Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
This was provided to me as a PDF doc. Being a computer illerate, I didnt know how to post that format..... so I changed into a text format. Any mistakes are mine- not the organizers.
The Shock and Awe Halibut Allocation Protest Rally
Event Report
Overview:
What: A rolling boat on trailer protest rally conducted by concerned anglers
from south Vancouver Island.
Why: To show DFO, Minister Shea and the government in Ottawa that the
angling community of the west coast is outraged over the Thibault halibut
allocation policy and the current unfair restrictions.
When: Friday May 8th at 10:00 AM
Location: Victoria BC at the Inner Harbour (Government & Belleville) across
from the legislature
Official Event Permit: Yes Insured Activity: Yes
Conditions: Sunny with some clouds
Outcome: A successful rally. Victoria’s concerned halibut angling community
was seen and heard
Purpose of the Rally
The challenging issue of sharing (allocation) of Canada’s catchable halibut
between commercial fishermen and anglers has been unworkable, troublesome
and unfairly restrictive for the public angling community since 2003. So far all
attempts at reasonable dialogue between DFO, the Fisheries Minister and the
Sport Fishing Advisory Board have lead to no changes in the Thibault 88/12
policy. The 2008 halibut angling season was restricted by 3 months. And in 2009
again the season opened late, but worse of all the daily bag limit has been cut by
50%.
The Coalition focused the rally message on raising public awareness of this
complex issue. Also seeking media attention and coverage of the rally story in
order to broadcast the issue on all our behalf. The ultimate goal of the Coalition
being, to have the 88/12 policy thrown out or at least to find a long term
mutually acceptable resolution.
This local protest rally in Victoria was notable because it represents the first time
anglers have taken the halibut allocation issue into the public arena. This represents one
step in a series of actions being undertaken by the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition.
This action follows a letter writing campaign to Ottawa Fisheries Minister Shea
and visits to a number of federal MPs on south Vancouver Island.
More activities are being organized by the Coalition to continue ramping
up pressure on Minister Shea and the government
Ottawa to resolve this issue swiftly.
Event Summary:
At 9:00 AM some 80 vehicles towing boats on trailers assembled at Ogden Point
in Victoria to place protest signage on their vehicles and prepare for the Shock
and Awe rally. The Coalition Steering Committee produced more than 70 vehicle
signboards with messages focused on the halibut allocation message. Allowing
one sign per vehicle, all the signs were used and a number of hand made signs
had to be made up on site to give vehicles lacking signs presence in the rally.
Some participants brought their own signage.
The mix of boats being towed was both impressive to witness and representative
of the broader halibut angling community. Lots of local resident anglers
attended with their boats in tow. Some participating vehicles belonged to
members of local fishing clubs (such as Sidney Anglers, Esquimalt Anglers, Royal
Canadian Navy Anglers, James Bay Anglers and the Amalgamated Conservation
Society) there to protest their lost opportunity and the unfair season cut backs.
There were also British Columbia Wildlife Federation members in
attendance from clubs on south Vancouver Island. Guides and
angling charter operators from the local business community owned
some of the boats that participated; (these people have been hardest hit
financially by Shea halibut season cuts).
Additionally, there were individuals in attendance who are employed in local
retail fishing tackle stores, boat sales companies,fishing tackle manufacturers,
bait sales companies, fishing resorts and marinas.
The broadness of the attendance demonstrates clearly that the south Vancouver
Island angling community as a whole is unified in their anger over halibut
allocation.
At 9:45 AM the long procession of trailered boats arrived at the Inner Harbour
with great fanfare. They blew their vehicle’s horns as they passed by the media
information table and gained a lot of attention from the public using the Inner
Harbour. At one point as far as you could see along Belleville and Government a
continuous line of trailers and boats were moving at dead slow speed long the
permitted route. In addition, there were vehicles stopped near the media table
area to add to the show.
Local residents as well as tourists seemed to enjoy the rally. Many passers by
asked questions at the media table about the rally and often expressing their
support. Some even signed petitions on the media table. All in all it was a
positive celebratory atmosphere amongst the protest vehicle drivers in the
procession.
Although event organizers had no intent to block traffic, one small snag occurred
that had a marginal effect on the rally procession. An over zealous police officer,
attempting to address blocked traffic that was starting to amass in the streets
along the official rally route, essentially lost his composure and started dispersing
rally vehicles off the permitted route. The officer’s frantic arm waving and
shouting loudly at drivers in the procession as well as non-procession vehicles
did not help anyone.
