Halibut Experimental Recreational Fishery Program

[searun]

http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/37/MPW-18688

DFO can click on the above link for my official offer reply. Sorry Mods, trying to keep it clean - disclaimer - "all matters herein are offered on a without prejudice basis, and not intended to be misconstrued as an offer of purchase, no matter how the recipient might interpret the message."

 

[turney]

Thats exactly how i feel.

 

[fresh one]

Sounds like the 300 or so guys who own quota came up with this one ,geeezz,dfo coud'nt run there way out of a shoe box!!!!!
We need someone like mike hicks to be fisheries minister for bc ,goooo mike !!!

 

[Last Chance]

Searun, don't worry about it. I'm an official Mod, Admin, and otherwise God of this sandbox. I can say on behalf of all good sport fishinerment out there that the new pilot program is ********.

And the usual troop that likes to PM me about offsensive posts can save it for next time pls.

 

[Labman2]

Yaaaaa kelly!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mi Chica]

I want to know how much money it cost to set up such an experimental fishery?
I'm thinking the hours and resources spent would creep into the millions of dollars...
Money like that could of simply be used to lease/buyback permanent quota
It amazes me how idiotic the top levels of DFO really are and when you don't have accountability...what stupid ideas you are aloud to come up with...

Tamee Mawani
One person I personally hold responsible plus others in actually allowing this to go through.....
She should post a public apology for supporting such an absurd experimental fishery...

Here is her e-mail....
tameezan.mawani@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
everyone should get in contact with her and ask the appropriate questions and tell her what you think
her e-mail is of public interest and is disclosed on the dfo website.

I e-mailed her again with the following:
This is a ridiculous ploy and destined to be another huge waste of time and money by DFO. The solution is simple. Correct the problem by taking or buying back the quota's of non-fishing commercial interests, then correct the historic unjust (88% commercial/12% recreational)allocation. Excess quota can be leased back (by DFO) to working commercial fishers at a reasonable rate. This will allow these people to make a decent living and provide a funding source to DFO.
Rest assured that the recreational sector will not let this issue go away. Failure by the DFO and government to deal with issues in an equitable fashion will result in both political and legal action. Please realize that businesses in coastal communities know that recreational anglers infuse huge amounts of money into local economies as compared to commercial operators.
Jim McKinney

 

[finaddict]

Searun, don't worry about it. I'm an official Mod, Admin, and otherwise God of this sandbox. I can say on behalf of all good sport fishinerment out there that the new pilot program is ********.

And the usual troop that likes to PM me about offsensive posts can save it for next time pls.

I'd like to complain about this post. I am not sure that the true gist of the statement is sufficient for the issue. Personally I believe that this statement should have MORE offensive ;-)

 

[Aces]

Searun, don't worry about it. I'm an official Mod, Admin, and otherwise God of this sandbox. I can say on behalf of all good sport fishinerment out there that the new pilot program is ********.

And the usual troop that likes to PM me about offsensive posts can save it for next time pls.

LOL !! Nice one !!

 

[Last Chance]

It's all I could come up with....

 

[searun]

Thanks for cutting me some slack to express how I feel about this. One thing is for sure, we all need to be on the look out this summer for anyone displaying the Experimental License sticker...we all will know who's a player and who's got the guts to man up and tell DFO where to stick it.

No disrespect to other posts, but I wouldn't necessarily take it out on the gal from DFO trying to sell this program to us. I feel sorry for her..well sort of. She is just doing a job, trying to stay employed....but she also needs to hear clearly in a professional way that her bosses are smoking something that ain't legal.

 

[Last Chance]

Anyone who puts an experimental license on their boat is going to have to have BALLS.

 

[searun]

News flash I heard today from a second source...latest tactic from the slipper skippers is they are encouraging their friends, wives, neighbours to buy experimental licenses so they can declare the program a success. Look for a few 12 foot tin boats with stickers on them. What a joke. I thought I had seen a few desperate tactics from the commies, but this takes the cake.

 

[Hindsight]

that's going to cost them lots of cash,

 

[IronNoggin]

What a joke. I thought I had seen a few desperate tactics from the commies, but this takes the cake.

