HALIBUT LETTER IN COMOX PAPER

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Halibut allocation ‘theft’
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Published: March 12, 2009 6:00 PM

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Dear editor,

First off, I would like to congratulate the Comox Valley Record for publishing the two letters to the editor submitted regarding halibut, herring and seals, all of which are serious issues facing the economy on Vancouver Island.

North Island MP John Duncan fully supports the ridiculous, unworkable and unconstitutional gift of 88 per cent of the coast-wide halibut quota handed to the commercial sector some years ago.

Despite the massive negative effect on the whole of Vancouver Island’s and, for that matter, the entire west coast of B.C.’s economy, Mr. Duncan flatly refuses to believe that this Halibut Allocation Framework, especially in these tough economic times, impacts those who live in his riding.

The multi-billion-dollar-a-year sports fishing industry supports thousands of Vancouver Island residents and businesses, and also brings in many times the dollars of the entire commercial sector. Time and time again this valuable economic driver has taken the back seat to commercial fishing interests.

The current halibut situation is nothing short of a theft of a common public resource given to a few hundred licence holders who, for the most part, lease out these valuable commodities, never setting foot on a fishing vessel.

Mr. Duncan’s unwavering support of the commercial fishing sector (as well as fish farming) should be called into question.

The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

This valuable resource was fished last year with two years’ worth of herring roe still sitting in Vancouver waiting to be sold. It would be nice to find out what Mr. Pattison received for his low-quality, undersized herring roe and what it was actually used for.

Net sizes have been reduced year after year to catch what is left, mainly two-year-old herring. Long gone are all other age classes of herring (up to 12-year-old). Harvesting the roe from these tiny two-year-old herring at eight-to-10-per-cent egg mass instead of the recommended or industry standard of 14 per cent is nothing short of mindless.

This fishery is run out of our local Comox DFO office. Anyone who spends any time on the water trying to catch a salmon, or wonders why our salmon stocks, both local and those migrating through our waters, are at historically low levels needs to look no further afield than what will happen over the next few weeks right under our noses.

Tom Downton,

Courtenay
 
quote:The annual commercial herring roe fishery is about to take place right in our own back yard, and with the herring stocks dwindling to near-collapse, and DFO supporting another Jimmy Pattison-controlled commercial fishery, when will the public finally speak up to end the foolish harvest?

This valuable resource was fished last year with two years’ worth of herring roe still sitting in Vancouver waiting to be sold. It would be nice to find out what Mr. Pattison received for his low-quality, undersized herring roe and what it was actually used for.

Net sizes have been reduced year after year to catch what is left, mainly two-year-old herring. Long gone are all other age classes of herring (up to 12-year-old). Harvesting the roe from these tiny two-year-old herring at eight-to-10-per-cent egg mass instead of the recommended or industry standard of 14 per cent is nothing short of mindless.

This fishery is run out of our local Comox DFO office. Anyone who spends any time on the water trying to catch a salmon, or wonders why our salmon stocks, both local and those migrating through our waters, are at historically low levels needs to look no further afield than what will happen over the next few weeks right under our noses.

Tom Downton,

Courtenay

Tom should find out what happened in the herring fishery this year before putting another foot in his mouth. Pretty soon the sports sector is going to have to realize how much impact they are having on salmon. Blame the seals, blame the commercials, blame the natives....time to take a look in your own back yard.
 
Do you have any stats on what sporties catch fish4? I understand the most significant catch by far is springs at about a third of what the commercials catch. I'd like to see some numbers and get a better idea.

Captain Dudds
 
quote:Originally posted by Captain Dudds

Do you have any stats on what sporties catch fish4? I understand the most significant catch by far is springs at about a third of what the commercials catch. I'd like to see some numbers and get a better idea.

Captain Dudds
does anyone have real stats on the sports sector??
 
quote:Originally posted by fish4all

quote:Originally posted by Captain Dudds

Do you have any stats on what sporties catch fish4? I understand the most significant catch by far is springs at about a third of what the commercials catch. I'd like to see some numbers and get a better idea.
does anyone have real stats on the sports sector??

So you don't actully know? Just an opinion, maybe?
 
quote:
So you don't actully know? Just an opinion, maybe?
Definitely my opinion. The commercial number is known down to the fish. The other two sectors it's just a wild butt guess. I just find it funny that most of what I read has to do with cutting back on other groups as long as it benefits the lodge and charter clients. Getting kind of tired of the same old stuff. Personally I have always thought there should be enough fish around if managed properly for all sectors to prosper. Again just an opinion.

My point is clean up your own fishery before you start trying to take fish from other groups. The "Alberta Pipeline" from Prince Rupert is a great example. The same boats are always there with a handful of letters and a truck with a full size deep freeze in the back. Those in the lower mainland that fill their limits, take it to a processor and ship it home while they continue to fill the next cooler need to be curtailed. We have American charter boats sitting on the west coast that never leave and have a stream of "friends" show up. Guides on here have admitted to “gifting” there limits to clients. These are the people responsible for the shortage of our fish.

Put in realistic limits (10 springs, 10 hali) and clean up the sports fishery, then see how much fish we are short.
 
quote: The "Alberta Pipeline" from Prince Rupert is a great example. The same boats are always there with a handful of letters and a truck with a full size deep freeze in the back.

I've witnessed this one first hand. Pretty obvious abuse of the resource
 
Having said "witnessed the fact" that would make you an accessory to the crime. About what is going on it is a lack of enforcement on behalf of the DFO. They have a dragon by the tail and nothing to fight it with. The management is catering to the big and rich and ignoring the problems they create and leaving a poorly equipped and low staffed department to work with inaccurate numbers and directions from a group that is deliberately blind and deaf to the real matters of conservation and protection.
I am not trying to berate any one about the witnessing bit but trying to alert people to be careful of what they say in the presence of the wrong ears.

IMG_1445.jpg
 
quote:
The "Alberta Pipeline" from Prince Rupert is a great example. The same boats are always there with a handful of letters and a truck with a full size deep freeze in the back. Those in the lower mainland that fill their limits, take it to a processor and ship it home while they continue to fill the next cooler need to be curtailed. We have American charter boats sitting on the west coast that never leave and have a stream of "friends" show up.

Here in Tahsis, we hear the same stories. Last year, DFO & RCMP stopped a bunch of them only to find that there were no truck loads of fish going out of town. Yet we always hear of eye witnesses who have seen pickup trucks loaded with fish leaving town at midnight headed to some processor.

I'm still not sure how much faith to put into these urban legends. [?]

Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://ca.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250
 
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