We conclude the rally went well and the focal point, where the media table was
located, received ample recognition from the boats on trailers with their horns
honking, as they passed continuously for over an hour.
Event Messaging:
Signage, literature and event spokespeople were all synchronized to get a
controlled message out.
Basic themes: 1. Access to halibut, a common property
resource that belongs to all Canadians is being unfairly
blocked,
2. Anglers have had enough of DFO’s Thibault 88/12 Allocation
policy and the restrictions it has caused,
3. Minister Shea refused to implement the all-party agreed allocation
transfer (Gordon Report) in Feb 2009,
4. Anglers do not want Canada to fish beyond its IPHC designated
TAC so it is NOT about conservation,
5. This is an easily fixable issue for government yet Minister Shea
is happy to cut back angling community unfairly.
Coalition placards were made in advance of the rally carrying phrases like:
Don’t let Minister Shea pinch your ‘but
No conservation concern but we’ve been cut by 50%
Don’t let DFO give your fish away
Say no to 88/12
A media table and tent were set up at the intersection of Government Street and
Belleville Street at the focal point of the rally in order to get the message out.
Chris Bos (Chair Steering Committee SVIAC), Paul Rickard (BCWF Tidal Waters
Committee, VI Region 1) and Darren Wright (Island Outfitters Sportfishing
Centre Co-Owner) all acted as spokes people available to talk on the issue and
field media question.
Media Attention:
There were three radio interviews the day preceding the event (Thursday 7th).
CBC Victoria, CFAX 1070 News and The Q 100.3 all provided airtime to rally amd
the halibut allocation issue. CBC interviewed Chris Bos, SVIAC Steering
Committee Chair, on the halibut allocation for approx 5 minutes and followed
Activity around the rally media table. Guests included Peter Julian
(Federal NDP Pac Fish Critic) Mel Arnold President BC Wildlife Federation)
with a rebuttal from Chris Sporer (PHMA) – the messaging was correct and on
issue. Interestingly, the CBC interviewer pushed the PHMA rep as to why they
don’t want to share halibut they don’t catch (10% carry over) with recreational
fishermen. CFAX’s Joe Easingwood gave 5 minutes to Bos on air at 10:05 AM to
explain the issue and promote the rally. The Q 100.3 taped an interviewed with
Bos off air and ran a 2 minute story about the issue and the protest on Thursday
PM
Just after 10:00 AM on rally day several TV station cameramen attended the media table
: CHEK TV (Global affiliate), A Channel (CTV affiliate), CBC and Shaw Cable.
It was rather surprising to the organizers that A Channel was the only station to
air the protest rally story of all the footage taken.
We did note that all 3 main TV station cameramen filmed approx 10 minutes of footage each
(interviews and protest vehicles) and CBC took closer to twenty minutes.
A Web link at the end of this report provides access to
A Channel coverage on YouTube.com
Following the rally a call was received from Chum Radio Station’s CFAX1070 AM
Murray Langdon (Newsline PM show host) granting a live on air ten minutes
section without rebuttal that aired after Friday 8th 5:00 PM news. (Best
interview)
Print media and TV news about the rally is listed later in this report.
Attendees of Note:
Some notable individuals were on site observing the rally: Peter Julian, NDP MP
New Westminster and Pacific Fisheries Critic flew in especially to attend the rally.
The federal NDP are strong supporters of resolving the halibut allocation issue
and are currently applying political pressure on the government.
The president of the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, Mel Arnold, who left
home in Salmon Arm at 3.00 AM in order to attend, got several opportunities to
speak to the media. Ted Brookman, BC Wildlife Federation president for
Vancouver Island Region 1 drove from Chemainus with his boat on trailer as well
showing support for the rally cause. Sport Fishing Advisory Board Chair Gerry
Kristianson, Martin Paish, the president of BC Marina Operators Association and
Mike Hicks, the Juan de Fuca Regional Director and Port Renfrew’s Swiftsure
Lodge Owner were also on site.
The Pacific Halibut Management Association sent their president
Jake Vanderheide, plus a paid PHMA lawyer as well as a
Victoria-based commercial halibut fisherman. The rally
messaging was focused at the government and Minister Shea
so media were informed that we do not wish to fight with the
commercial halibut fishing industry
Rally organizers were intrigue amongst ourselves what motivation they had or even who
incited their attendance. Vicky Husband (formerly of the Sierra Club) of the Watershed Watch
dragged along a young “expert” and attempted to highjack the rally by suggesting
to the cameramen conservation was the real issue.
