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[BigFisher]

Wild Coho are being killed everyday on the Vedder, they just arnt getting caught or dont know any better.  The first Coho I saw come out of the vedder this year was wild and it was killed. There were 10 others fishing this run 5 of them were friends of the poacher with an acient, the other 5 just didnt do anything. I asked one the guys fishing what the group had caught as from what I saw was 3 chinook and a coho, and he confirmed that there was 3 chinook and a coho... I told him that coho was wild, he said he didnt notice.  He mentioned that DFO servey person came down and took alook and marked down the fish on her survey board, and she too did not say anything about the wild coho... Come one 11 people, and I was the only person to point out that a wild Coho was killed? pff, that really bothers me...

[Dave]

Ryan, not only are wild coho being killed, Cultus sockeye also.  The creel census lady has no authority to enforce regulations and is actually told to back away from obvious infractions.  Her job is to report the numbers of anglers and their catch; I know this person and it is literally chewing her up The Vedder and a goodly number of it's anglers has become a sad, sad situation.

[jobber604]

It seems DFO/BC Fish and Wildlife Branch hand out more significant fines than the police for speeding....and many other types of offences towards society. 

[jacked55]

sad fact, no one will EVER get jail time for anything related to this kind of behavior when, IMO, it would only take a few people being made a public example of and some idiots might take notice. This monetary fine was not any where near enough.

[milo]

if i saw someone poach a wild coho I would simply walk over, pick it up and heave it as far as I could back into the river and then tell the person sorry, I didnt know I wasnt allowed to do that

Awesome - it's what I do.

But be careful, make sure someone's got your back.

[silver ghost]

Awesome - it's what I do.

But be careful, make sure someone's got your back.

things like this seem to exist only in theory...I would love to see someone do this to a guy poaching and frankly would love to do it myself...however, for the most part I think it would cause a fight, especially given the "high return of clowns" the vedder has seen in recent years.

[silver ghost]

Ryan, not only are wild coho being killed, Cultus sockeye also.  The creel census lady has no authority to enforce regulations and is actually told to back away from obvious infractions.  Her job is to report the numbers of anglers and their catch; I know this person and it is literally chewing her up The Vedder and a goodly number of it's anglers has become a sad, sad situation.

The funny thing is there really isn't any "wild" coho anymore. All wild means is that the hatchery staff failed to mark it [they really do not have resources to clip EVERY fry], or the fish is the offspring of a hatchery spawner who, at one point along the familly tree, spawned in a place other than the hatchery, hence why it did not get clipped.

But regardless, it is still not allowed to be retained and there is no excuse for bonking one even if you're a complete poacher clown.

I've talked to this lady before too, she is just there for numeration purposes, however she says she does "observe record recort" and calls in all the infractions she sees to the "Report all clowns and idiots" hotline

[mistermongz]

Im just glad that he got caught. Sure mistakes can be made, ignorance happens in every aspect of life, but THREE wild coho is blatant disregard for the rules, or supreme ignorance. I would assume the former, in which I think more should be done towards the guilty party, but at least its SOMETHING. After reading about the Gong Show of the Vedder, and the lack of any presence of DFO officers, this is refreshing. I as a beginner, student, and timid angler would much rather a River that has some form of authority than a free for all. The river itself is intimidating, the stories after that are just icing on the cake. Hope they stick around!

I just saw 3 ho and 3 Chinook and a jack. I didnt see the chinook before! Then yeah, 800 and confiscation wasnt nearly enough. Should have been 250-500 per fish over the limit, and 500-1000 per coho. Or call it a grand a 15 days in prison. Either or.

Honestly Don't let the Vedder itimidate you! sure there's lots of clowns around but, you dont have to be around them. Trust me i fish the Vedder on the Weekends, ussually on  Sundays. i have been to places where i cant even see another soul except my buddy that i fish with.

[mistermongz]

Awesome - it's what I do.

But be careful, make sure someone's got your back.

If i see you do that to someone i got your back. 

[buck]

fishhunter

There are lots of wild coho in the system that spawn in the upper watershed. Depot Creek, Upper Chilliwack, and Post Creek to name a few. Oh, and by the way all coho fry are clipped at the hatchery. 

[clarki]

Heard yesterday on the river a guy got fined $800 and got all of his gear taken by DFO Fishery Officers for poaching - retention of a closed species [3 wild coho], retention over the daily limit [jack chinook and 3 adult chinook]

While any sanctions against a fisheries offender is good thing, I do want to caution all the wagon jumpers that the news "was heard on the river". Not saying that fishunter is into exageration or deliberate deception, hower anything other than first hand observations needs to be take with a grain of salt.   

[jobber604]

Best thing DFO/BC gov't can do is make these sort of fines public. That will draw more public attention and put pressure on weekend fishers to know the rules.

[Easywater]

There is a page on the DFO website where they publish convictions - nothing for Pacific region yet for this year, though.

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/charges-inculpations-eng.htm

To see several years of convictions, hit the Search button and type in "convictions".

They do put the hammer down occasionally:

November 30, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Campbell River, B.C. - Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced today that a Sayward resident has received six months of jail time and a lifetime prohibition from fishing for his latest fisheries violation.

On April 12, 2006, fishery officers were conducting a routine patrol near Hardwicke Island, B.C., when they came across the fishing vessel Go Getter. The vessel’s owner, Michael Arthur Sacht, had been prohibited from prawn fishing for five years in 2005. After boarding the vessel, fishery officers found Mr. Sacht onboard while the vessel was involved in prawn fishing, which was in violation of his previous sentence.

Recently, in Campbell River provincial court, Mr. Sacht was sentenced to six months in jail, a lifetime prohibition from possessing any fishing equipment, and a lifetime prohibition from boarding any vessel in Canadian tidal waters (except a ferry) involved in fishing or that has fish or fishing equipment onboard. A total of 70 prawn traps found on the Go Getter were also forfeited. Mr. Sacht has more than 25 previous convictions under the Fisheries Act.

[JPW]

Nice to see that the system does work sometimes.  I think the more reports that go into the hotline, the more chance people will get caught not just once, but twice and three times.  Lets face it, we are dealing with repeat offenders.  While the penalty may not seem harsh enough the first time around (and in fairness, sometimes it's just an honest mistake), it's the second and third time that the prosecution happens!

[adriaticum]

Good, maybe our rants are finally getting noticed!