Decision Day?

[SerengetiGuide]

Has anyone thought about contacting the CBC The National? They have a feature block on TV every other night or so called Go Public. People present some unreal stuff - unfair treated by RCMP, companies, hospitals, governments etc ... Gets prime time TV and it seems that whatever they featured there got top attention by officials... Worth a try?

Just emailed them the following,

To Whom It May Concern,

The Conservative governments recent decision on halibut allocation and the upcoming halibut recreational fishery for the 2011 season could be a great story. Especially considering Mr. Harper's want to keep the Canadian economy strong, yet does the exact opposite in BC by ensuring there will be a mid season closure for the halibut recreational sector of sportfishing in BC...yet recreational fishing provides more than 3 times as much to the economy of British Columbia as the commercial fishery. It should also be noted that the Minister on the case, Gail Shea, is married to a former commercial fisherman...conflict of interest much?

This closure will force any Canadian who wants to go out and catch halibut as soon as possibly July (right in the middle of the prime fishing season) to have to pay up to $5 / lb for a halibut they catch. So, for example, say they catch a 40lb halibut, an every day Canadian will have to pay $200 for it! Halibut is PUBLIC RESOURCE, yet the Conservative government is attempting to privatize it!

I was, until today, a member of the Conservative party and donated regularily to the party, but I have since then, along with my family and many other sportsfishermen, ripped up my Conservative membership and will do whatever it takes to ensure they do not get re-elected.

Families of charter operators in BC will be devastated by this as no operator can pay an extra $600 per day to allow their guests to catch halibut, and therefore will not book up for the upcoming season and not be able to pay their mortgages. This decision by Minister Shea is appalling. A shift of only 8% from the commercial sector to the recreational sector would NOT put any commercial fisherman out of business, as that, when divided between the 436 license holders, is only a reduction of 0.018% of their catch...extremely minimal.

I sincerely hope that you take a look at this privatization of a public resource by the government, the exposure of this to the Canadian public would not only help thousands of people in British Columbia remain employed, but also go a long way in ensuring that this does not happen to other public resources in the future.

Thank you for your time,
David Summers

 

[Lipripper]

I do think that unkowns reference to the magna carta is an interesting one........ There is a lot of interesting things in there.... Unfortunately its seems Canada didn't sign onto the law of the seas part of it... But again there is good stuff in there that could trump any politicians decision.

 

[the fog ducker]

Wolf

Mail Sent

asap buds

felix

 

[lorneparker1]

Well ive kept my mouth shut on this issue in the public forum, because for whatever reason my opinion on things tends to get some people fired up.

However, this is how i feel....

This to me is BS! This now makes fishing halibut a rich persons game. Why? well Most of us tin boat guys dont have the boats to fish for halibut due to weather conditions in the early part of the season. Therefore early halibut is out of reach for us. Furthermore, By the looks of things, by the time the weather is decent most of the time and we could go out it wil be closed unless of course we want to pay to lease the quota. I honestly dont blame the commericial fisherman for any of this. If i was in thier shoes i would be doing the same. However, Asking us to pay for something that was given in the first place and is OURS to begin with is ludicris.

I beleive to make everyone happy (and be fair IMO) the extra allocation should be bought from the commericial fisherman. I do not for a second though believe WE the people should have to pay for it. The DFO should have to pony up the cash to buy it back. As far as the DOWN with the conservative goverment attitude.... While i dont have another viable solution at the moment, I sure as hell dont want a liberal, or WAY worse (IMO again) an NDP in power.

Lorne

 

[profisher]

I still say that we pool our money and play the present system against them. BUY (not lease) as much commercial quota as we can afford each year using anonymous buyers. Jack the price so the commercials can't afford to lease it back and let it go un-fished. Doesn't hurt us, we still get our 12%. This has nothing to do with caving to buy for our own use (as the minister wants) but rather just playing the system to our advantage. I think a change of heart from both DFO and the commercials would be forthcoming.

 

[Rockfish]

Well ive kept my mouth shut on this issue in the public forum, because for whatever reason my opinion on things tends to get some people fired up.

However, this is how i feel....


