IMPORTANT: SVIAC Town Mtg w/ Mel Arnold MP Re Fisheries Issues

[Derby]

Wondering if you fellow's can please provide examples of where the whale watching companies have “spoken out against the closures”? I can’t seem to find anything anywhere on the internet including their websites. Maybe I just missed it. Of course, a copy of the letter their association sent to the minister with a copy of the read receipt would also work

 

[profisher]

In fact forcing all boat traffic out of the refuge area would only make it more legitiate and easier for DFO to defend. The way it is now the refuge allows all boating activies so long as a hook doesn't enter the water and which is supposed to help the whales. Leave it alone and let us pick that one as it stands apart in the public forum or in court.
Derby they bave been saying this in meetings one on one or in public. No business is going to put political stuff on their website. I wouldn't as you are likely to loose business from those with opposing opinions.

 

[Derby]

well that's not answering my question is it.. So I take it there is not one then?

 

[Whole in the Water]

well that's not answering my question is it.. So I take it there is not one then?

Why not send an email to SVIAC website and ask your question.

IMHO and many others the time is now for the rec sector to start acting smarter and working together with other industries, stakeholders and sectors that support us. The days of the rec sector fighting all alone for what it wants is long past - never did work - never will, as unfortunately this is not about conservation, but about politics.

Look at the other competing fishing sectors they form alliances, build up $ and resources, create lobbying power and make political connections and make things happen to support their cause. The time for the rec sector start forming like minded alliances as well, or we could end up like the rec sector on the East coast - regulated away by DFO into non-existence as they were an easy target being small, divided and had little support outside of themselves.

 

[Derby]

 

[BeezNuts84]

If we bitched and got the Whale Watchers booted out of the “quiet zones” then wouldn’t they put full weight and power behind fighting DFO?
The enemy of my enemy??

Just asking a question.

 

[ziggy]

If we bitched and got the Whale Watchers booted out of the “quiet zones” then wouldn’t they put full weight and power behind fighting DFO?
The enemy of my enemy??

Just asking a question.

Good point, as I have been saying the closure has Zero impact on them ( other than making it less crowded) and in fact the fishing ban is just as good as another net pen, for feeding their whales.Why would they ***** for us? Better to lay low and let the rec fisherman take the hit.
At any rate everyone is entitled to believe what they wish, but I fail to see any reason why the whale watchers would risk getting banned as well, by drawing attention to themselves through supporting us.

 

[Tips Up]

Some good points here.

I agree we need to build an alliance with them but we also need to put them on the front line which will only happen if they are shut down in the quiet zones also.
They are not going to back us with 100% of their efforts and join a losing team when right now all is good for them.
We need THEM to lead the fight and WE support them.

Things aren't going so well with our current strategy.

 

[casper5280]

Agree with some points, but sorry I have to say the whale watchers need to be thrown under the bus like us. They have just as much to loose as us and would fight harder to get it back. They haven't lost a thing yet, its just business as usual for them. Their just wolf packs that chase down whales 7 days a week. If anyone is bothering the whales its them. How many times have you been out there just trolling away and the whales come right at you. How can we be brothering them when they come to us.

 

[profisher]

How does a friendship fall apart? One ***** on the other and the other does so in turn. They may be shut out of the quiet zones next year because there is the same pressure coming from the ENGO groups (ecojustice) to do just that. They don't like the whale watchers going into the refuge areas. So should we jump in with Ecojustice, back them up in that fight (which has no net benefit to us) and end a friendship in the process? Or just continue to send a very clear message to DFO that they need to produce more fish...the same message our friends are saying too. They have adopted a slogan...More Fish...More Blackfish.....shouldn't we be spending our time driving home that point?

 

[searun]

I believe the point of getting other user groups out of the Refuge Area isn't to pick a fight with the beloved Whale Watchers and Commercial Crab Fishers, rather it is to properly address the stated purpose of these Refuge Areas which is to create an area free of physical and acoustic disturbances to allow the whales to acquire prey successfully. To just focus on the visible rec fishery is fool hardy as that does nothing to properly test and study the effectiveness of a Refuge Area strategy....Which IMO is no more effective than a proper mobile spatial exclusion or "bubble" zone of 400m. That approach needs to be tested scientifically against the Refuge Area strategy - which is just a theory with no science to back it up. So we need to keep pressing for a proper study with pure science. I'm having a hard time understanding the effort to confuse the issues here. Is it an effort to protect the funding source for the net pen project, or is it that we truly believe that allowing whale watching and commercial crab fishing to take place in these so called "refuge areas" is the right thing to do for the whales. I'm confused as to the logic being floated here.

 

[casper5280]

I believe the point of getting other user groups out of the Refuge Area isn't to pick a fight with the beloved Whale Watchers and Commercial Crab Fishers, rather it is to properly address the stated purpose of these Refuge Areas which is to create an area free of physical and acoustic disturbances to allow the whales to acquire prey successfully. To just focus on the visible rec fishery is fool hardy as that does nothing to properly test and study the effectiveness of a Refuge Area strategy....Which IMO is no more effective than a proper mobile spatial exclusion or "bubble" zone of 400m. That approach needs to be tested scientifically against the Refuge Area strategy - which is just a theory with no science to back it up. So we need to keep pressing for a proper study with pure science. I'm having a hard time understanding the effort to confuse the issues here. Is it an effort to protect the funding source for the net pen project, or is it that we truly believe that allowing whale watching and commercial crab fishing to take place in these so called "refuge areas" is the right thing to do for the whales. I'm confused as to the logic being floated here.

Totally Agree and that is my point. If these other groups were really behind us they would refuse to go into these areas, but because they have no skin in the game they get to continue as usual. If the whale watchers and the crab fishermen were locked out to I'm sure the their voices would be a lot louder then they are now, their voices are only whispers now.