The carepresentation of the rally messaging and knowledgeable spokespeople squash
that allegation quickly. The rally message clearly indicated that the IPHC
address all matters of Pacific halibut conservation and manage the stock on a precautionary
basis. SVIAC halibut anglers only want their traditional access to Canada’s catchable
halibut back and do not seek to have Canada fish beyond the IPHC identified annual catch;
the issue is only about allocation of Canada’s “catchable” fish between commercial
and public fisheries. Rally spokespersons spent time speaking on camera about how
the public halibut fishery catch and harvest are accounted for, praising recent
DFO improvements and referring to the IPHC acceptance of the catch monitoring system.
Unfortunately, Miss Husband and her tag-along were both badly uninformed about halibut
andcould only resort to offering untrue information and stating to the media the
recreational fishery are out of control and unaccountable for their catch
M
ttp://www.youtube.com/wa
h
ttp://www.cfax1070.com/newsstory.php?newsId=8978
h
ttp://www.canada.com/Fishermen protest halibut limit/1580570/story.html
h
ttp://www.timescolonist.com/news/victoria/Fishermen rally halibut/1580474/story.html
h
In conclusion the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Steering Committee recognizes
the Shock and Awe Halibut Allocation Protest Rally recognizes as a success and
as one more step toward resolving the unfair halibut allocation injustice.
The rally certainly gained the attention of many outside the halibut angling community
and made the public aware there is an issue that government needs to deal with.
We would like to sincerely thank all who attended the Shock and Awe Protest Rally;
you helped make our action on Friday a success.
Thank you from
The Steering Committee
The ad hoc Southern Vancouver Island Anglers was formed in February 2009 specifically
to address the unjust Thibault 88/12 halibut allocation policy. The group’s activities are
developed, organized and overseen by a 6 person volunteer Steering Committee who are
active in the public sport fishery around the Victoria area. The coalition has no
current desire to create a new formal organization but seeks to work and cooperate
with all existing like-minded angling organizations and individuals to resolve the halibut
allocation injustice. The group seekto represent the interests of all resident tidal waters
anglers, angling guides, fishing charter operators, fishing resorts and all those whose
businesses supply goods and services to the angling public on South Vancouver Island
20ft Alumaweld Intruder
The Shock and Awe Halibut Allocation Protest Rally
Event Report
Overview:
What: A rolling boat on trailer protest rally conducted by concerned anglers
from south Vancouver Island.
Why: To show DFO, Minister Shea and the government in Ottawa that the
angling community of the west coast is outraged over the Thibault halibut
allocation policy and the current unfair restrictions.
When: Friday May 8th at 10:00 AM
Location: Victoria BC at the Inner Harbour (Government & Belleville) across
from the legislature
Official Event Permit: Yes Insured Activity: Yes
Conditions: Sunny with some clouds
Outcome: A successful rally. Victoria’s concerned halibut angling community
was seen and heard
Purpose of the Rally
The challenging issue of sharing (allocation) of Canada’s catchable halibut
between commercial fishermen and anglers has been unworkable, troublesome
and unfairly restrictive for the public angling community since 2003. So far all
attempts at reasonable dialogue between DFO, the Fisheries Minister and the
Sport Fishing Advisory Board have lead to no changes in the Thibault 88/12
policy. The 2008 halibut angling season was restricted by 3 months. And in 2009
again the season opened late, but worse of all the daily bag limit has been cut by
50%.
The Coalition focused the rally message on raising public awareness of this
complex issue. Also seeking media attention and coverage of the rally story in
order to broadcast the issue on all our behalf. The ultimate goal of the Coalition
being, to have the 88/12 policy thrown out or at least to find a long term
mutually acceptable resolution.
This local protest rally in Victoria was notable because it represents the first time
anglers have taken the halibut allocation issue into the public arena. This represents one
step in a series of actions being undertaken by the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition.
This action follows a letter writing campaign to Ottawa Fisheries Minister Shea
and visits to a number of federal MPs on south Vancouver Island.
More activities are being organized by the Coalition to continue ramping
up pressure on Minister Shea and the government
Ottawa to resolve this issue swiftly.
Event Summary:
At 9:00 AM some 80 vehicles towing boats on trailers assembled at Ogden Point
in Victoria to place protest signage on their vehicles and prepare for the Shock
and Awe rally. The Coalition Steering Committee produced more than 70 vehicle
signboards with messages focused on the halibut allocation message. Allowing
one sign per vehicle, all the signs were used and a number of hand made signs
had to be made up on site to give vehicles lacking signs presence in the rally.
