DFO to close fishing west of Otter Point – SVIAC asks you to write or phone Minister LeBlanc

Christopher Bos, President of the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, writes:

SVIAC have just learned that DFO’s proposed sport fishing closure for SRKWs in Juan de Fuca Strait will have boundaries between Otter Point in Sooke and East Point in Port Renfrew and is set to be a “no Fin Fish Fishing” zone. The closure will start on June 1st and run through to September 30th. The SFAB asked for Fossil Point just west of Point-No-Point and no salmon fishing for the closed area. Closing the fin fish fishing west of Otter this summer is a terrible idea, will not save a single Southern Resident Orca and, as anglers, we must all let DFO know how seriously bad this decision will be for the community of Sooke.

Today several members of the SFAB met with DFO staff to discuss the soon to be announced SRKW Actions outlined in DFO Minister LeBlanc’s press release (see below).  We made a plea that the SFAB proposal be honoured.  However, it seems clear that the SFAB proposed closure boundaries reached after thorough consultation with many local anglers has been ignored by the Minister.  A real slap in the face to the respected SFAB process.

An SFI and SVIAC talking points and letter writing information document is attached [ed. – see below] – it includes names, email addresses and phone numbers 

So before the formal fishery notice is released YOU MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY to protect your fishing opportunities!  Wednesday is likely too late

NOTE – Please share this with any anglers who you think will write or phone.

Thank you sincerely for your help and support

SRKW Writing Points SFI&SVIAC-1

Emergency Victoria and Area SFAB Committee Meeting re: 2018 Chinook

 

What: Emergency DFO 2018 Chinook Management Proposal
Host: Victoria and Area SFAB Committee
When: Friday May 4th at 7:00pm
Location: Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 829 McCallum Road, Langford

Chris Bos, Victoria and Area Committee Chair for the Sport Fishing Advisory Board, writes:

All are welcome to attend and please share this meeting invitation broadly so local salmon anglers know about it. There is no charge to attend, parking is free and the facilities are wheelchair accessible. There will be a cash bar in the room and I understand the hotel is planning a meeting dinner special in the restaurant for those who want to eat there before the meeting starts.

The meeting agenda will include:

  • PowerPoint about the DFO proposed additional Fraser Chinook measures in 2018
  • The proposed local SFAB committee response and a summary about other PFMAs where possible
  • PowerPoint update about the DFO Proposed Southern Resident Killer Whale closures
  • Initiating an angler-based stock composition and bio-sampling program

I look forward to seeing everyone there.

SFAB Main Board meeting April 14-15, Richmond, BC

The Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) main board is meeting this coming weekend, April 14-15, 2018 at the Airport Marriot Hotel, 7571 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC. The public is welcome. Please respect the meeting chairperson with regard to speaking or presenting at this event. Follow this link to learn how to request meeting materials.

At a March 20, 2018 meeting of the Upper Fraser Valley Sport Fishing Advisory Committee, an update on enforcement of fishing regulations raised a number of concerns, among these being the few Fisheries Officers and Conservation Officers available to keep order, and the significant number of illegal net sets these few officers managed to catch. Which begs the question as to how much illegal fishing on the river goes unremarked?

5. Enforcement Update – C&P, F.V. East (FVE) –D. Clift

  • During 2017-18 season C&P staff levels/resources were very low (e.g. down from 11 Fishery Officers(FOs) to 5 F/T FOs and 1 Recruit);
  • Provincial CO Service are short also and are currently hiring more staff;
  • Low C&P resource levels also impacts ability to respond to new & emerging priorities;
  • Mission C&P Office is closed;
  • 2017 season enforcement stats summary: 126 illegal set nets, 90 violation tickets issued, 37 warnings and over 2000 fishers checked;
  • ORR staffing issue (i.e. limited/reduced coverage during 2017 season) impacted FO patrols;
  • Areas of reported high non-compliance in recreational fisheries were the Stave and Vedder Canal at Keith Wilson bridge.

Concern expressed by committee members about observed increase in number of cars seen
on Vedder Canal Dykes and potential impacts of these activities on riparian habitat areas; it
was confirmed that rules (i.e. bylaws) are in place prohibiting motorized vehicles.
General reminder to report fisheries enforcement concerns to Observe, Record, Report
(ORR) line 1-800-465-4336 & Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) 1-877-952-7277.

Deadline for Comment on Draft 2018/19 Northern and Southern BC Salmon IFMPs for Consultation – Extended to April 13, 2018

DFO has extended the deadline for comments to be submitted on the 2018/19 draft Northern and Southern BC Salmon Integrated Fishery Management Plans (IFMPs) to April 13, 2018.

