Official halibut regs for 2013

[Scott h]

Blackheart you have good points and I don't know what the real answer is , but I do know the TAC has been dropping steadily and if something isn't done in the next few years it will be a possession limit of 1... period , probably under 80 cm .
I find the whole situation somewhat similar to the crown land lease situation .
Everybody has an opinion but nothing ever changes year after year . Along comes Alberta conservation Association and instead of whining it uses fees attached to the user groups to buy up property that will never be off limits . Each year it seems to acquire new property , buying from someone that wishes to sell . Their are no hard feelings and hunters , hikers , fishers , etc. are a little better off than they were the year before .

[BlackHeart]

Originally Posted by Scott h

Blackheart you have good points and I don't know what the real answer is , but I do know the TAC has been dropping steadily and if something isn't done in the next few years it will be a possession limit of 1... period , probably under 80 cm .
I find the whole situation somewhat similar to the crown land lease situation .
Everybody has an opinion but nothing ever changes year after year . Along comes Alberta conservation Association and instead of whining it uses fees attached to the user groups to buy up property that will never be off limits . Each year it seems to acquire new property , buying from someone that wishes to sell . Their are no hard feelings and hunters , hikers , fishers , etc. are a little better off than they were the year before .

I like your line of thinking as a secondary option, only when all others fail. Then Add a halibut stamp to the fed Licence and use this money to reclaim %Of the TAC for rec users. Something like $20 per stamp. And then cancel this once the rec users have sufficient % for their reasonable needs....... 50%

But I'm a skeptic. I expect the current TAC controller (I won't use the term owners as they are not) will not sell at a reasonable price as they now have a oligarchy on halibut. That they may even refuse to sell any.....which tells us just how much $ it's making them or they don't want a number exposed. That once the TAC is bought, the govt will not stop the stamp revenue....you know, for conservation purpose . And that they will not open up the limits even with the recs owning the %TAC . Too many ways we can get screwed over all over again.

Simplest solution is "it's Canadians resource....allocate it to maximize economic benefit and for the use of those that own it....Canadians....not US restaurants and some fat cat who never does a hard day fishing his commercial Licence himself....just a another robber baron with lawyers as his team.

[Tofinofish]

Originally Posted by BlackHeart

I like your line of thinking as a secondary option, only when all others fail. Then Add a halibut stamp to the fed Licence and use this money to reclaim %Of the TAC for rec users. Something like $20 per stamp. And then cancel this once the rec users have sufficient % for their reasonable needs....... 50%

But I'm a skeptic. I expect the current TAC controller (I won't use the term owners as they are not) will not sell at a reasonable price as they now have a oligarchy on halibut. That they may even refuse to sell any.....which tells us just how much $ it's making them or they don't want a number exposed. That once the TAC is bought, the govt will not stop the stamp revenue....you know, for conservation purpose . And that they will not open up the limits even with the recs owning the %TAC . Too many ways we can get screwed over all over again.

Simplest solution is "it's Canadians resource....allocate it to maximize economic benefit and for the use of those that own it....Canadians....not US restaurants and some fat cat who never does a hard day fishing his commercial Licence himself....just a another robber baron with lawyers as his team.

-And for the Federal Gov't to exercise their authority/option to make the necessary changes. Contact your MP's and anyone else who can help...

[Scott h]

Quote
"But I'm a skeptic. I expect the current TAC controller (I won't use the term owners as they are not) will not sell at a reasonable price as they now have a oligarchy on halibut. That they may even refuse to sell any.....which tells us just how much $ it's making them or they don't want a number exposed. That once the TAC is bought, the govt will not stop the stamp revenue....you know, for conservation purpose . And that they will not open up the limits even with the recs owning the %TAC . Too many ways we can get screwed over all over again."

Just a quick check on the web I found 3 halibut licences for around 100k each.They are each .014 % of TAC . So for around 300K the sport take would now be 15.042 % and the commercial down to 84.95 % . And thats just a start ........ Almost more important is that their is one less commercial guy telling the government that they need more fish. Best way to get rid of the competition is to buy them out.
I hear what you are saying but I'd give my 20 bucks a year just to give it a try . Think of it as a few lottery tickets or a pack and a half of smokes .

[Scott h]

Originally Posted by Tofinofish

-And for the Federal Gov't to exercise their authority/option to make the necessary changes. Contact your MP's and anyone else who can help...

The commercial guys are very organized and a lot of them want the guides and lodges considered as commercial ( so do some sport fisherman) . They also see their percentage of TAC dropping while the sports went up . Which voter would you listen to...........

[Jamie]

I like the buy back idea as well.
But, the gov has to do it at set prices, then lease back what the rec guys dont use and apply the rest to help fund different salmon/hali/fishing issues.

That way, you will still see a comercial set up and this cash is being turned back into the resource.

Throw in a hali tag to help pay for it.

Jamie

[browning375]

I'm all in for a Hali tag if it goes to good use! What's an extra $10-$15.00 if it goes to enhancement programs.

[fishmonger]

Let me keep some decent fish and I would buy a halibut tag and would make the trek to the coast.

No different than a salmon tag...I target salmon, sometimes I do well, sometimes not so much. I don't complain about the sprinq salmon regs either.

Possession of 6 halibut a year? No issue. Treat it same way as springs, with a spot on your licence to record your catch.

We can even keep the limit at 1, possession at 2.

Make it so that you don't have to be a bc coastal resident to make it worthwhile to fish for halibut.

In other words, get rid of the beauracracy of having one fish under blah-blah, and a second fish no bigger than blah-blah...and you have to transport the fish whole...while holding one hand over your head and chewing gum at the same time!

(yes, I hate beauracracy...that's why I'm an Albertan!)

[Tofinofish]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

Let me keep some decent fish and I would buy a halibut tag and would make the trek to the coast.

No different than a salmon tag...I target salmon, sometimes I do well, sometimes not so much. I don't complain about the sprinq salmon regs either.

Possession of 6 halibut a year? No issue. Treat it same way as springs, with a spot on your licence to record your catch.

We can even keep the limit at 1, possession at 2.

Make it so that you don't have to be a bc coastal resident to make it worthwhile to fish for halibut.

In other words, get rid of the beauracracy of having one fish under blah-blah, and a second fish no bigger than blah-blah...and you have to transport the fish whole...while holding one hand over your head and chewing gum at the same time!

(yes, I hate beauracracy...that's why I'm an Albertan!)

There will be new Federal licenses out for April 1st with a spot to record your Halibut - including length -after you put it in the boat just like Chinook Salmon. I can't confirm details on the stamp yet.