 

[profisher]

So when area 19/20 took the brunt for Fraser River Chinook restrictions did we in this area **** on our brothers and ask DFO to spread the pain through out the province so that every anglers voice would be included in the fight? Your suggesting we should have.
Anyone who spends time on the water around these animals knows that the refuge areas are a waste of time. The whales will always spend their time in areas where their stomachs will get full, period. So if there are very few large Chinook in the refuge areas like in 2017 and so far in 2018 they will not be found there. These whales have yet to show up inside JDF Strait, the first time since records have been kept that none of these pods (or individuals) have been in the area for the entire month of May! We are now closing in on half of June. So why are we chasing anyone out of the refuge areas where there are no resident whales to protect? I can see Ecojustice pressuring DFO to set up a refuge up off the west coast in the areas these whales are now frequenting. specifically Tofino south to the entrance to JDF Strait. I think it better to fight the refuge areas themselves than specific boats that are allowed in them or we will see more of them....and they may pop up where ever these whales decide to spend their time fishing. You could be next!

 

[profisher]

If DFO announced from the start that the rules for the refuge areas were that no whale watching at all would be permitted but that anglers could go in to fish ....you would then agree that they would be within their right and you would have no problem with them lobbing government to kick us out completely too? Or would you rather they fight their own fight to get themselves back in and ask for our help if they thought we could?

 

[wildmanyeah]

So when area 19/20 took the brunt for Fraser River Chinook restrictions did we in this area **** on our brothers and ask DFO to spread the pain through out the province so that every anglers voice would be included in the fight? Your suggesting we should have.

Circa 2012 Many were calling for Nanaimo and other areas to fall under similar restrictions.

https://www.sportfishingbc.com/foru...hinook-regs-for-early-fraser-river-run.49571/

think it better to fight the refuge areas themselves than specific boats that are allowed in them or we will see more of them....and they may pop up where ever these whales decide to spend their time fishing. You could be next!

I agree with profisher 95% of the time whale watchers are chasing around Transient killer whales. These closures are absolutely pointless. Looking at past sightings SRKW don't start showing up in the Salish is to late August and September...I agree its discusting watching the whale watching industry chase them around but they are hardly the issue when it comes to SRKW...just like we are hardly the issue.

The issue is people love killer whales so ENGO's can generate alot in donations fighting for "save the whales" this is all political

Look at the sigtings for previous years https://www.orcanetwork.org/Archives/index.php?categories_file=Sightings Archives Home

Here are the whale sightings for the last 2 months

 

[ziggy]

So when area 19/20 took the brunt for Fraser River Chinook restrictions did we in this area **** on our brothers and ask DFO to spread the pain through out the province so that every anglers voice would be included in the fight? Your suggesting we should have.
Anyone who spends time on the water around these animals knows that the refuge areas are a waste of time. The whales will always spend their time in areas where their stomachs will get full, period. So if there are very few large Chinook in the refuge areas like in 2017 and so far in 2018 they will not be found there. These whales have yet to show up inside JDF Strait, the first time since records have been kept that none of these pods (or individuals) have been in the area for the entire month of May! We are now closing in on half of June. So why are we chasing anyone out of the refuge areas where there are no resident whales to protect? I can see Ecojustice pressuring DFO to set up a refuge up off the west coast in the areas these whales are now frequenting. specifically Tofino south to the entrance to JDF Strait. I think it better to fight the refuge areas themselves than specific boats that are allowed in them or we will see more of them....and they may pop up where ever these whales decide to spend their time fishing. You could be next!

I’d say 19 and 20 did well compared to 18! In my opinion 18 was completely screwed, have a look at the map! When I consistently hear about area 19 and 20 with never a mention of the closures in Area 18 I have to wonder who represents this area? Hoped we were all in this together, but I have to wonder!

 

[profisher]

Wild..regarding Nanaimo..some individuals on this forum may have been questioning why more areas were not included but our local SFAC's were not.

 

[profisher]

Ziggy..take a look at the map that was the proposal for the marine park requested by Parks Canada only a few years back that got no traction back then. Once you compare the whale refuge area to the park proposal you will see that Parks Canada is as politically corrupt as DFO.

 

[searun]

Once again. We are missing the point of conducting a proper scientific study to determine if the area refuge strategy actually has scientific merit. So any study where we have the presence of other vessels like commercial crabbers or whale watchers in that closed area totally corrupts any data that would establish if the refuge works.

We don’t believe the refuge will be any more effective than a 400m bubble zone But how will we ever prove that with the current allowance of whale watchers and crabbers in the study area??

 

[Derby]

So when area 19/20 took the brunt for Fraser River Chinook restrictions did we in this area **** on our brothers and ask DFO to spread the pain through out the province so that every anglers voice would be included in the fight? Your suggesting we should have.
Anyone who spends time on the water around these animals knows that the refuge areas are a waste of time. The whales will always spend their time in areas where their stomachs will get full, period. So if there are very few large Chinook in the refuge areas like in 2017 and so far in 2018 they will not be found there. These whales have yet to show up inside JDF Strait, the first time since records have been kept that none of these pods (or individuals) have been in the area for the entire month of May! We are now closing in on half of June. So why are we chasing anyone out of the refuge areas where there are no resident whales to protect? I can see Ecojustice pressuring DFO to set up a refuge up off the west coast in the areas these whales are now frequenting. specifically Tofino south to the entrance to JDF Strait. I think it better to fight the refuge areas themselves than specific boats that are allowed in them or we will see more of them....and they may pop up where ever these whales decide to spend their time fishing. You could be next!

well if it makes u happy to know ...yes there are other area's being considered ..so u can enjoy knowing the pain will be else where