Ogden Point

[porcupine]

The net pen would be in the water for 4 to 6 weeks only, The time dependant on the rate of growth of the fry. It would be about 20 feet by 15 feet in size and located inside the breakwater, near the pilot boats, and in the fenced area so that there would be security and no public access.

Volunteers from the local fisinjg clubs would do the feeding.

The fry are small enough that they would be able to go in and out of the net pen, but they stay inside due to the protection from predators and availability of food.

This would be an ongoing program, so there would be returns of approximately 2.5 to 5 tthousand adults each year.

There should be good beach fishing near the breakwater and along Dallas Rd when the fish return. Obviously, there would be great fishing near the breakwater and hopefully near West Bay.

This is a low cost project that is still being developed, but it is receiving lots of support.

 

[RVP]

...120% supported by me here in Nanaimo. Mel Sheng from DFO is the spearhead in these projects...they have now been going on and very successful in the north island reaches for a number of years...it has only been these past few years that the public has started to take a real interest in the overall potencial of these specialized programs. Only an uneducated idiot would oppose them...without preduious and not clling anyone, or any poster specifically.

Please do not read this and take offence as it is not meant to be...there are alot of people working together to change our fishing past. As history dictates, we have been careless and made many, many uneducated decissions to over fish our seas...now we all need to buck up and change direction - many of us are!

Many in Gov., groups and clubs, as well as many organizations and individuals who work in the background and of whom are not recognized ever for their efforts in fishery changes and establishment of better ethics and care for fish first.

...be suspect all you wish - but please stand up and do something before it is too late...that is what I will continue to do for the fishery.

Cheers,
RVP.

 

[likwit]

porcupine: do you know what salmon species are being proposed? chinooks? pinks?

 

[RVP]

...for the start - all of the pen projects will be pink salmon, as there needs to be a history of success created in each area where the pens are set up at in order to move forward and try other species...of which there has been talk. Don't expect short term results to be an indicator of success in these programs, there is alot of planning involved in developing them as some have been in planning stages for years and years before they are implemented.

Cheers,
RVP.

quote:Originally posted by likwit

porcupine: do you know what salmon species are being proposed? chinooks? pinks?

 

[expeditionBC]

As both a sportfisherman and a diver I think one important thing has been overlooked here. Although I think it would be great to have a place for shore-bound fishermen to cast a line (the pier in Campbell River is a good example), the Ogden point breakwater is one of the most popular dive sites in Victoria. On any given day there are many divers in the water around the breakwater. How is this going to work out when there are hundreds of fisherman casting to pinks on an August afternoon with divers in the water at the same time. This is a recipe for disaster and I can guarantee that it is going to end up as a serious accident. I already keep one wary eye out for the small number of fishermen who currently frequent the area. And with the amount of kelp around the breakwater many lines get tangled in the kelp and end up getting broken off, leaving monfilament line in the water, which I can tell you (from first hand knowledge) is a real hazard for divers.
Although I can see the value of this propsoal for the sportfishermen, the breakwater is already established as a reknowned dive site. It is often featured in dive industry magazines as a detination dive the Victoria area. And if I am not mistaken it is already established as an underwater reserve, thus I am not sure if these two activities can co-exist at this site!!

 

[porcupine]

This is a pink salmon project only, no other species to be augmented. The area around the breakwater is a renowned fishing area, predating the aqualung, and has also been widely reported and written about in books. Tourists from around the world fish this area with the various charter boats. It is a reserve, but angling is allowed. One thing that would help divers is if they would use bouys to indicate where they are.

 

[Last Chance]

EDIT: Mis Stated Fact

 

[scott craven]

quote:Originally posted by LastChance

Er, guys, the Breakwater is an RCA, as in Rockfish Conservation Area, which is quite clearly a "No Angling Zone". No hook and line fishing at all.

somebody better tell all the salmon fisherman that have been fishing there every summer for as long as i can remember ???