Unbelievable! I guess the fear that this program will fail, and subsequent re-allocation concerns have them so bloody scared they're willing to take the risk. There HAS to be some way to expose this...

that's going to cost them lots of cash,

Nope, not really. The funds they expend to "buy" the quota goes right back into their own pockets. No real cost incurred.

Rather crappy of them. Why am I not at all surprised?

Nog

 

[juandesooka]

that's going to cost them lots of cash,

As I read this document, it costs nothing to sign up, you only pay if you use it, and then by Jan 31 of the following year.

Unless I am reading this wrong, this could create a very dangerous business model ... say for example you get this license and advertise "No Limit Halibut Fishing", where customer keeps their biggest halibut on their rec license, and then can keep as many more as they want at $6/lb. But let's say you were an unscrupulous charter guy ... no one knows what you caught unless you happen to get inspected on the water, on the dock, or your customer on the way home. If you happened to get inspected, then you buy the quota required by next Jan. If not, then the customer's quota $ is pocketed and no catch report is filed.

This is even worse for the ever-troublesome Neah Bay Swiftsure charters. They can get a Canadian agent to put the sticker on their boat, fish the Canadian side all they want with no limits, then motor back across the border ... what is the realistic chance of them being inspected while on the Bank? The difference that prior to this program, simply possessing more than your limit is breaking the law -- now it will no longer be illegal as long as you have the sticker, and you can supposedly settle up later. NOT wanting to pick on the Americans, and not saying these guys are dishonest, but the potential for abuse here is huge ... right now there's a slim chance of getting caught cheating, with this program there's virtually no chance. It is open season.

And also not to pick on the charter guys ... same incentive goes for cheater rec fishers. With this sticker, you can conceivably catch all the halibut you want with no daily limit, and no one would ever know unless you got inspected.

I think that's a major flaw in this program. Potentially allows all the volume of commercial harvesting, but with none of the safeguards.

 

[Last Chance]

The thought did cross my mind of buying one pound of halibut quota, then fishing the sh*t out of it...

 

[juandesooka]

Jackel: here's how I'd see this most likely playing out.

Say you were playing by the rules:
(a) if halibut was still open, but you were using quota to go above and beyond, your clients would use the 60 pounders on their rec license, then they'd pay extra for the 20 pounders they catch on top of that (or you'd build it into your price).
(b) if halibut was closed, then you'd have to pay a quota fee per pound of fish caught. So you'd probably be at the chicken ranch catching ping pong paddles, not anchored up for quality fish, unless you made an arrangement with the client to pay the extra poundage fee. Otherwise they catch a 200 pounder, and you're losing money on the day.

Say you were a shyster: you can under-report or not report at all, and as long as you don't get inspected, there's no way to tell you did anything wrong -- as long as you have the sticker, possession of the halibut in closed times or above rec limits is not illegal, as long as you pay by Jan 31. So:
(a) you tell your clients: we can fish for as much halibut as you want. If we get inspected, then you have to pay the $6/lb quota. If we don't get inspected, no extra charge.
(b) you tell your clients it is $6/lb to fish halibut in closed time or above limit, and you just pocket the $$ ... call it the "experimental halibut quota tip fund".

You could get caught in (a) if it was DFO aboard, but very unlikely you'd get caught in (b).

Conclusion: Even if you happen to be a supporter of this program, this seems to me an ugly loophole that absolutely has to be tied up. It is such a gaping hole, that I wonder if I'm misreading this??? Anyone?

 

[BearCove]

Absolutely no thought went into this program, that's why there is so many holes in it, it's a friggin joke. Just think about the whole idea, leasing quota from someone that had it given to them when it belongs to all of us in the first place.

 

[Hali killer]

How do they calculate how much each commie boat is catching?

 

[tubber]

How do they calculate how much each commie boat is catching?

When they offload, a scale and a calculator or if the girl is sharp, she can tally it up with a pencil and paper. There's supposed to be a dfo official or contracted person there to watch and check the figures.