Category «Meeting Notice»

Notice of Important DFO – SFAB Meetings on Feb. 16, 2022

A note from Chris Bos, local SFAB committe co-chair:

The DFO Southern Resident Killer Whale Recovery Team have agreed to present their 2022 proposed salmon fishing closure options to our local SFAB Committees.  The SFAB is seeking your expert angler knowledge about the areas in question and have arranged two separate meetings for our constituents to hear from DFO and ask questions about the DFO proposals.  Closures, if approved by the minister, would be in effect between June 1 and October 31 and mean no salmon fishing.    You can attend the meeting that relates to areas you fish, either one or both meetings.  The meetings are:

Online Meeting 1 – Wednesday February 16th from 11:00am to 12:30pm – for Victoria – Juan de Fuca – Port Renfrew – Nitinat

Microsoft Teams meeting – Join on your computer or mobile app  Click here to join this meeting at 11:00am

Online Meeting 2 – Wednesday February 16th from 3:00pm to 4:30pm – Fraser River Mouth – Southern Gulf Islands

Microsoft Teams meeting – Join on your computer or mobile app Click here to join this meeting at 3:00pm                  –

There is also already a DFO online survey circulating on the same issue with their proposed closure options identified that seeks public feedback.   The deadline for public response to the survey is March 2, 2022.  

The SFAB suggests that local anglers wait until after the two DFO presentations before completing the DFO survey.  Using input from the SFAB constituents and local angling knowledge, there may be some special recommendations or hybrid options to put forward by the SFAB. 

You’re invited: Local SFAB Committee meeting Jan. 19, 7 pm

Chris Bos, Chair of the Victoria and Area Local SFAB Committee, has emailed regarding the next committee meeting.

The meeting is open to all anglers who fish the Canadian waters from Saanich Inlet through the Southern Gulf Islands and Haro Strait, off Oak Bay and Victoria and right out to Jordan River in the western Juan de Fuca Strait.  The meeting is “in camera” as DFO staff will not be present.

…

It would be excellent if this meeting were well attended, as I would genuinely like to hear the feedback from many of our constituents on important  fisheries issues that we face

email from Chris Bos
Meeting:Victoria and Area Local SFAB Committee
When: Wednesday January 19, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.  Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Where:Online Virtual Zoom Meeting
Link – Sign In Details:Please email Chris Bos at Chris@anglerscoalition.com to receive meeting sign in details.

The agenda for the meeting:

  • verify what the SFAB is and can actually do
  • provide a more detailed update on the SFAB modernization process
  • seek feedback from SFAB constituents about what they want from the SFAB process locally
  • discuss important species specific issues and prioritize them
  • develop a comprehensive Victoria Committee mailing list
  • discuss the need for more DNA samples from waters off of Victoria and Sooke 

A Message from Chris Bos

Chris Bos, President of the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, has reached out to the southern Vancouver Island recreational fishing community with regard to the upcoming local SFAC meeting and planned elections of chair and sub-chair positions:

The fall post-season Sport Fishing Advisory Board meetings are now taking place.  Important to you, on Tuesday November 9th at 7:00PM the Victoria and area Local SFAB Committee will be held as an online Microsoft TEAMS meeting

The Microsoft TEAMS meeting:  Click here to join the meeting

Providing local knowledge-based advice and advancing viable proposals to DFO to save our very important Chinook fishery from any further harm will again be key.  Beyond the many fisheries issues that need local grassroots input, there will be an election held to fill the positions of Committee Chair and Second Seat for our committee for the next two years.  Ryan Chamberland, our current committee chairman, has shared publicly his intentions of not running as chairman again this time. 

As you know, in the past I have chaired this committee for many years.  I have put my name forward to stand again for the Committee Chair position.  For 20 years I have been involved at most levels of the SFAB (local, regional and Main Board) as well as represented your interests on many of the species-specific sub-committees.  This valuable experience is important and needed, when our fisheries are under such threat as they are today.

In the event this election requires actual votes be cast next Tuesday night, I humbly ask that you vote for me to represent your interests on our local committee as Chairman.  And I would be most grateful if you could recommend me for the position of Chairman to other like-minded anglers in your circle of friends.

