DFO Possible Shut Down West Coast Chinook Fishing

[lmtada]

Read this article today. Department Fisheries Oceon considering Salish Sea Sport Fishing shutdown for Chinook Salmon 2019 season. I was thinking of going trip out west this summer. Maybe he going to Kitimat instead.


https://islandfishermanmagazine.com/...shing-closure/


Sent from my iPad

[Bushrat]

Problem with shutdowns in one area means fishermen will flock to another still open area which will more than likely eventually lead to more shut downs. Domino effect.

[Big Grey Wolf]

Too many fishermen chasing too few Salmon. Watch King/Chinook salmon collapse on Keni river in Alaska. Now even natives cannot fish for salmon in lot of Alaska.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

Too many fishermen chasing too few Salmon. Watch King/Chinook salmon collapse on Keni river in Alaska. Now even natives cannot fish for salmon in lot of Alaska.

Same in the Yukon. too many fishermen, not enough resource and they're hit hard when spawning, some people are above the law at times. Inevitable.

Grizz

[lmtada]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

Same in the Yukon. too many fishermen, not enough resource and they're hit hard when spawning, some people are above the law at times. Inevitable.

Grizz

That disheartening. Been west coast 2x last 20 years. Likely now concentrate on Walleyes.......in Saskatchewan...

[Ken07AOVette]

Fish are netted in the rivers and killed before they spawn, and numbers are down? Really?

Thousands of people line the river banks every summer, doing the same thing and wonder why theres no return?

Imagine that.

The one thing I hate about Rupert is seeing people buy halibut or salmon for a dollar a pound at the docks from people that can not legally sell fish.

It is a horribly poorly run resource that will be taken away from all the legal fishermen soon, and when the netters extinct the species they wont care. Just give them more money.

[Unregistered user]

It doesn't help that a herring fishery is netting so much of the herring and feeding it to the fish farms after selling the roe to Japan- Chinooks like herring too. Seals gotta go too. I may scrub my trip out there too, it sucks but what can you do?

[Redfrog]

Maybe a different allotment system is needed like triage.

Indigenous first quota
Science second quota
commercial quota.
Resident draw quota
Sportsman catch and release
Non resident draw for catch and release
Non resident draw for minimum retention.

There's too many non residents who fish the west coast a few times a year and then brag about how many fish they brought back. Halibut take a real hit and are getting smaller and smaller.

You can't keep going to the well and never put anything back. People look for the cheap way to fill a cooler with fish with little thought for the resource or the local economy.

Not much different than all the complaining about non residents hunting our resources in Alberta really.

The west coast fisheries were not great in 1970 when I moved to the coast but they are far worse today.

Mismanagement overfishing, population growth greed, all contribute.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Maybe a different allotment system is needed like triage.

Indigenous first quota
Science second quota
commercial quota.
Resident draw quota
Sportsman catch and release
Non resident draw for catch and release
Non resident draw for minimum retention.

There's too many non residents who fish the west coast a few times a year and then brag about how many fish they brought back. Halibut take a real hit and are getting smaller and smaller.

You can't keep going to the well and never put anything back. People look for the cheap way to fill a cooler with fish with little thought for the resource or the local economy.

Not much different than all the complaining about non residents hunting our resources in Alberta really.

The west coast fisheries were not great in 1970 when I moved to the coast but they are far worse today.

Mismanagement overfishing, population growth greed, all contribute.

As if they would stick to a quota. “Rights” “keepers of the land” “always done it” blah blah blah.

The state of the fishery has very little to do with angling and a whole bunch to do with nets strung across rivers.

Until we disband this disgusting mess of a so-called Supreme Court (Supreme at nothing aside from selling out Canadians) our wildlife will continue to be decimated.

[Marlin07]

Originally Posted by 3blade

As if they would stick to a quota. “Rights” “keepers of the land” “always done it” blah blah blah.

The state of the fishery has very little to do with angling and a whole bunch to do with nets strung across rivers.

Until we disband this disgusting mess of a so-called Supreme Court (Supreme at nothing aside from selling out Canadians) our wildlife will continue to be decimated.

Well said, I agree completely

[Hilgy]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Maybe a different allotment system is needed like triage.

