ask more involement later.

Good luck Wolf

 

[Derby]

There is something being set up on varous location on the island to deal with the halibut issue-This will require everyone and I mean everyone to get involved-More to come shortly

 

[savy]

wolf

Savy here i would like to help just let me know ok
were and when you need me
Serge

my email is savy@shaw.ca

 

[wolf]

Savy here i would like to help just let me know ok
were and when you need me
Serge

my email is savy@shaw.ca

Ill know more when I get into town in a few more days good thing im out here killing got to release this anger.

Thanks

Wolf

Right on derby thats what we need more invovement if we come to a meeting with all people who fish DFO will have to report back ohhh ohhh this guys are really pi$$ed we need 500 people to go then they know we are VERY f-en serious, we have the most people here fishing but we seem to sit back and have this wait and see mentality we have to stop that and fight back now and help SFAB and Chris with all and any ammo we can give them the more the better its in our hands and lets deal with it!!!!!!

 

[Derby]

Ill know more when I get into town in a few more days good thing im out here killing got to release this anger.

Thanks

Wolf

Right on derby thats what we need more invovement if we come to a meeting with all people who fish DFO will have to report back ohhh ohhh this guys are really pi$$ed we need 500 people to go then they know we are VERY f-en serious, we have the most people here fishing but we seem to sit back and have this wait and see mentality we have to stop that and fight back now and help SFAB and Chris with all and any ammo we can give them the more the better its in our hands and lets deal with it!!!!!!

Agree- will have more details on the what & where next week- We will be setting up something on 3 central place on the island

 

[profisher]

It is very very disappointing that the turnout for the 2 annual Victoria SFAC meetings (fall and spring) are more often not full houses as they should be. I saw maybe 5 or 6 local guides at the most recent meeting. There are well over 100 guides listed online in the Victoria/Sooke area. Are the rest of you telling us you are to busy to show up and support your local board that is working very hard on your behalf? Attending 2 meetings a year is hardly a big personal sacrifice of your time. I'm sure you will show up when more bad news is released and it is too late!!! I can't help think that many of you are not sincere in your concern for the future of our fisheries and are merely in the business for your own personal needs. Harsh words...you bet...time to wake up!!!!!!!!! Your SFAB works hard on your behalf and just like a hockey game a full house motivates the home team more than and empty one!