Just back from a Town Hall meeting in Kitimat. They have organized a task force with very high participation and taken the message all over their town as well as to neighbouring Terrace. They have developed their own web site, hand outs, and buttons. Their meeting was on Sunday, Feb. 27th, and what a turn out! The room was standing room only, people packed along the walls...at least 250 people from a small town during the winter. People even came from Prince Rupert. They were enthusiastic about defeating the 12% allocation to recreational, and were as mad about having to buy quota as all of the rest of us. Here is local news report:
Large Crowd in Kitimat Demands Change in Halibut Allocation
Fishermen demand end to 88/12 allocation
John Crawford
2/28/2011
Hundreds of people crowded into the Kitimat Rod and Gun Club yesterday, to demand Ottawa come up with a better sharing formula for Pacific Halibut.
They object to the current allocation which gives 88 per cent of the available catch to commercial licence-holders -- a formula that has been in place since 2003.
Federal Minister Gail Shea has offered sportfishermen an opportunity to purchase quota from those commercial licence-holders, in a pilot project being tried this year, but the B-C Wildlife Federation's Ted Brookman says that's no solution.
"If we agree to this, we are saying in fact that halibut are not a common property resource, and we firmly believe they are a common property resource, that is why the BC Wildlife Federation is involved," said Brookman, adding "we believe that the fish in the ocean are a common property resource."
Kitimat Halibut Allocation Task Force chair Ron Wakita says his group is trying to find a reasonable compromise, but says the current 88-12 allocation is simply not fair.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley M-P Nathan Cullen attended the meeting and says the Federal Government needs to understand the realities of people living in B-C's coastal fishing communities.
Commercial fishermen have said they need the 88-percent to remain viable.
[reported by Gilda Diaz]
The NDP MLA and MP were there with very positive support. Nathan Cullen is determined that the sell out of our common property resource needs to be stopped and changed. The Provincial NDP have a party policy on the issue now, and have written a letter to Minister Shea asking her to change this unfair allocation. At least some of the MPs are starting to turn the corner and realize that we have all lost something very important when the ownership of the halibut was turned over to the handful of private businessmen.
What a pleasure to meet such dedication to action fighting the issue impacting all of us, and to feel the team is now becoming Province wide. Thank You Kitimat!
Traveller.
Large Crowd in Kitimat Demands Change in Halibut Allocation
Fishermen demand end to 88/12 allocation
John Crawford
2/28/2011
Hundreds of people crowded into the Kitimat Rod and Gun Club yesterday, to demand Ottawa come up with a better sharing formula for Pacific Halibut.
They object to the current allocation which gives 88 per cent of the available catch to commercial licence-holders -- a formula that has been in place since 2003.
Federal Minister Gail Shea has offered sportfishermen an opportunity to purchase quota from those commercial licence-holders, in a pilot project being tried this year, but the B-C Wildlife Federation's Ted Brookman says that's no solution.
"If we agree to this, we are saying in fact that halibut are not a common property resource, and we firmly believe they are a common property resource, that is why the BC Wildlife Federation is involved," said Brookman, adding "we believe that the fish in the ocean are a common property resource."
Kitimat Halibut Allocation Task Force chair Ron Wakita says his group is trying to find a reasonable compromise, but says the current 88-12 allocation is simply not fair.
Skeena-Bulkley Valley M-P Nathan Cullen attended the meeting and says the Federal Government needs to understand the realities of people living in B-C's coastal fishing communities.
Commercial fishermen have said they need the 88-percent to remain viable.
[reported by Gilda Diaz]
The NDP MLA and MP were there with very positive support. Nathan Cullen is determined that the sell out of our common property resource needs to be stopped and changed. The Provincial NDP have a party policy on the issue now, and have written a letter to Minister Shea asking her to change this unfair allocation. At least some of the MPs are starting to turn the corner and realize that we have all lost something very important when the ownership of the halibut was turned over to the handful of private businessmen.
What a pleasure to meet such dedication to action fighting the issue impacting all of us, and to feel the team is now becoming Province wide. Thank You Kitimat!
Traveller.