Indigenous first quota
Science second quota
commercial quota.
Resident draw quota
Sportsman catch and release
Non resident draw for catch and release
Non resident draw for minimum retention.

There's too many non residents who fish the west coast a few times a year and then brag about how many fish they brought back. Halibut take a real hit and are getting smaller and smaller.
You can't keep going to the well and never put anything back. People look for the cheap way to fill a cooler with fish with little thought for the resource or the local economy.
Not much different than all the complaining about non residents hunting our resources in Alberta really.

The west coast fisheries were not great in 1970 when I moved to the coast but they are far worse today.

Mismanagement overfishing, population growth greed, all contribute.

Do you really think that non residents and sport fishermen are the issue on the west coast?? You cant honestly be that naïve.

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by Hilgy

Do you really think that non residents and sport fishermen are the issue on the west coast?? You cant honestly be that naïve.

I am speechless at his reply, not sure what the agenda is but apparently Rf figures that nobody from Alberta is good enough to keep a salmon or halibut.

Draw for c&r?

This makes as much sense as taking all the guns away from the legal owners to punish everyone for gun crime.



Yeah, 150 boats soaking 5 mile long lines catching a thousand halibut at a time PER BOAT have nothing to do with numbers going down.

[GMX]

The salt water is a federal fishery some how people from the left coast seem to forget that. Commercial fishing (netting) both salmon and there food source is the leading cause of there decline I could be wrong but I believe sport fishermen only get 10-20% of the halibut quota and slot limits. the commercial guys get the rest and no size limit.

The spring/coho run has been going down hill for some time now. 30 years ago on a river in northern BC my dad used to take me I swear you could almost walk across it on fish it was so full. Now days few fish return to that river and the average size has gotten much smaller.

Things have to change but in the proper way it would be nice if the sports guys got more of the quota. They bring in a lot of cash to BC's economy and cane be selective on the harvest. Once in a gill net its hard to turn it loose just IMO.

[Redfrog]

"Do you really think that non residents and sport fishermen are the issue on the west coast?? You cant honestly be that naïve."

Good guess Hilgy. I left "naive" in my rear view mirror when I was 15.

" Mismanagement overfishing, population growth greed, all contribute." is what I said.

I lived and fished the west coast for over 30 years.

Ken I did not say no one from Alberta was good enough to keep a salmon of halibut.
:Agenda" LOL. do you think I make the rules for fishing in B.C.? I made a comment with my opinion. If you feel triggered, I apologize, That was certainly not my intention. Not sure where you got that nonsense from, unless you have an agenda. You don't have to agree with me but you'd be foolish not to. Would you still fish the west coast as much if it was all catch and release?
We have C/R in a ton of lakes in Alberta. Is that because of commercial or indigenous over fishing?

I have fished the rivers with fishermen shoulder to shoulder for as far as you can see and a lot of them were flossing or snagging. That has to be good for the fishery , right?

3 blade, I understand that indigenous rights are an emotional issue and I disagree with most of what the gov't is doing or has done to deal with the issues, but the reality is that except for the last 100 yrs Indians have taken as much salmon as they wanted without decimating the stocks. This was not because they managed the resource so well. Add the commercial and sports fishery and gov't management and we have a collapse of the stocks. Do you really believe the Indians are to blame?

I find it odd that so many feel entitled to fish the west coast but are so against Non residents coming to Alberta to hunt.

The demographics of the lower mainland has changed over the last 50 years and no doubt the burgeoning Asian population has an impact on the fishery since sea food makes up a large part of their diet. I've seen boats with buckets of undersized crabs and family groups with garbage cans full of clams dug from polluted beaches in White Rock. Caught and fined and back at it again in a week.

There is only one group of people destroying the fishery through their greed, > If you ask anyone they will tell you it's not me, it's "those guys".

[northerntrapper]

Originally Posted by 3blade

As if they would stick to a quota. “Rights” “keepers of the land” “always done it” blah blah blah.

The state of the fishery has very little to do with angling and a whole bunch to do with nets strung across rivers.

Until we disband this disgusting mess of a so-called Supreme Court (Supreme at nothing aside from selling out Canadians) our wildlife will continue to be decimated.

