Monthly archives: March, 2023

PFA Responds to ENGO Misinformation re: Pilot MSFs

The Public Fishery Alliance has sent a letter to The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard in response to misinformation being promulgated by environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs) with regard to the proposed pilot mark selective fisheries (MSFs) described in the draft 2023/2024 Southern BC Salmon Integrated Fishery Management Plan.

The Public Fishery Alliance stresses that we support and need wild salmon to recover and we are willing to work with any organization that embraces that goal, including the groups [ENGOs] mentioned in this letter. However, that will be impossible if they continue to promote a divisive agenda based on inferences that recreational fisheries are unregulated, its businesses are only in it for the dollar, and anglers are not legitimate stakeholders.

letter from PFA to The Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

PSS Online Silent Auction: March 10 – 19

Great news from the Pensinsula Streams Society: their third annual online auction is live! The auction runs from today, March 10, through to March 19. Please visit the auction site for the offerings, and make your bid!

There are several fabulous offerings this year, in many Categories, including ExperiencesFishing, and Food & Drink. We very much hope that you find something you like, and win it with your bid!

Image courtesy Peninsula Streams Society 2023 online auction

Victoria & Area Sport Fishing Advisory Committee Meeting: Wednesday, Mar 8, 2023

A Victoria & Area SFAB Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8 at 7:00 PM at the Esquimalt Anglers Association clubhouse, 1100 Munro Street (at the foot of Lampson Street in Esquimalt).  This in-person meeting is open to the public.  Parking is free and the EAA clubhouse is upstairs in the building by the launch ramp in Fleming Beach Park.

If you cannot attend in-person and are interested to attend the meeting virtually, please contact Chris Bos (governor@shaw.ca) to receive the log in information.

DRAFT AGENDA TOPICS:

  • 2022 Preliminary Southern BC Chinook and Coho Escapement Report
  • 2023 MM and MSF and proposed new pilot opportunities – status update
  • 2023 SRKW Proposed Measures (Active Pass, 20-1 Juan de Fuca Strait and oversized area 20-5 closures)
  • Halibut update – what measures for April 1st 2023
  • SFAB Modernization – Terms of Reference status – update
  • SFAC Business  (realignment – membership – who can vote – code of conduct)
  • Discussion – Seeking anglers help getting salmon heads turned in on hatchery fish and SRKW avoidance compliance   
  • DFO regional update

If you have a topic that you wish added to the agenda please contact Chris Bos (governor@shaw.ca) with topic details.

This SFAB meeting is open to the public and we encourage any local anglers interested to learn more about our local fisheries and how they are managed to come out and join us.

Pacific Herring and Spawning

The ACS heard recently from Jim Shortread regarding Pacific herring fisheries. Jim thanked the ACS for supporting the Industrial Herring Moratorium.  Herring fisheries have now been closed south of Nanaimo and all the way to Race Rocks at the request of First Nations. 

On the 25th of March in 2022 there were 170 tonnes of herring spawn at Fisgard Light and Royal Beach.  Over the past decade herring spawning has been rather random. The last spawn at Esquimalt was 1998, and there are hopes for the herring to return this spring and spawn again. 

The Songhees First Nation is planning on setting hemlock branches at Fisgard Light and three marinas downtown: Fisherman’s Wharf, Causeway Marina and Victoria International Marina.  There will be a formal ceremony at Causeway Marina to call the herring in to spawn on the hemlock branches.

There is a strong volunteer team at Fisherman’s Wharf and that is the best spot to drop-in and see what they are doing; branches for herring spawn will be placed at Fishermen’s Wharf on March 11 starting at 10:00 AM. There will be nylon enhancement panels installed as well. Everything will be hung on the seaward side of the crab dock which is the furthest dock from the entrance.

Jim continues:

We are really looking forward to finding adult herring in the month of March.  We will dissect the herring and measure the weight of the gonads and the weight of the fish to determine if the herring will be spawning soon.

And if the herring do decide to spawn in Esquimalt again… well, then we need jiggers for sure. We need to collect 25 to 75 spawners for dissection and DNA sampling.

So any help you can give in finding adult herring in the month of March will be most appreciated.

For more information on this topic, or to volunteer your time and/or knowledge, please contact Jim Shortread by email or by phone.

Release of Draft 2023/24 BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation

With FN0199, DFO has released their draft 2023-2024 Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

The draft IFMPs set out the policy framework that guides decision making, general objectives relating to management of stocks of concern, enhancement and enforcement, as well as decision guidelines for a range of fisheries.

Please refer to the New for 2023/24 for key changes for the IFMP that may be under consideration.

Section 13 of the IFMPs outline the Species Specific Fishing Plans, …

During March and April, the Department will be meeting with First Nations and recreational, commercial and environmental groups to seek further feedback on the draft IFMPs as part of the IFMP consultation process.

https://notices.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=255685&ID=all

You may read the northern and southern IFMPs via the fishery notice, or the links below:

Page 40 of the draft Southern Salmon IFMP speaks to DFO’s latest considerations of Mark Selective Fisheries. Worth noting is that for a significant time period, COVID precautionary measures reduced fin clipping at Canadian salmon hatcheries to near zero; there will be a few years where recreational fishers seeking marked salmon will be dependent upon Washington state origin fish for success.

Mass Marking / Mark-Selective Fisheries
The Department approved a small number of mark selective fishery (MSF) opportunities in 2021 that are proposed to continue in 2023/2024, pending the post-season review of the available fisheries information. Details can be found here in Table 13.1-12.

New and modified MSF opportunities are currently being consulted on for possible implementation in Spring 2023. Those MSF that are approved will be included in the final 2023/24 IFMP and may be considered again in Spring 2024 subject to post-season review of the available data (13.1-13: Proposed MSF Openings – Southern ISBM). Also new for 2024 is a proposed modification to the MSF in portions of the Juan de Fuca Strait and Haro Strait that occurs in March to move to marked-only retention .

Further work on a framework to inform decision making on the expanded use of MM and MSF is underway as part of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI). DFO plans to seek input from First Nations and stakeholders on this work during a series of workshops that began in December 2022 and are anticipated to continue in 2023. Further information will be provided on engagement plans at a later date.

https://acsbc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-24-Southern-Salmon-IFMP-Draft.pdf