The draft plans 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. Plans for First Nations, recreational and commercial fisheries and post-season evaluations from the 2017 fishing season are also included. A number of key changes have been shaded in the draft IFMPs for comment and discussion.

Comments may be provided in writing to Ashley Dobko via e-mail or to the local DFO office in your area. For more information, and perhaps a copy of the subject IFMPs, you may contact Ashley Dobko by email or at (604)-666-1505.

Victoria and Area SFAB Committee – Regional Issue Update from DFO

You may read this summary document from DFO concerning fish and fisheries issues being considered by and of interest to the Sport Fishing Advisory Board. If you have any questions or would like your local reps to bring something to the table at the upcoming South Coast SFAB meeting this coming weekend, please feel free to contact Tom Cole at (250) 478-1306 or by email, or Chris Bos at (778) 426-4141 or by email before this Saturday.

Mentioned in the document linked above is the Southern Resident Killer Whale fisheries management proposal from DFO. Earlier this year, in Feb and Mar, the Victoria and Area SFAB Committee held three emergency SFAB meetings (Sidney, Victoria and Sooke), where Martin Paish (SFAB Exec and IHPC SRKW Committee) and Chris Bos consulted with the local angling community so that a suitable response could be submitted to DFO from our sector relating to their proposal. The formal SFAB response was submitted before March 15th deadline and included the recommendations coming from the emergency meetings.

Regarding 2018 Chinook fishing coastwide – the department has recently sent out a document indicating they are contemplating additional Chinook management measures for BC this year. The concern DFO anticipates poor returns of number of stocks including but not limited to Skeena and Fraser Rivers. While no final decision on what measures may be taken has been made, further reductions in exploitation are being considered. For Fisheries Management Areas 18, 19 and 20 early timed Fraser stream-type Chinook are expected to be low too. It is not anticipated to have a closure of the Chinook fishery locally, but DFO might seek some additional tightening of the regs. SFAB reps will discuss this topic with DFO prior to the upcoming South Coast meeting.

Comment on DFO’s SRKW discussion document re: closures by March 15

DFO has proposed measures intended to provide food (chinook salmon) and perhaps less interaction with sport fishing vessels for SRKW. These measures include shutting down salmon fishing in specific areas from May 1 to September 30 of this year.

You can read their SRKW Discussion Paper Final Feb 15 2018.

As an example of proposed measures, for the Strait of Juan de Fuca west of Sooke, they showed this map as captioned:

SRKW forage areas in JDF west of Sooke
Juan De Fuca Map showing SRKW Foraging areas and Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs).

and followed it with this information:

Proposed Management Measures: For this area, an experimental approach is proposed with salmon fishing or fin fish closures proposed for Subareas 20-3 and 20-4 from May 1 to September 30. Monitoring is planned to compare SRKW foraging behaviour in these areas with the adjacent Subareas 20-1 and 20-5, which will remain open to fin fish.

Other areas discussed are named as Pender Island, Saturna Island and Mouth of the Fraser.

You have an opportunity to submit your remarks on this topic to the DFO by March 15 using the form Southern Resident Killer Whale Discussion Paper Feedback Form, which is formatted by DFO as a Microsoft Word document.

Fisheries Act changes planned with Bill C-68

The federal government is looking to change the Fisheries Act and to roll back changes made to the Act by the former ruling Conservatives. Please see bill C-68 here on the Parliament of Canada website.

Reporting to date seems concerned with reaction from industry groups, none of which appears to include sport fishing.

In a missive to the Sport Fishing Advisory Board, DFO has stated, “The changes proposed in this Bill are aimed at protecting fish and fish habitat, supporting Indigenous reconciliation, protecting biodiversity, and incorporating new modern safeguards. ” More information is available at the DFO’s webpage A Fisheries Act for the future.

Another cost of Victoria’s new blue bridge

While it’s easy to track the ever increasing dollar cost of the old Blue Bridge replacement in Victoria, it’s only recently it seems that people have noted another potential cost.

The lights that are planned to illuminate the new bridge will almost surely cost many bait-sized fish their lives. Of special concern are salmon fry migrating out to the ocean. Hunting animals need only park themselves at depth under the lights and await their prey to swim above them. This feeding method has been observed to be used by seals and sea lions in several Vancouver Island rivers in which man-made lighting – on a bridge or a near-shore structure or roadway – enables them to easily detect their prey.

➤