Exactly. Well said.

[3blade]

Yes I do. 100 years ago they didn’t have jet boats, poly netting, or freezers.

Limiting everyone else so that more salmon make it to those very non traditional nets is pointless, much like cutting bull moose tags for residents when the preganant cows are killed in june. Until we deal with the fact that Canada’s wild places can no longer support unlimited, unregulated harvest, we are wasting time and money.

[Smoky buck]

Something to keep in mind when using the “FN harvested as much as they wanted and had no impact in the past argument” They no longer harvest salmon for strictly personal use and have really stepped up the netting and selling over the years. Growing up in BC I watched it escalate to the point of seeing the odd FN boat unload their catch to a zoom boom loading totes onto trucks all day. The level of wasted salmon has also increased. This is no longer a simple substance fishery

The decline of salmon stocks is do to so many issues combined its un real and pressure from every user group play a role. Then add in charges to rivers and streams a long with increased seal predation and less herring it’s like people were trying to kill off salmon

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by 3blade

Yes I do. 100 years ago they didn’t have jet boats, poly netting, or freezers.

Limiting everyone else so that more salmon make it to those very non traditional nets is pointless, much like cutting bull moose tags for residents when the preganant cows are killed in june. Until we deal with the fact that Canada’s wild places can no longer support unlimited, unregulated harvest, we are wasting time and money.

Good points 3 blade. I meant indigenous food fishery. If it's commercial then commercial rules apply. Are there going to infractions? Of course there are and that's different problem to deal with.

There is no simple oneline solution.

[^v^Tinda wolf^v^]

I spoke to a friend that goes out there every year for salmon and he said nine out of ten he caught were in pretty rough shape and looked like that mutated fish from the simpsons movie. It makes me wonder if it’s cuased by Japan dumping all their nuclear waste in the ocean. Either way my family and I only eat fish from our lakes and rivers now days. Maybe I should make me a good foil hat while I’m at it

[Jamie]

I personally wouldn't object at all to a C/R trip to the coast.
Don't get me wrong, I have bonked way more than my fair share over the years and I don't blame or judge anyone for doing the same. But these days, I don't really care. I just want out on the water and not coming home with 100-150 pounds of fish is not a deterrent in the least.

Perhaps we do have to lead with a example. What was that old Chestnut???

Limit your catch, don't catch your limit?

I like the "Sportsman" side to this now.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by ^v^Tinda wolf^v^

I spoke to a friend that goes out there every year for salmon and he said nine out of ten he caught were in pretty rough shape and looked like that mutated fish from the simpsons movie. It makes me wonder if it’s cuased by Japan dumping all their nuclear waste in the ocean. Either way my family and I only eat fish from our lakes and rivers now days. Maybe I should make me a good foil hat while I’m at it

I fished Hadia Gwaii and the central coast last summer. I never saw that at all.
Where was he fishing?

[Ken07AOVette]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I fished Hadia Gwaii and the central coast last summer. I never saw that at all.
Where was he fishing?

I fished Rupert. Have never seen a mutilated fish in BC.

Also have never brought home 100-150 lbs of fish, 8 salmon 2 hali they would have to be massive to hit 150 lbs.

[IronNoggin]

The entire West Coast will be drastically effected should this BS be imposed by Pierre's Idiot Child's desire to virtue signal his way out of his current plummeting popularity. Entire Communities are on the chopping block at this point, and none in the east give a rat's ass.

Yes, we have some depressed salmon stocks. There are a myriad of reasons (habitat, predation, overharvest etc etc) but the chief among them is centered directly upon decades upon decades of gross mismanagement (political mismanagement at it's finest). Between incompetence, corruption and gross dereliction of duty, the DFO have well proven themselves to be THE least capable of any ministry in adhering to it's mandate. The entire department should be completely razed to the ground and re-built in such a manner that politics cannot enter into the picture.

The FN's here have basically demanded to the feds that everyone else should be shut down immediately except them. Last season, they were afforded more "legal" openings on stocks of concern, and even openly known threatened / endangered runs that has ever been witnessed historically. And of course they ran with it. Now citing UNDRIP and "reconciliation" the feds are poising to hand it all over, and eff the rest of the world should you not agree (or if your livelihood gets stripped away - too bad, so sad).

