Eco Groups Want Emergency protection for Resident Orcas!

Why don't we wait for facts first as nothing is final. This is just like halibut thread again. Doom....Doom...Doom. Area 19 and 20 won't know anything anyway until 3rd week of June. It always happens that way.

No board members are going to say anything until negotiations are done. That wouldn't be in anyone's interest. Stop stirring.

I am sure we will see some pain but not that bad.
 
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there is some information circulating that you don't appear to have S..V.

Nothing would surprise me regarding summer salmon restrictions but all this speculation and rumors of "information out there" serves no purpose.
Let wait until be get news from credible sources.
 
there is some information circulating that you don't appear to have S..V.

Scott the department will give a proposal first then there is negotiation. I doubt Tom Cole or Chris Bos your area reps are going to prematurely spread the doom and gloom. That leads to panic and misinformation. We go through this every year. Nothing is in stone. All I am saying why panic before you don't know. It shouldn't be shocking either we all known about this for a while.
 
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I think the concern we all have is the constant press regarding Orca decline and the general public not feeling much sympathy for sport fishers. If I was a betting man I’d say it’s well in the favor of Orcas that closures may start becoming far more aggressive. Hope I’m wrong but in this province honest contributors to the economy aren’t treated with the kind of respect with should. You’ve got to be a member of a fringe group to influence policy. We’re too moderate and normal. I know feds manage the resource but all this **** starts with the special interest people living here in BC.
 
I personally think that these quiet zones are going to debunk the theories that small boat traffic interferes or prevents them from normal foraging activities. I know from being around these animals all my life that they will not favour quiet zones with few fish over zones with heavy boat traffic that hold lots of fish. I also think that if this year the Fraser Chinook runs are as weak as last summer the SRKW will once again spend most of their time targeting the more plentiful Columbia River bound Chinook outside of JDFS. In other words this all means squat until the Fraser River Chinook problem is fixed and the whales once again have a reason to frequent their traditional feeding grounds within JDFS and the Salish Sea.
 
Not sure this will upload but here goes....
 

Attachments

  • SRKW Discussion Paper Final Feb 15 2018.pdf
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Well we can do two things as a sector about this:

1) Whine, complain, fight amongst ourselves, and do nothing but talk doom and gloom and basically give up!

This is what the Enviro's FN's, DFO and their political masters want and expect us to do and we will face increased regulations, closures, no fishing zones, etc. as we will be the easiest sector to target with restrictions as we don't have much of history to unite, organize, build alliances and lobby the decision makers (like ALL the other sectors, FN's and Enviro's do to their success). OR,

2) We can unite, organize, build alliances and push back and lobby the decision makers that restrictions and closures are NOT the answer!

The simple fact is this - if they shut all the fishing down in Areas 19 and 20 for the entire year, the approximate 25000 Chinook we catch annually would feed the SRKW for about a month! So how is this a solution to starving orcas? It is not, it is just a misdirected response based on politics, not science that we need to correct.

All this pain (negative impacts to local economies, tourism, small businesses, etc.) for very little gain. It is all just political knee jerk reaction responding to pressure from those groups that do not like rec fishing. So what do we do - we push back! We lobby for a sensible solution that contains both short term (some conservation measures for all sectors including FN's, reducing sound pollution, regulating marine traffic, etc.) and longer term actions like increasing hatchery production, reducing pollution and predation levels, habitat restoration, etc.

So, what to do:
1) if you haven't written a letter or an email to your MP, DFO Minister, Prime Minister then do so! If you have already written then do it again. http://www.ourcommons.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members
2) join a rec sector advocacy or lobbying group like SVIAC, SFI-BC, West Coast Fishing Guides, BC Drift Fishers Fed., BCWF, etc. These groups need your support of $ and time in this fight - time to put our money where are mouths are. https://anglerscoalition.com/
3) show up at upcoming meetings that various rec sector fishing groups will be putting on to show your support, voice your concerns, share info and get better organized.

The time to put action behind our words is now!
 
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Unfortunately the Orca problem has become political...just like those big brown eyed Seals and Sea Lions which due to their population explosion have become a big part of the problem but can't be culled.
DFO have zeroed in on the declining Chinook feeding opportunities for the Orcas May thru Sept in the Southern VI area as the cause of the recent decline in their population as it is convenient.
It is hard to understand how anyone can come to the conclusion that by severely restricting or banning Sport Fishermen in this area will solve the problem.
I can remember jigging herring in both Porlier and Active Pass in August and herring were everywhere! Orcas would often come thru Active Pass feeding on herring. Try and find herring in any abundance in those areas now. Herring have been overfished for years and no doubt this has contributed to both Salmon and Orca declines.
A quick Google search will show you information such as this.
"Southern residents are fish-eating orcas that appear to prefer the Chinook salmon to other fish species.
From visual sources, necropsy, and feces collection, the following food preferences have been reported:[4]

Salmon 97%
Chinook (78% in late spring and fall)
Chum (11%, more so in Fall)
Coho (5%)
Steelhead (2%)
Sockeye (1%)

Other fish 3%
e.g. Pacific herring
Northwest killer whales are among the most contaminated marine mammals in the world, due to the high levels of toxic anthropogenic chemicals that accumulate in their tissues.[18] Implicated in the decline of Orca populations in the Pacific Northwest, these widespread contaminants pose a large problem for conservation efforts. While many chemicals can be found in the tissues of Orca, the most common are DDT, an insecticide, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.[19] Each of these have detrimental physiological effects on orca,[20] and can be found in such high concentrations in dead individuals that those individuals must be disposed of in hazardous waste site.[21]"
 
Last couple of posts are 100 percent on the money. One small suggestion being to focus on what all vessel operators can do to avoid disrupting feeding behaviours. Keeping a 400 meter spatial exclusion zone or bubble would do more to help whales than some closed areas. Turning off sounder's and slowly leaving areas where whales are is the best way for us to help them successfully acquire prey.

DFO is opening consultations through the SFAB and other out-reaches. Go visit their website for more info and download the response/input form and send it in. If we all work to find meaningful solutions that help the whales it will make a difference
 
Victoria and Area SFAB Committee is holding three emergency meetings to address the recent proposed fishing closures related to Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery.

Monday February 26th - 7:30 pm - Sidney Anglers at Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney

Wednesday February 28th - 7:30pm - Esquimalt Anglers CLubhouse, 1101 Munro Street, VIctoria

Tuesday March 6th - 7:30pm - Prestige Hotel, Sooke


SFAB Representatives will present the maps contained in the DFO proposed closure document released on Friday February 16th by DFO and will seek input and advice from their constituents.

These meetings are open to the public and are free to attend - If you are a salmon or ground fish angler please make a point of attend as we would really like to hear your perspective
 
Last couple of posts are 100 percent on the money. One small suggestion being to focus on what all vessel operators can do to avoid disrupting feeding behaviours. Keeping a 400 meter spatial exclusion zone or bubble would do more to help whales than some closed areas. Turning off sounder's and slowly leaving areas where whales are is the best way for us to help them successfully acquire prey.

DFO is opening consultations through the SFAB and other out-reaches. Go visit their website for more info and download the response/input form and send it in. If we all work to find meaningful solutions that help the whales it will make a difference

360 degree of protection 365 days of the year.....
 
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