Thank you in advance for your consideration and support,

Sincerely yours,

Chris

The ACS endorses Chris’ candidacy for the role of committee chairman.

Please attend this important meeting to support whichever candidate you feel will best represent our collective interests with the SFAB and DFO in these most interesting times.

SFAC Meeting Nov 9 2021

The fall Sports Fishery Advisory Committee (SFAC) meeting for southern Vancouver Island will be held November 09 at 7pm, on Microsoft Teams.

Elections for the role of Chair and co-chair will take place at the end of the meeting.

You are strongly encouraged to attend this virtual meeting to voice your support for the candidates of your choosing.

Draft Agenda:

  • SRKW
  • Hatchery Updates
  • Conservation and Protection Report
  • Elections

Please email Ryan Chamberland with any other additions to the agenda.

Details to attend the Microsoft Teams meeting:

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 647-484-5913,,360060599#   Canada, Toronto

Phone Conference ID: 360 060 599#

Find a local number | Reset PIN

Learn More | Meeting options

Spring 2021 SFAC Area 19/20 Meeting

WhenWednesday, March 10 @ 7pm
WhereMicrosoft Teams virtual meeting
How to joinJoin on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Or call in (audio only)
+1 647-484-5913,,315269984#   Canada, Toronto
Phone Conference ID: 315 269 984#
Find a local number

Local SFAC chair Ryan Chamberland has invited local sport fishers to the spring SFAC meeting for Area 19 and 20.

Please review in advance the draft agenda and the minutes from the local Fall 2020 SFAC meeting.

It’s always possible to construct a motion on a topic under discussion during the meeting. Should you already have prepared a motion to put forward at the meeting, prior notice of such to Ryan by email would be greatly appreciated.

SFAC Area 19/20 – Meeting to Discuss/Pass Motions Wednesday, Dec 02, 2020

Our local SFAC co-chair Ryan Chamberland has called a virtual meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 1:30 pm. The purpose is to discuss and then vote on whether two motions under consideration at this meeting should be put forward to the SFAB Chinook/Coho Working Group for their consideration.

If you can attend Wednesday @ 1:30 pm to discuss and vote on the following two motions it would be greatly appreciated by your local chairs Ryan and Chris. To attend, please contact Ryan by email for the Microsoft Teams meeting link or the (audio only) phone conference information.

The motions:

Motion 1 –  Selective marked fishery for Areas 18-19 and 20-1 to 20-6 (April 1st – June 10th)

Whereas the recreational fishery is dependent upon expectation and opportunity and;

Whereas Washington State releases over 70 million marked Chinook per year and;

Whereas for the last 12 years the Sidney anglers derby held in May each year has only shown 2  (two) Fraser Chinook intercepted in that time frame and;

Whereas DFO records indicate that the catch of Fraser Chinook is virtually non-existent in areas 18, 19 and 20-1-to 20-6 until June 10 and;

Whereas it has been shown that the Southern Resident Orcas have changed their foraging areas north of the entrance to Juan de Fuca in 2019 and 2020,

Therefore the regulations for the Juan de Fuca 2021 fishery should be changed to read “Chinook retention shall be limited to two hatchery marked Chinook in areas 18 and 19 and areas 20-1 to 20-6 from April 1 to June 10, 2021”

Motion 2 – Selective marked fishery for Areas 18-19 and 20-1 to 20-6 (June 11th – July 31st)

Whereas Washington state continues to release over 70 million hatchery marked Chinook and has stated that there is enough Chinook for all and;

Whereas these hatchery Chinook are for retention of all fisheries and;

Whereas the Southern Resident Orcas in the past 2 (two) years have been late in returning to BC waters and according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have changed their foraging areas further north of the entrance to Juan De Fuca Strait,

Therefore there should be a retention of one hatchery marked Chinook in areas 18 and 19 and 20-1 to 20-6 from June 11 to July 31, 2021. Possession limits to remain unchanged.