I beleive to make everyone happy (and be fair IMO) the extra allocation should be bought from the commericial fisherman. I do not for a second though believe WE the people should have to pay for it. The DFO should have to pony up the cash to buy it back. As far as the DOWN with the conservative goverment attitude.... While i dont have another viable solution at the moment, I sure as hell dont want a liberal, or WAY worse (IMO again) an NDP in power.

Lorne

I disagree, the only way they are going to get the message is to be hurt politically, and they just proved that. All governments become arrogant and self serving over time and need to be replaced or at least sent a strong message. Unfortunately the Harper Government seems to be way ahead of the curve in this regard. The want a majority government, lets deny them that or at least send them a strong message with the loss of some key members in BC. Even if we were to end up with a Liberal minority government, the mere fact that they are a minority precludes them from doing anything overly stupid. I am aware that it was a liberal Minister who started this mess but it is the Conservatives who have done all they can to continue it, support it and expand it.

We need to ask direct hard questions of all MP’s and candidates in the next federal election, those who go on the record of supporting the recreational fishery in general and absolutely commit to a fair reallocation of 88/12, we support and work for. Those that do not or try to fly under the radar and not take a clear stand we work to defeat. We need to identify those politicians who need a rest from their heavy workload and some free time to go fishing; or right they won’t be able to.

 

[hali hunter]

Buying the quota from the commies would set a dangerous precedent for years to come.We should never have to buy or lease it and i am prepared to not give them what they want.The minister is hoping we see an early closure as uncertainty so we will give in and buy it or lease.We need to stand our ground or we will be doing the same thing with salmon and every other goddam ocean creature we were allowed to fish for.

 

[hali hunter]

Everything that has been privatized over the years has done nothing for the average joe.Just look at the ferries,or health care.If you need an mri you wait a year but if you want to pay you can get one in a week.Seems like they want our ocean resources to go that route as well.

 

[Sculpin]

Buying the quota from the commies would set a dangerous precedent for years to come.We should never have to buy or lease it and i am prepared to not give them what they want.The minister is hoping we see an early closure as uncertainty so we will give in and buy it or lease.We need to stand our ground or we will be doing the same thing with salmon and every other goddam ocean creature we were allowed to fish for.

I agree. If the OBM Group or some other larger operation goes the temp license route it will be very disappointing. Even though the announcement blows whale snot I think we got their attention. We do need to keep up the protesting and getting our message out there.

 

[Gunsmith]

You did not know that in the privacy of her home Shea wears a magnum sized strap-on *****?

 

[richmake]

dangerous is right...
By no means do I agree with this decision and you can only imagine how angry I am right now but I can tell you this....
If the government is going to allow me to lease Commercial Quota....I'm not going to to do it for any client.....I'm going to fish it commercially which means self-market and value added.
That dumb ***** doesn't have a clue as to how to manage anything...very disappointing.
This is all hypothetical of course but the possibilities for mass corruption of a resource has been announced by our own Minister....
Hell....I think I'll make a call right now...sit on the quota lease price right now and wait till later and make a quick 1$ a pound as the quota gets taken up and the markets for halibut climb...
She is crazy to think that her bright idea might not get abused....
I think I'll phone DFO tommorrow and I guarantee they know nothing about these limited licences she goes on about.

 

[richmake]

On another note.....
Just called a buddy who has quota and suprise suprise people....
It ain't $5 a pound anymore...it might of been 3 hours ago but it's now $5.50 a pound.....
Nice work Gail!

 

[fishingbc]

hey guys stop by your local tackle shops and get these on your f#@*^kin trucks
island outfitters, tyee...etc etc....make a f*$#@kin statement....

 

[King_Cod]

Gail needs to be replaced with someone who is not corrupt. She obviously doesn't give a **** about the sport fishing sector!

 

[lorneparker1]

I disagree, the only way they are going to get the message is to be hurt politically, and they just proved that. All governments become arrogant and self serving over time and need to be replaced or at least sent a strong message. Unfortunately the Harper Government seems to be way ahead of the curve in this regard. The want a majority government, lets deny them that or at least send them a strong message with the loss of some key members in BC. Even if we were to end up with a Liberal minority government, the mere fact that they are a minority precludes them from doing anything overly stupid. I am aware that it was a liberal Minister who started this mess but it is the Conservatives who have done all they can to continue it, support it and expand it.