Some participants brought their own signage.
The mix of boats being towed was both impressive to witness and representative
of the broader halibut angling community. Lots of local resident anglers
attended with their boats in tow. Some participating vehicles belonged to
members of local fishing clubs (such as Sidney Anglers, Esquimalt Anglers, Royal
Canadian Navy Anglers, James Bay Anglers and the Amalgamated Conservation
Society) there to protest their lost opportunity and the unfair season cut backs.
There were also British Columbia Wildlife Federation members in
attendance from clubs on south Vancouver Island. Guides and
angling charter operators from the local business community owned
some of the boats that participated; (these people have been hardest hit
financially by Shea halibut season cuts).
Additionally, there were individuals in attendance who are employed in local
retail fishing tackle stores, boat sales companies,fishing tackle manufacturers,
bait sales companies, fishing resorts and marinas.
The broadness of the attendance demonstrates clearly that the south Vancouver
Island angling community as a whole is unified in their anger over halibut
allocation.
At 9:45 AM the long procession of trailered boats arrived at the Inner Harbour
with great fanfare. They blew their vehicle’s horns as they passed by the media
information table and gained a lot of attention from the public using the Inner
Harbour. At one point as far as you could see along Belleville and Government a
continuous line of trailers and boats were moving at dead slow speed long the
permitted route. In addition, there were vehicles stopped near the media table
area to add to the show.
Local residents as well as tourists seemed to enjoy the rally. Many passers by
asked questions at the media table about the rally and often expressing their
support. Some even signed petitions on the media table. All in all it was a
positive celebratory atmosphere amongst the protest vehicle drivers in the
procession.
Although event organizers had no intent to block traffic, one small snag occurred
that had a marginal effect on the rally procession. An over zealous police officer,
attempting to address blocked traffic that was starting to amass in the streets
along the official rally route, essentially lost his composure and started dispersing
rally vehicles off the permitted route. The officer’s frantic arm waving and
shouting loudly at drivers in the procession as well as non-procession vehicles
did not help anyone.
We conclude the rally went well and the focal point, where the media table was
located, received ample recognition from the boats on trailers with their horns
honking, as they passed continuously for over an hour.
Event Messaging:
Signage, literature and event spokespeople were all synchronized to get a
controlled message out.
Basic themes: 1. Access to halibut, a common property
resource that belongs to all Canadians is being unfairly
blocked,
2. Anglers have had enough of DFO’s Thibault 88/12 Allocation
policy and the restrictions it has caused,
3. Minister Shea refused to implement the all-party agreed allocation
transfer (Gordon Report) in Feb 2009,
4. Anglers do not want Canada to fish beyond its IPHC designated
TAC so it is NOT about conservation,
5. This is an easily fixable issue for government yet Minister Shea
is happy to cut back angling community unfairly.
Coalition placards were made in advance of the rally carrying phrases like:
Don’t let Minister Shea pinch your ‘but
No conservation concern but we’ve been cut by 50%
Don’t let DFO give your fish away
Say no to 88/12
A media table and tent were set up at the intersection of Government Street and
Belleville Street at the focal point of the rally in order to get the message out.
Chris Bos (Chair Steering Committee SVIAC), Paul Rickard (BCWF Tidal Waters
Committee, VI Region 1) and Darren Wright (Island Outfitters Sportfishing
Centre Co-Owner) all acted as spokes people available to talk on the issue and
field media question.
Media Attention:
There were three radio interviews the day preceding the event (Thursday 7th).
CBC Victoria, CFAX 1070 News and The Q 100.3 all provided airtime to rally amd
the halibut allocation issue. CBC interviewed Chris Bos, SVIAC Steering
Committee Chair, on the halibut allocation for approx 5 minutes and followed
Activity around the rally media table. Guests included Peter Julian
(Federal NDP Pac Fish Critic) Mel Arnold President BC Wildlife Federation)
with a rebuttal from Chris Sporer (PHMA) – the messaging was correct and on
issue. Interestingly, the CBC interviewer pushed the PHMA rep as to why they
don’t want to share halibut they don’t catch (10% carry over) with recreational
fishermen. CFAX’s Joe Easingwood gave 5 minutes to Bos on air at 10:05 AM to
explain the issue and promote the rally. The Q 100.3 taped an interviewed with
Bos off air and ran a 2 minute story about the issue and the protest on Thursday
PM
Just after 10:00 AM on rally day several TV station cameramen attended the media table
: CHEK TV (Global affiliate), A Channel (CTV affiliate), CBC and Shaw Cable.
