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[Rodney]

Your input please

PUBLICATION: Prince George Citizen
DATE: 2005.02.01
EDITION: Final
SECTION: Second Front
PAGE: 3
BYLINE: Gordon Hoekstra
SOURCE: The Citizen

Residents back endangered designation for sturgeon
There was little resistance at a public input meeting in north-central B.C. to adding the white sturgeon to Canada's endangered species list.

A meeting last week in Vanderhoof attracted about 20 people who expressed support for the idea, said Department of Fisheries and Oceans official Dan Sneep.

In fact, Vanderhoof residents were interested in finding out how to locate a facility in their community to breed sturgeon and release them into the Nechako River, Sneep said.

Building the facility is one of the recommendations in a draft recovery plan for the sturgeon.
"In a community like this there hasn't been fishing for white sturgeons for five years now, we have a recovery initiative underway now. The public and the stakeholders have, I think, really bought into it, the value of the fish," said Sneep.

The issue of listing the white sturgeon is much more controversial in the lower Fraser River, which still has a catch-and-release fishery, fishing guides, commercial fishermen and First Nations that might be affected, said Sneep.

The white sturgeon was added to Canada's list of endangered species last November by the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

The consultation and analysis period ends in April 2006, when a recommendation will be made to Ottawa.
The federal cabinet makes the final decision on the listing.
Study of the Nechako's white sturgeon have found that its numbers are dangerously low -- estimated at 570 along the river's 300-kilometre length -- and their population is aging. The population under 15 years of age accounts for about five per cent, maybe as little as 30 fish

Sandy Carson
Public Affairs and Strategic Communications
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Email:  carsons@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Tel:      (613) 993-0993
Fax:     (613) 990-0222

[DragonSpeed]

Does that mean if they get listed, there'll be no C&R fishery anymore? 

[Sam Salmon]

That's part of the problem
The Upper Fraser and Lower Fraser river stocks comprise 2 different populations and it's not clear that if one is declared endangered that the other can be allowed to remain C&R.

[Rodney]

Has the boundary of the two populations been identified? Is there an overlap between the two populations? If the two overlap, do they interbreed when the anadromous population travels upstream?

It would be interesting to see how this develops in the next little while. The economical impact of a closed fishery would be tremendous for the guiding industry. If white sturgeon is protected, would this mean casting a worm on a hook from shore for coarse fish is prohibited?

How do people feel about the currentl catch and release fishery? Is pressure too high? I personally enjoy the odd outing for sturgeon, but I certainly feel bad that these fish are being caught again and again.

[reach]

How do people feel about the currentl catch and release fishery? Is pressure too high? I personally enjoy the odd outing for sturgeon, but I certainly feel bad that these fish are being caught again and again.

You're probably right.  But sturgeon are an incredibly durable fish.  You can leave them out of water for hours and when you put them back they'll be fine (not recommending this; I just believe it's true).  I believe the current catch & release fishery has very small mortality.  That's not based on any scientific evidence though - it's just my opinion.

And I haven't done much sturgeon fishing either, though I hope to this coming year.  But the last time I was out in October, the results of the tagging program were impressive.  There were plenty of fish around, including LOTS of young ones that weren't yet tagged, even though many of the guides have been tagging for years.  From that day's fishing, it seems the recruitment of young fish is pretty darn good.  Again, it's just anecdotal evidence, but that's my opinion.  You asked for it.   

[Rodney]

I do understand catch and release mortality rate is extremely low, I guess I should have expanded my point further in the previous post. I guess having these fish hooked, hauled in, released repetitively, it's hitting one of my soft spots. Although the angling community sees the sustainability of catch and release, the non-angling community may not see it that way. How do you, as an angler, convince non-fishers (which make up a huge percentage of the general public) that it is justified to continue catching and releasing these fish? In the meantime, we recognize that the population is "good" but much below historic numbers, and it is a species that is very unique in the evolutionary aspect.

Does supply meets the growing demand? Should WLAP begin limiting number of guiding licenses issued in Fraser Valley?

I looked at the tagging program summary provided by FRSCS. Those numbers do look very sounding, but should be treated with caution. If we are doing a temporal population study of a species that can live as long as 100 years, four years data may not be enough to conclude whether the stock is endangered or not. A single day catch of many juveniles does not indicate the recruitment is healthy, instead it may simply mean the boats bumped into a school of juvenile fish. Also, how do we define high recruitment without comparison of historic numbers? These are just some of the unanswered questions (could be just me ) that suggest the angling community shouldn't be so readily to accept that the sturgeon population is healthy.

[The Gilly]

I'm OK with it as long as they separate the two sections of the river.  I've been doing a lot of reading on the White Sturgeon over the past year.  They're very versitile fish there are reports of Sturgeon tagged in San Diego being caught in the Fraser and Fraser tagged fish being caught in Alaska.  I think that over the last 5 years there is good evidence that the population can rebound and be healthy with C&R.  These fish take a very long time to become mature.  The 6 footers of today were born in the 70's and early 80's.  There is still much to be studied but the early reports have been favorable.

[Gooey]

Does the fact that these fish do travel pose a problem?  Can you differentiate Natchako sturgeon from lower fraser they move as far as alaska/sandiego??

When I hear that the Natchako has such an old population with poor recruitment then I tend to think its something environmental in that area (loss of good spawning ground, polution, competition with adults, etc).

Until the source of the decline is identified, how can a solution be found. will having them declared endangered enable greater action ie sutting down polution causing industry/more money for habitat restoration, etc.

[Sam Salmon]

If you do a search on the diversion of the Nechako by Alacan you'll see why the Sturgeon there are in such rough shape-not just the Sturgeon either.
As to division of population it's not quite a simple as they all live above/below Hell's Gate but a person can tell the difference by the shape of the snout.
Also as to fish becoming fully Anadromous and travelling to distant waters that happens to about 1 in 20 fish-once you fish them a bunch you realise that some are much stronger more silvery-those are the Anadromous fish.
Most don't travel all that far within the Fraser system apart from that annual run down to feed on Oolies.
Rod-you should spend some time talking to Troy the head of Sturgeon BC he has many of the answers to the questions you're bringing up.

[Rodney]

Thanks Sam, I plan to email Troy when I get a chance.
Interesting observation regarding anadromous fish....

[Rodney]

Bringing this back up. There must be more members who fish for sturgeon than just the ones who have commented. I don't think we understand how large the implication is if this particular fishery is closed. Don't say it won't happen, because this is one topic that the sportfishing advisory board is discussing at a moment.

The meeting on SARA and sturgeon is coming up next Wednesday. There are serious concerns here, if you enjoy your Sturgeon fishing or simply want to support your fellow fishers you should attend. The meeting is on February 9th, 6:30 p.m. at the Rhombus Hotel, Chilliwack.