In short, it is an absolutely terrible state of affairs. And while this is going down, ZERO consideration is being given to any actual on-the-ground efforts that could help turn the situation around.

Management to ZERO appears to be the order of the day.

Damn happy I got out of guiding a few years back. Still wish I wasn't so heavily involved with the small troll fishery - for me, and around 75 others, we now stare down the prospect of attempting to find other employment. At an average age of 67, it's a bit of a tough nut to swallow...

Sadly,
Nog

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I personally wouldn't object at all to a C/R trip to the coast.
Don't get me wrong, I have bonked way more than my fair share over the years and I don't blame or judge anyone for doing the same. But these days, I don't really care. I just want out on the water and not coming home with 100-150 pounds of fish is not a deterrent in the least.

Perhaps we do have to lead with a example. What was that old Chestnut???

Limit your catch, don't catch your limit?

I like the "Sportsman" side to this now.

I have only been once and that was 2017 loved every minute of it and we caught our share for sure. I agree I could go just for the excitement of it all, eat my fill at Dolly's and go home happy.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Ken07AOVette

I fished Rupert. Have never seen a mutilated fish in BC.

Also have never brought home 100-150 lbs of fish, 8 salmon 2 hali they would have to be massive to hit 150 lbs.

Prior to the Hali stuff, we could bring back 3 with no size. 150 pounds was considered a good-great trip.

Last summer I brought back only 50 pounds on each trip. even that was way to much. This summer, I will keep it at 25 pounds on each trip.

[Unregistered user]

The trouble with C+R out there is a tired salmon becomes seal food.

[Albertacoyotecaller]

Poor management of the fisheries by the federal government and the people that have been harvesting for hundreds of years. Two groups have phucked it up.

[Peacepipe]

I have fished Rupert lots. Seems like the regs are definitely cutting back. The last time there the prob was the one big hali and one small one. From what I,m hearing the fish are less so maybe there is an issue or its over regulated. My vote is get Horgan out then sort out salmon fishing for the boys in Terrace.

[sjr]

Originally Posted by IronNoggin

The entire West Coast will be drastically effected should this BS be imposed by Pierre's Idiot Child's desire to virtue signal his way out of his current plummeting popularity. Entire Communities are on the chopping block at this point, and none in the east give a rat's ass.

Yes, we have some depressed salmon stocks. There are a myriad of reasons (habitat, predation, overharvest etc etc) but the chief among them is centered directly upon decades upon decades of gross mismanagement (political mismanagement at it's finest). Between incompetence, corruption and gross dereliction of duty, the DFO have well proven themselves to be THE least capable of any ministry in adhering to it's mandate. The entire department should be completely razed to the ground and re-built in such a manner that politics cannot enter into the picture.

The FN's here have basically demanded to the feds that everyone else should be shut down immediately except them. Last season, they were afforded more "legal" openings on stocks of concern, and even openly known threatened / endangered runs that has ever been witnessed historically. And of course they ran with it. Now citing UNDRIP and "reconciliation" the feds are poising to hand it all over, and eff the rest of the world should you not agree (or if your livelihood gets stripped away - too bad, so sad).

In short, it is an absolutely terrible state of affairs. And while this is going down, ZERO consideration is being given to any actual on-the-ground efforts that could help turn the situation around.

Management to ZERO appears to be the order of the day.

Damn happy I got out of guiding a few years back. Still wish I wasn't so heavily involved with the small troll fishery - for me, and around 75 others, we now stare down the prospect of attempting to find other employment. At an average age of 67, it's a bit of a tough nut to swallow...

Sadly,
Nog

XXXXX2 Bang on Nog

[Scott h]

Originally Posted by Unregistered user

The trouble with C+R out there is a tired salmon becomes seal food.

There is that. A ton of fish are caught, played hard, and handled badly. They ultimately end up dead. How many obviously over sized halibut are brought aboard for bragging pictures? The same goes for the commercial guys that are targeting one species and catch another. A good chunk of them end up tossed to die. How many chinook end up getting dragged by trollers looking for cohos?
Next day coho are open and chinook are closed and the process happens in reverse.