Shame on Shea: B.C. needs its own fisheries minister

MILLERTIME

MILLERTIME

Member
shame on shea: B.c. Needs its own fisheries minister
d.c. Reid

did you catch the latest spin on halibut from gail shea way out there in ottawaland? “as canada’s minister of fisheries and oceans, i have been entrusted with managing our precious marine resources responsibly and sustainably.”
they are so precious she won’t get fish farms out of the water to save wild salmon, or charge them with polluting public waters. She won’t stop run of river power that is a far greater problem. She won’t help starving killer whales by putting out more chinook salmon. She won’t put proper money into habitat, science and hatcheries. One could go on for pages.
There is only one halibut problem: Dfo gave commercial guys 88 per cent of the halibut in non-returnable quota long ago. That’s it. Full stop. Not so unlikely they won’t ante it up to the public because they don’t have to — and the last time they did the price was way over what they lease it for to the few remaining boats — 140 — that actually commercially fish. That they don’t want to sell it reasonably to 300,000 sport fishermen makes you want to adopt a different approach: The public’s share should be 20 to 36 per cent, as in adjacent states.
Her response is as though the problem is just squabbling among sectors: “i’m disappointed to report that those discussions have reached an impasse and stakeholders have been unable to reach a consensus. Because of this, a ministerial decision is required to move forward for the 2011 season.” that is a sport opening season of march 1, not the usual feb. 1, a day limit of one halibut and a total of two in possession.
“many stakeholders from both sectors have clearly articulated their current positions, but i encourage continued dialogue about new approaches between interested parties and my officials. The sooner a permanent solution is found, the sooner british columbians can put uncertainty behind them and look forward to a viable future for this fishery.”
you may notice she is ignoring the only problem is dfo’s unreasonable 88/12 share ratio. It is not about conservation as the canadian allowable catch is actually up 150,000 dressed pounds. And she is ignoring that the sport industry is the biggest dollar driver on halibut and just needs a more reasonable share. And the big one shea is ignoring is the sport take will likely close on july 15, instead of dec. 31, causing huge problems for lodges and guides for many years to come. What was a $611.4-million sector in 1995 fell, after inseason chinook closures, below half the following year and did not recover for five years.
Someone on holiday from the u.s. Or europe, spending more than $5,000 for a remote lodge, as well as air fares, meals, hotels and transfers to get here, will not come back if they can only catch one measly halibut, or zero after july 15. Shea is from the east coast where there is no sport industry. Who wants to hand line a cod? She has no touch for the west and that’s why we need a minister of fisheries for b.c. Alone.

But what is the real solution? It’s achingly simple: Dfo should buy up eight per cent of total quota from commercial guys and thus bring the sport share to 20 per cent, a level that will end problems for a very long time.
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in todays paper
 
shame on shea: B.c. Needs its own fisheries minister
d.c. Reid
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I like the idea of having our own Fisheries Minister at the provincial level answerable to the people of BC with the power to regulate our fisheries. A separate minister for BC in Ottawa would be just as useless as the one we have now. Other provinces have control over their natural resources why don't we. Newfoundland has control of their offshore oil reserves we should have control of our offshore natural resources also. It is time to do away with these antiquated federal jurisdictions , the country has changed since Confederation. At 300,000 strong we could be a very influential group and with an election just around the corner it's time to tell provincial politicians that we want control over our own resources.
 
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MILLERTIME said:
I like the idea of having our own Fisheries Minister at the provincial level answerable to the people of BC with the power to regulate our fisheries. A separate minister for BC in Ottawa would be just as useless as the one we have now. Other provinces have control over their natural resources why don't we. Newfoundland has control of their offshore oil reserves we should have control of our offshore natural resources also. It is time to do away with these antiquated federal jurisdictions , the country has changed since Confederation. At 300,000 strong we could be a very influential group and with an election just around the corner it's time to tell provincial politicians that we want control over our own resources.
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I'm probably going to have to duck here!
The Recreational Fisheries off the West Coast, belong to all Canadians! There is no Recreational Oil/Gas.
Commercial Fisheries are under Federal control. Nonrenewable resources are controlled by the Provinces.
How many Commercial fish outfits are owned by non-Canadians? Most Oil Companies are. How many of the mines in B.C. are Canadian owned?
Fisheries is supposed to be renewable and sustainable, Oil/Gas, Minerals one shot.
I bet theres Oil off the West Coast also, but do you really want an Oil Company from Holland drilling for it?
 
Labman2 said:
I'm probably going to have to duck here!
The Recreational Fisheries off the West Coast, belong to all Canadians! There is no Recreational Oil/Gas.
Commercial Fisheries are under Federal control. Nonrenewable resources are controlled by the Provinces.
How many Commercial fish outfits are owned by non-Canadians? Most Oil Companies are. How many of the mines in B.C. are Canadian owned?
Fisheries is supposed to be renewable and sustainable, Oil/Gas, Minerals one shot.
I bet theres Oil off the West Coast also, but do you really want an Oil Company from Holland drilling for it?
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yup best duck and watch out for the troll spray.
 
holmes said:
i dont want ANYONE drilling for it, and i would give my life in order to stop it, think im passionate about halibut and fish farms?, lol, just try and drill for oil off our coast, the shytestorm would instantly commence.....holmes*
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I wouldn't want it either, but it ain't your coast! That is Canada's, not B.C.s. international Border.
Don't get me wrong Holmes, you and me are in agreement on most everything you have posted.



I was born there, guided out of Vic. and later Van. That was in a Brand new 1973 24' Fibreform!!!!!!
NO electronics, 220hp. Volvo Penta and no kicker.
We used to hear stories of the "good old day's of Fishing"and that the Salmon/Halibut/Ground fish weren't going to last through the decade, and how it was all DFO's fault, back then too!
 
holmes said:
yes i realize its canada's coast labman, but i would hazard a guess that the majority of the 30+ million ppl in this country dont even want the potential of a gulf oil spill, besides, we should be reducing our dependancy on oil to begin with.....holmes*
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Once again, you and I are in agreement, unfortuanatley, the majority of the 30 million+ Canadians don't have the balls to get out and vote. The last 2 Federal, 4 Ab. Provincial and B.C. Provincial elections have shown such dismal voter turn-outs, that our voices have become more of a squeak than a roar!
The way our Politics is set-up, even if our local representatives wanted to vote our way, they would be back benched for going against the party line!
I guess, because the economy is so bad in the Maritimes, they don't care if there is a spill off of NFL. as long as it produces jobs. That is also the reason that the Federals gift prime programs to the Maritimes, eg. Firearms Registery, Boat Registery and the Fisheries Ministry.

Rant, Rant,Rant.......Sorry, spent too much time in Ft.Mac.
 
Jeez a lot of skunks showing up. Must be something out there that has them frightened.
 
Many here including myself have commented on how impossible it is to manage our fisheries from Ottawa yet have no comment on the idea of BC controlling it's own fisheries.
Just for the record their are several instances where American States have taken over control from federal management and rescued their respective fisheries from the brink of collapse.
Alaska is probably the best known example but there have been others in recent years especially along the gulf coast.
We can't go on fighting Ottawa over each and every fishery, it is time for BC to take control of it's fisheries and with a provincial election coming up we should make it an election issue. IMHO

"Alaska changed from federal management of its fisheries to state management in 1959."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_salmon_fishery
 
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