Final Session of 2020 SFI Conference Series: Friday, Nov. 27, 9:30 am

In the final session, Parliamentary Secretary to the Fisheries Minister, North Vancouver- Burnaby MP, Terry Beech, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will speak about collaboration and reconciliation, a communities perspective from the BC Chamber of Commerce, and a tourism perspective from the Tourism Industry Association of BC.

Attendance to each sessions is free but you must register. Tomorrow’s session will be approximately 120 minutes long.

Friday, Nov 13th, 9:30 am: 2nd webinar of 2020 SFI Conference Series

The second webinar presented by the SFI takes place Friday, Nov. 13 at 9:30 am. The session will be approximately 90 minutes long, with an audience question and answer period following the speakers. The theme for the series is Charting a Predictable Path for Salmon and BC’s Public Fishery.

In this webinar, the discussion turns to Mark Selective Fishing (MSF) and Mass Marking (MM). To aid both recovery of salmon and provide reliable and predictable opportunity for BC’s public fishery, action must be taken.  A solution that has been successfully implemented, mark selective fishing and mass marking, will be discussed by representatives from Washington State and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Attendance to these sessions is free but you must register. 

Ask Questions
Written questions can be asked following each speaker using a free, simple tool called sli.do or slido.com.  Once the session begins, use a separate browser tab to access another web page, or use your phone, to go to slido.com, and enter the session code in the participant area.

On November 13th the code is: #MARKSELECTIVE. See samples of PC / mobile of the sli.do participant page. The chat function in the Zoom webinar will be disabled, so please ask and vote on questions posed through sli.do. 

Local SFAC Meeting: Nov 3, 7 pm

The local SFAC meeting is planned for Nov. 3 at 7 pm. This link will allow you to join the MS Teams virtual meeting at that time. This document may help you join the meeting successfully.

The local SFAC chair was provided much information in advance of this meeting by South Coast SFAC chairs Mike Kelly and Erika Watkins. Some of this information is shared here.

This document is DFO’s “Regional recreational Updates – Fall 2020”. This document provides a lot of information and updates on a variety of species management issues and policy initiatives that DFO currently has underway in a regional context. It is intended as an information document. Note that the first 6 items in the document highlight issues that will be included in SFAB consultation during the upocoming cycle.

This document is the “SFAB Regional Priorities and Requests for Consideration 2020\2021”. This is a list of priority issues that the SFAB species specific working group chairs and the SFAB executive have identified as regional priorities for the upcoming consultation cycle. Please note that these regional priorities may not capture priorities at your local committee level, and it is anticipated  that both motions and action items that offer advice to address both regional and local issues may flow from your local meetings.

The SFAB motions tracking spreadsheet may help you understand the status of SFAB motions that have already been submitted to DFO as advice. This may help you understand how advice provided  by either your committee or the Regional and Main Board has been considered by DFO and what the outcome of that consideration has been. It also will assist in identifying outstanding items that require clarification.

Pat Ahern of the SFI has provided a slide deck to explain the status of the SFAB modernization process.

Under normal circumstances, in 2020/2021, elections would be held to either reconfirm the mandate of existing local, regional and Main Board chairs; or to replace them through a fair, transparent, anonymous and democratic process. Elections are being deferred until such time as they may occur in face to face meetings.

Peaceful Information Rally Outside Downtown Vancouver DFO Office – July 6th, 2020, noon to 1:30 PM

Please see the PFA press release here.

The significant issues with early Fraser River Chinook salmon have been present for more than 15 years. DFO has made little, if any investment into their recovery, instead placing the ineffective burden on public fisheries. Restricting and closing public access to Chinook salmon is NOT a recovery plan. Minister Bernadette Jordan and the DFO need solutions with conviction. Current solutions have an optical presence to mislead Canadians that recovery will be attained. DFO needs to address threats to early Fraser River Chinook like habitat degradation, climate change, predators, pollution and illegal netting.

Date: Monday, July 6th
Time: 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Location: 401 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC (on the corner of Burrard and W. Hastings)

For those participating, thanks for your support. Please read the press release to be aware of and to follow the

  • PFA Information Rally code of conduct
  • BC government advice regarding COVID-19 protocols
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