Rod- If DFO is being very open and helpful in the meetings you are attending re: maximising sport fishing opportunities, I would ask that the info pertaining to the salmon fishery opportunities be posted here for all to see. I am not questioning you Rod, I have just been involved in too many government 'consultations' not to be suspicious.
Blueback, there are two main problems that I've recognized in the communication part among anglers, and between DFO and anglers. First is misinformation (look at the above posts in this thread, numbers are flying left and right from no where and people take those numbers as gold which are then passed on). Second is the absence of a efficient medium to get that information out to the angling community.
I'll tackle the second one. Conference calls are going on almost on a daily basis between SFAC, SFAB and DFO. Staff of DFO cannot be at the waters at all time, so they rely on the anglers to bring the information to them (ie. fishing boundaries, lack of enforcement, high frequency of violation, low return of fish numbers, etc). By consulting with angling organizations, they can then make decisions on the management of our fisheries to accommodate everyone. That doesn't mean we'll always get what we want, the resource managers will make decisions mostly based on the findings of their biologists.
Official notices and other related information can be found in this section of the website:
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/fishy_news/index.htmlIn the last few months, I'll say the local (Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland) DFO staff have do a very good job communicating with anglers who utilize these waters. Examples:
Information on adipose clipped sockeye salmon from Cultus LakeCapilano weirs informationCultus Lake sturgeon identificationDFO has also made an effort to get the First Nations and recreational anglers together for the Fraser Valley fisheries dialogue. DFO Chilliwack has financially supported the Vedder River cleanup program for the past two or three years. Just a week and a half ago, DFO Steveston was very quick on the response to my concerns on fishing line and bird life. There have already been some discussions about how we'll broadcast the information better next year, ie. information kiosk at local fishing piers, etc.
Just because the recreational sector did not get the 2 week sockeye allocation, it does not mean DFO does not care about recreational angling! It's unbelievable how much focus there is on this fishery and how people do not make themselves more informed instead of just waiting for the opening to come. There are definitely actions done by DFO and FNs that we disagree, and we make sure our concerns are heard through emails and phone. The sockeye fishery is shadowed by politics and staff at DFO are just as frustrated as you are. By going out there to harvest a few sockeye salmon illegally in the name of a protest, you will not be accomplishing anything except degenerating the relationship between anglers and DFO, the public and other sectors that also use the same resource.
Have you guys and gals heard about this other species called pink salmon? They will come in by the thousands each day next month. Time to go fishing.
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Topic: protest fishery (Read 38255 times)