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Charter operators, sport fishermen raise halibut concerns
By Alan Hale - The Northern View
Published: January 18, 2011 11:00 PM
Prince Rupert charter boat operators and hobby fishers are taking part in a letter-writing campaign to get the federal government to increase the share of the Pacific halibut quota that is reserved for the recreational fishery.
This is because they believe their halibut season will be forced to close halfway through if something isn’t done.
“If we open the fishery on February 1, at two fish per day with three in possession we will run out of TAC (total allowable catch) by the middle of July,” said Ken Franzen to the people crowded inside the Rod and Gun clubhouse last week.
The reasons why the recreational halibut fishery - which includes both hobbyist fishers and charter boat operators - may have to close in July are a bit complicated.
The amount of Pacific halibut everyone in the US and Canada is allowed to catch in a year is set by an organization called the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). Once the IPHC sets the quota, the federal government sets aside the amount it is obligated to give to First Nations and then the rest of the quota is split between the commercial and recreational fisheries.
In 2003 it was decided that 88 per cent of the quota would go to commercial fishers and the remaining 12 per cent went to recreational fishers and it has worked that way ever since. According to Franzen, 12 per cent just isn’t enough to catch the 1.5-million pounds of halibut the recreational fishery needs in order to keep the season to open. In past years the fishery spent money the B.C. Sports Fishery Advisory Board received in a settlement with commercial fishers from 2004 to buy extra quota.
“Up until now, we’ve been using that money, the DFO has been using that money to buy quota from the commercial guys to shore-up the recreational fishery. And that money is gone now,” says Franzen.
According to DFO representatives, the department has no plans to increase the recreational fishery’s share of the halibut quota.
That’s the way it should be according to president of the United Fisherman Allied Workers Union, Irvin Figg.
“Why should one business interest be able to increase their revenue at the expense of another? That’s basically what it boils down to. The majority of halibut caught in the recreational fishery aren’t caught by the guys who just go out and catch a halibut, it’s caught mostly by charter boats and lodges. They’re businesses,” says Fig.
At the Rod and Gun Club meeting, some charter boat operators admit that while the loss of the halibut fishery in July would hurt their businesses it would not cause them to go out of business.
Franzen argues that they want Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to take commercial quotas away from people who don’t fish them and instead lease them out to other fishers for a profit; known by fishers as “flipper skippers”.
Fig says the union has no current position on flipper skippers, but points out that commercial fishers also lease quota from them just to make a living.
At the end of the meeting of the Rod and Gun Club, Franzen was invited to make a presentation to the Prince Rupert City Council and Port Edward council.
Charter operators, sport fishermen raise halibut concerns
Fishermen write letters to the federal government outlining their concerns about the allocation of halibut.
Alan S. Hale photo
Published: January 18, 2011 11:00 PM
Prince Rupert charter boat operators and hobby fishers are taking part in a letter-writing campaign to get the federal government to increase the share of the Pacific halibut quota that is reserved for the recreational fishery.
This is because they believe their halibut season will be forced to close halfway through if something isn’t done.
“If we open the fishery on February 1, at two fish per day with three in possession we will run out of TAC (total allowable catch) by the middle of July,” said Ken Franzen to the people crowded inside the Rod and Gun clubhouse last week.
The reasons why the recreational halibut fishery - which includes both hobbyist fishers and charter boat operators - may have to close in July are a bit complicated.
The amount of Pacific halibut everyone in the US and Canada is allowed to catch in a year is set by an organization called the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). Once the IPHC sets the quota, the federal government sets aside the amount it is obligated to give to First Nations and then the rest of the quota is split between the commercial and recreational fisheries.
In 2003 it was decided that 88 per cent of the quota would go to commercial fishers and the remaining 12 per cent went to recreational fishers and it has worked that way ever since. According to Franzen, 12 per cent just isn’t enough to catch the 1.5-million pounds of halibut the recreational fishery needs in order to keep the season to open. In past years the fishery spent money the B.C. Sports Fishery Advisory Board received in a settlement with commercial fishers from 2004 to buy extra quota.
“Up until now, we’ve been using that money, the DFO has been using that money to buy quota from the commercial guys to shore-up the recreational fishery. And that money is gone now,” says Franzen.
According to DFO representatives, the department has no plans to increase the recreational fishery’s share of the halibut quota.
That’s the way it should be according to president of the United Fisherman Allied Workers Union, Irvin Figg.
“Why should one business interest be able to increase their revenue at the expense of another? That’s basically what it boils down to. The majority of halibut caught in the recreational fishery aren’t caught by the guys who just go out and catch a halibut, it’s caught mostly by charter boats and lodges. They’re businesses,” says Fig.
At the Rod and Gun Club meeting, some charter boat operators admit that while the loss of the halibut fishery in July would hurt their businesses it would not cause them to go out of business.
Franzen argues that they want Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to take commercial quotas away from people who don’t fish them and instead lease them out to other fishers for a profit; known by fishers as “flipper skippers”.
Fig says the union has no current position on flipper skippers, but points out that commercial fishers also lease quota from them just to make a living.
At the end of the meeting of the Rod and Gun Club, Franzen was invited to make a presentation to the Prince Rupert City Council and Port Edward council.