 

[likwit]

what about the world renowned catch and release ling fishery???

[:0]

 

[Last Chance]

Er, my bad, I could have sworn the breakwater was an RCA, but on checking again it isn't. Maybe I saw it in an RCA proposal somewhere.

I'll go back to munching on my foot firmly planted in my rightious RCA spouting mouth now.

 

[scott craven]

there's so many RCA's now, you need to have an overlay on
your plotter showing where you can't fish !

 

[porcupine]

The breakwater was originally proposed as a RCA but I fought hard to make sure that that did not happen. You can win sometimes!

 

[Last Chance]

I think the idea of an RCA is to preserve rockfish that are already there, I think the few big lings around Ogden are smart enough to not hit lures.. Some divers have told me there are some huge ones there.

 

[RVP]

...guys, relax - it is a project that is pink salmon based. The idea is to create opportunity in many different areas throughout the original scope of release. It is a test site, that if can prove to be successful, like in many other areas of VI - then will move onto other exciting and encompessing projects within your region. The project is not focussed on the break water, and limiting opportunities for divers - but to create a diverse fishery that will be ejoyed by many anglers through-out the region. There are more than fifty other land based locations and penty more areas that all aspects of angling and fisherman will enjoy.

I am telling you...if you knock this opportunity - thus shall they deam not to be...

Good luck in your future - you decide!

Cheers,
RVP.

 

[Shermanater]

quote:

Two concerns jump out at me with this fish-in-pen thing.

One: what will they feed them when they are penned?

Pellets? Just like farm-fish? Sorry, if that's the case I would never support such a set-up. It is well known that the earths oceanic bio-mass (krill, plankton etc.) is being harvested/reduced at an alarming rate in order for the big (non-Canadian) conglomerates to manufacture pellets to raise farmed-salmon. I don't remember the exact ratio of pounds' of pellets required to produce a pound of farm-fish, but it's pathetic.

Also, it is well documented that basically NOTHING grows beneath fish-farms. Uneaten food (and concentrated quantities of fish-sh*#) falls to the sea-bed, rots, then creates deadly pockets of hydrogen-sulphide which in turn kills the benthic community.

Do we want this scenario playing out on our water-front directly in the path of incoming Gorge/Colquitz stock?

Second: Though some of you folks are singing the praises of this type of program being successful in other locals, I for one would like to know - is it for certain that these fish WON'T ascend neighboring streams? And if they do, what would be the ramifactions? With respect to this issue, if we are relying solely on data or assurances provided by the Feds' that these fish won't interfere with native stocks... I personally wouldn't buy stock in it. After all, they told us escaped Atlantic salmon wouldn't escape from the net-pens... they did, by the hundreds of thousands; they told us they wouldn't survive after escape... they did; finally, they told us they wouldn't spawn in our streams... they did that too.



Food requirements for these juvenile pinks would be minimal(100's of grams of food) and would not kill all life below. The food would be a very fine pellet that is almost like powder and is the same as all salmon hatcheries and fish farms use. The net pens allow the pinks to grow in a safe environment and increase their chances of survival. They will also return to the site of the pens and then enter the nearest source of fresh water to spawn. Pink salmon go directly to the ocean after they hatch and button-up. They take no nutrients from the river and provide a valuable food source for other species.

 

[RVP]

...actually the idea is to get these fish to spawn in as many streams as possible - what part of the puzzle are you missing???

Cheers,
RVP.

 

[Shermanater]

No puzzle pieces missing, just a quote gone wrong. I was providing some info for Terry.

 

[Hoochiebob]

Sounds like a perfectly plausible idea,but what kind of freshwater tributary will they find in the greater Victoria area that is a viable spawning ground?I'd like to see a water sample analysis on the Colquitz.[xx(]

 

[Rum Buddies]

come to think of it, why don't they plant pinks in the sooke river? Its a good spot for a beach fishery and hey, they might even spawn in a real river not a gutter.