Here are the meeting minutes for the November 7, 2018 meeting of the ACS.
Notice of Victoria and Area SFAB Meeting Nov 27, 2018 at 7 pm
This meeting is intended to cover the agenda items remaining from the previous fall 2018 SFAB meeting.
| What | Victoria, Sidney, and Sooke Area Sports Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) Committee Meeting. Open to the angling community and the public. |
| When | Tuesday November 27th, 2018 (7:00 p.m.- 9 p.m.) |
| Where | Esquimalt Anglers Association, 1101 Munro St, Victoria BC V9A 5P2 |
| Agenda |
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| Notes | Please review these documents for Halibut 2019 TAC and Options.
If you cannot attend the meeting and wish to comment on any topic on the agenda, please respond by email to RyanC.SFAB@gmail.com |
Notice of Victoria SFAB Evening Meeting Nov 6 at 7pm
| WHAT | Victoria and Area SFAB Committee Post-Season Meeting |
| WHEN | Tuesday November 6th, 2018 (7:00 p.m.- 10:30 p.m.) |
| WHERE | Sooke Community Hall, 2037 Shields Road, Sooke BC |
This meeting is open to the angling community and the public – please feel free to broadcast this information so we consult with a greater audience.
Draft meeting minutes from Wed Oct 17th can be read here.
Draft Agenda for Tuesday Evening’s meeting:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Remembering Gary West
- Shellfish Aquaculture Tenure Proposals – Possession Point, Sooke (Presentation)
- Summary of last Victoria and Area SFAB Committee Meeting (Wed Oct 17th)
- Adoption of the minutes from the last meeting
- SC Regional Updates
- 2018 Consultation Timing regarding Salmon Measures (SFAB, IHPC, 25-35% Reduction, SRKW)
- Post-Season Chinook Salmon Fishing (Angler Observations)
- 2018 and 2019 Halibut Seasons + TAC Expectation and Committee Guidance on 2019 Season (partial)
- Southern Resident Killer Whale Measures and JDF and Gulf Islands Closures
- Commercial Crabbing Concerns
- Shellfish Aquaculture Tenure Proposals – Salt Spring Island
- Creel Verification Project – Trailer Counting 2018 + Camera Info + angler DNA Collection
- Enhancement Update
- SFAB Representative Elections
Upcoming Victoria SFAB Daytime Meeting Oct 17 10 am – 12:30 pm
Chris Bos, Victoria and Area Committee Chair, Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB), extends an invite to
| WHAT: | Victoria and Area SFAB Committee Post-Season Meeting |
| WHEN: | Wednesday October 17th – (10:00 AM – 12:30 PM) |
| WHERE: | Esquimalt Anglers Lounge, 1101 Munro Street, Victoria |
This meeting is open to the angling community and the public. Please feel free to broadcast this information so the SFAB consults with a wider audience.
Draft agenda for Wednesday’s meeting:
- 2018 Consultation Timing regarding Salmon Measures (SFAB, IHPC, 25-35% Reduction, SRKW)
- Post-Season Chinook Salmon Fishing (Angler Observations)
- 2019 Halibut TAC Expectation and Committee Guidance on Season
- Southern Resident Killer Whale Measures and JDF and Gulf Islands Closures
- Commercial Crabbing Concerns
- 2 x Shellfish Farming Tenure Proposals
- Enhancement Updates
ACS Meeting Minutes, October 2018
Here are the minutes from the October 3, 2018 meeting of the ACS.
Fraser River Sockeye Migration Numbers for 2018
From DFO Fishery Notice FN1062-Salmon, some numbers worth calling out:
The estimated total sockeye salmon escapement past Mission to September
24 is 5,055,200. From the spawning ground report, more location specific numbers:
| Location | Count |
| Scotch Creek counting fence, Aug 9 onward | 79,300 |
| Eagle River hydroacoustic site, Aug 10 onward | 233,325 |
| Nadina Spawning Channel, post-fire impacts | 26,515 |
| Stellako River hydroacoustic site, Aug 1 onward – Nadina sockeye | 178,085 |
| Gates Creek | 1,874 |
| Chilko River hydroacoustic site, Aug 3 onward | 576,353 |
| Quesnel River hydroacoustic site, Aug 7 onward | 803,232 |
| Stellako River hydroacoustic site, Aug 1 onward – Stellako sockeye | 141,340 |
| Birkenhead River hydroacoustic site, Aug 23 onward | 12,163 |
| Sweltzer Creek, July 31 onward – Cultus Lake sockeye | 30 |
You can view much more detail on this topic on the website of the Pacific Salmon Commission.
Proposed Expansion of Killer Whale “Critical Habitat”
Recent amendments to the Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada 2018 (proposed) expand the area to be included as critical habitat. Under the recovery strategy action plan, this area will be subject to measures that respond to perceived threats to killer whale survival. The threat of “Reduced prey availability” identifies “Fishing for Chinook Salmon, Chum Salmon, and other important prey species” and “Other activities that are detrimental to habitat and survival of prey (e.g. fishing for forage fish species)” as activities likely to result in the destruction of critical habitat. The images here are from the above linked document, and show the areas proposed.
Proposed NRKW critical habitat:
Proposed SRKW critical habitat:
ACS Meeting Minutes, September 2018
Here are the minutes for the September 5, 2018 ACS meeting.
FOCUS Magazine: Vancouver’s role in the chinook-sewage-orca death spiral
FOCUS Magazine has published an article that takes DFO to task for its inaction and seeming ignorance regarding chemical discharges from sanitary sewage treatment plants on the lower Fraser River. In Washington state, scientific studies have connected sanitary sewage chemical contamination of salmon natal waterways that empty into Puget Sound to a reduction by half of salmon smolt survival, compared to smolt survival rates in uncontaminated waterways.
With chinook runs on the verge of collapse, you would think that Meador’s published research on chinook estuary contamination, only 200 kilometres away, would have prompted DFO to narrow the gap in their knowledge. We contacted DFO, but as of our press deadline a spokesperson had been unable to confirm whether or not any DFO-affiliated scientist was investigating the impact of the Fraser River estuary wastewater treatment plants, or other sources of chemical contaminants, on the survival rate of juvenile chinook.
A thought provoking read.
DFO proposes more fishing closures: feedback sought
In what DFO terms “Consultation on the critical habitat section of the draft Amended Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada”, they propose fishing closures to both Swiftsure Bank and La Perouse Bank.
A DFO public “consultation” generally occurs after they have made their plans. Nonetheless, it is in the interest of the recreational angler to voice their concerns.
For details regarding what DFO has sent out please see RKW External Review and Critical habitat section of draft Amended RS.
The DFO Regional SARA Consultation webpage is here.
We invite you to submit comments on the critical habitat section (section 7; pages 55 to 68) of the draft Amended Recovery Strategy. Note that this external review period is limited to comments on section 7 of the draft Amended Recovery Strategy. Please provide comments through DFO’s Regional SARA Consultation webpage (link above), or via email, mail or phone.
In order for your input to be considered at this stage in the Recovery Strategy amendment process, comments must be received by July 12, 2018.