We need to ask direct hard questions of all MP’s and candidates in the next federal election, those who go on the record of supporting the recreational fishery in general and absolutely commit to a fair reallocation of 88/12, we support and work for. Those that do not or try to fly under the radar and not take a clear stand we work to defeat. We need to identify those politicians who need a rest from their heavy workload and some free time to go fishing; or right they won’t be able to.

Well its a good thing its my opinion then. I never asked anyone to agree. I think this is as much ******** then anyone else. I have been to 2 of the meetings. I have wrote letters(emails) I have voiced my concerns and will continue to do so. However their is alot more that goes into my vote then this decision. Do we really want the party that caused this in the first place, and supports long gun registries, both which are just he tip of the ice burg, in power? really? As i said, i dont havea better idea, however there is no way I would support a liberal or NDP rule in our country. Ever. Again just my opinion

 

[Lipripper]

You did not know that in the privacy of her home Shea wears a magnum sized strap-on *****?

I did not know that...........

I still think DFO could buy off the quota holders............ then make $$ in the long term leasing to the working comm...In tern making the leasing comm more profitable

 

[Little Hawk]

WHERE IS 'THE COALITION' LEADERSHIP IN ALL THIS?
HOPEFULLY THERE WILL BE 'ACTION PENDING'!

I REMAIN OF THE RIGOUROUS OPINION THAT IF WE BUY QUOTA OF ANY DESCRIPTION, WE ARE PLAYING INTO THE EVENTUAL DEMISE OF FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO OUR (OUR CHILDRENS) PUBLICLY OWNED RESOURCE, AS IS BEING PLOTTED BY THE FED.

See you out on the rough-water boys!

 

[Cuba Libre]

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
February 15, 2011

B.C. Sportfishing Coalition

SPORT FISHERS SLAM HALIBUT PLAN
RICHMOND – The B.C. Sportfishing Coalition panned Fisheries Minister Gail Shea’s plans for the 2011 recreational halibut fishery. “Minister Shea and Conservative MPs in B.C. have abandoned recreational anglers and sided with a small group of well-connected commercial quota holders,” said coalition spokesperson Rob Alcock. “The decision to leave the 2003 halibut allocation policy unchanged will punish recreational anglers, the businesses that support them, and the thousands of people who are employed in sport fishing in the province.”
In 2003 former Fisheries Minister Robert Thibault allocated 88% of Canada’s Total Allowable Catch to 436 commercial quota holders and allocated 12% to the province’s 100,000 recreational halibut anglers. Recreational anglers have consistently opposed the policy and argued that the move amounts to the privatization of the Canada’s common-property halibut resource. Since 2003, recreational anglers have faced shortened seasons and a 50% reduction in catch limits. During the same period, commercial halibut quota became a tradable commodity and in 2010 less than half of the 436 commercial quota holders actually fished their catch. The rest simply leased out their rights and collected royalty cheques. Amazingly, while DFO claims that the commercial fishery is accountable, DFO staff now acknowledge that they do not know who actually owns the 436 commercial quotas that control 88% of Canada’s halibut.
“Shea’s suggestion that anglers can now seek to lease quota from commercial quota holders is confirmation of her view that Canada’s halibut resource is private property owned by the lucky few,” said Alcock. “Over the past two months, recreational anglers have held meetings, written letters and sought the support of B.C.’s Conservative MPs. I expect they will remember this decision when those MP’s look to anglers for support,” said Alcock.
-30-
For more information please contact:
Rob Gibbs
B.C. Sportfishing Coalition
778-868-8779

 

[profisher]

I fail to see how buying commercial quota and for all sake and purposes retiring it until they see things more our way is playing into their hands. More like screwing them.

 

[fish4all]

NEWS RELEASE
DFO staff now acknowledge that they do not know who actually owns the 436 commercial quotas that control 88% of Canada’s halibut.

I dont't understand this part as dfo issues the quotas every year to the licnese holder.