It was rather surprising to the organizers that A Channel was the only station to
air the protest rally story of all the footage taken.
We did note that all 3 main TV station cameramen filmed approx 10 minutes of footage each
(interviews and protest vehicles) and CBC took closer to twenty minutes.
A Web link at the end of this report provides access to
A Channel coverage on YouTube.com
Following the rally a call was received from Chum Radio Station’s CFAX1070 AM
Murray Langdon (Newsline PM show host) granting a live on air ten minutes
section without rebuttal that aired after Friday 8th 5:00 PM news. (Best
interview)
Print media and TV news about the rally is listed later in this report.
Attendees of Note:
Some notable individuals were on site observing the rally: Peter Julian, NDP MP
New Westminster and Pacific Fisheries Critic flew in especially to attend the rally.
The federal NDP are strong supporters of resolving the halibut allocation issue
and are currently applying political pressure on the government.
The president of the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, Mel Arnold, who left
home in Salmon Arm at 3.00 AM in order to attend, got several opportunities to
speak to the media. Ted Brookman, BC Wildlife Federation president for
Vancouver Island Region 1 drove from Chemainus with his boat on trailer as well
showing support for the rally cause. Sport Fishing Advisory Board Chair Gerry
Kristianson, Martin Paish, the president of BC Marina Operators Association and
Mike Hicks, the Juan de Fuca Regional Director and Port Renfrew’s Swiftsure
Lodge Owner were also on site.
The Pacific Halibut Management Association sent their president
Jake Vanderheide, plus a paid PHMA lawyer as well as a
Victoria-based commercial halibut fisherman. The rally
messaging was focused at the government and Minister Shea
so media were informed that we do not wish to fight with the
commercial halibut fishing industry
Rally organizers were intrigue amongst ourselves what motivation they had or even who
incited their attendance. Vicky Husband (formerly of the Sierra Club) of the Watershed Watch
dragged along a young “expert” and attempted to highjack the rally by suggesting
to the cameramen conservation was the real issue.
The carepresentation of the rally messaging and knowledgeable spokespeople squash
that allegation quickly. The rally message clearly indicated that the IPHC
address all matters of Pacific halibut conservation and manage the stock on a precautionary
basis. SVIAC halibut anglers only want their traditional access to Canada’s catchable
halibut back and do not seek to have Canada fish beyond the IPHC identified annual catch;
the issue is only about allocation of Canada’s “catchable” fish between commercial
and public fisheries. Rally spokespersons spent time speaking on camera about how
the public halibut fishery catch and harvest are accounted for, praising recent
DFO improvements and referring to the IPHC acceptance of the catch monitoring system.
Unfortunately, Miss Husband and her tag-along were both badly uninformed about halibut
andcould only resort to offering untrue information and stating to the media the
recreational fishery are out of control and unaccountable for their catch
M
ttp://www.youtube.com/wa
h
ttp://www.cfax1070.com/newsstory.php?newsId=8978
h
ttp://www.canada.com/Fishermen protest halibut limit/1580570/story.html
h
ttp://www.timescolonist.com/news/victoria/Fishermen rally halibut/1580474/story.html
h
In conclusion the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Steering Committee recognizes
the Shock and Awe Halibut Allocation Protest Rally recognizes as a success and
as one more step toward resolving the unfair halibut allocation injustice.
The rally certainly gained the attention of many outside the halibut angling community
and made the public aware there is an issue that government needs to deal with.
We would like to sincerely thank all who attended the Shock and Awe Protest Rally;
you helped make our action on Friday a success.
Thank you from
The Steering Committee
The ad hoc Southern Vancouver Island Anglers was formed in February 2009 specifically
to address the unjust Thibault 88/12 halibut allocation policy. The group’s activities are
developed, organized and overseen by a 6 person volunteer Steering Committee who are
active in the public sport fishery around the Victoria area. The coalition has no
current desire to create a new formal organization but seeks to work and cooperate
with all existing like-minded angling organizations and individuals to resolve the halibut
allocation injustice. The group seekto represent the interests of all resident tidal waters
anglers, angling guides, fishing charter operators, fishing resorts and all those whose
businesses supply goods and services to the angling public on South Vancouver Island
20ft Alumaweld Intruder
