Sushihunter
Active Member
http://www.canada.com/Halibut+allocation+policy+does+make+sense/1551549/story.html
Halibut allocation policy does make sense
By Jake Vander Heide, Courier-Islander May 1, 2009
I am President of the Pacific Halibut Management Association (PHMA), an organization representing commercial halibut licence holders. I am writing in response to Jeremy Maynard's April 22, article about the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Pacific Halibut Allocation Policy.
It is important to remember that Mr. Maynard comes from the commercial recreational sector - the fishing lodge and charter vessel side of the recreational fishery, which according to DFO accounts for the majority (69 per cent) of all recreationally-caught halibut. As such he has a vested interest in the halibut allocation issue; he is not an independent bystander.
There are many misrepresentations in Mr. Maynard's article; however, I will focus on just two. First, Mr. Maynard claims that there are "credible estimates accepted by government" that recreationally-caught halibut generates between $15 and $20 per pound for the economy. These estimates were not accepted by the federal government, are not credible and were simply manufactured by the recreational sector to promote its own self-interest. Second, despite Mr. Maynard's claim, the PHMA has never acknowledged recreational halibut are twice the value of commercially-caught halibut.
From Mr. Maynard's perspective, everyone except the recreational sector is wrong. The independent allocation advisor (a respected mediator and arbitrator and now a BC Supreme Court Judge) hired by DFO to recommend fair and equitable halibut allocations had it wrong when he advised 91 per cent for the commercial sector and nine per cent for the recreational sector. The then Liberal federal fisheries minister had it wrong when he subsequently announced in 2003 that the shares would be 88 per cent for the commercial sector and 12 per cent for the recreational sector (33 per cent above the recommended recreational allocation). Three subsequent federal fisheries ministers (one Liberal and two Conservative) had it wrong when they reviewed the facts and decided to support the halibut allocation policy. Commercial halibut fishermen have it wrong because they produce food for Canadians and provide jobs and incomes for British Columbians.
Mr. Maynard's article is a one-sided, vested interest diatribe. Maybe it is time that Mr. Maynard realizes that it is the recreational sector that has it wrong. Of course, in light of the twisted distortions in the Maynard article, he probably already knows this.
Jake vander Heide,
PHMA President
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
Halibut allocation policy does make sense
By Jake Vander Heide, Courier-Islander May 1, 2009
I am President of the Pacific Halibut Management Association (PHMA), an organization representing commercial halibut licence holders. I am writing in response to Jeremy Maynard's April 22, article about the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Pacific Halibut Allocation Policy.
It is important to remember that Mr. Maynard comes from the commercial recreational sector - the fishing lodge and charter vessel side of the recreational fishery, which according to DFO accounts for the majority (69 per cent) of all recreationally-caught halibut. As such he has a vested interest in the halibut allocation issue; he is not an independent bystander.
There are many misrepresentations in Mr. Maynard's article; however, I will focus on just two. First, Mr. Maynard claims that there are "credible estimates accepted by government" that recreationally-caught halibut generates between $15 and $20 per pound for the economy. These estimates were not accepted by the federal government, are not credible and were simply manufactured by the recreational sector to promote its own self-interest. Second, despite Mr. Maynard's claim, the PHMA has never acknowledged recreational halibut are twice the value of commercially-caught halibut.
From Mr. Maynard's perspective, everyone except the recreational sector is wrong. The independent allocation advisor (a respected mediator and arbitrator and now a BC Supreme Court Judge) hired by DFO to recommend fair and equitable halibut allocations had it wrong when he advised 91 per cent for the commercial sector and nine per cent for the recreational sector. The then Liberal federal fisheries minister had it wrong when he subsequently announced in 2003 that the shares would be 88 per cent for the commercial sector and 12 per cent for the recreational sector (33 per cent above the recommended recreational allocation). Three subsequent federal fisheries ministers (one Liberal and two Conservative) had it wrong when they reviewed the facts and decided to support the halibut allocation policy. Commercial halibut fishermen have it wrong because they produce food for Canadians and provide jobs and incomes for British Columbians.
Mr. Maynard's article is a one-sided, vested interest diatribe. Maybe it is time that Mr. Maynard realizes that it is the recreational sector that has it wrong. Of course, in light of the twisted distortions in the Maynard article, he probably already knows this.
Jake vander Heide,
PHMA President
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
