There is a proposal from DFO relating to Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery that contains potential changes to chinook fishing in the entire SRKW critical habitat area, which includes Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait where we fish. Below is the DFO presentation that contains those changes.
The DFO SRKW Team will host an online meeting about their proposed regulation changes and give you a chance to comment. A one-hour online MS Teams meeting on Wednesday October 29th at 11:45 am has been scheduled specifically for you. This meeting is specifically for sportsfishing participants to review the proposed changes in our area – it is not the local SFAB meeting which is scheduled for Nov 4 of this year.
You may also want to respond directly to DFO about these proposed changes during the consultation period via email at DFO.SRKW-ERS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca . You will need to respond by the October 31st deadline.
Within the proposed changes, there appear to be a few things worth noting for clarification:
- Chinook non-retention areas are proposed to become chinook closure areas. This will mean no more chinook catch and release in those areas.
- There is no mention of a slot limit in those areas in which, for the past few years, chinook fishing was allowed and retention was permitted for chinook over the minimum length and under a maximum length.
- Chinook closures would not apply to an area in which a mark selective fishery (MSF) is allowed; but a MSF typically has a narrow time window and, as ever, is at the discretion of the DFO.
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