Allocation Principle 4 - Recreational Allocation
After conservation needs are met, and priority access for First Nations as set
out in Principle 2 is addressed, recreational anglers will be provided:
• priority to directed fisheries on chinook and coho salmon; and,
• predictable and stable fishing opportunities for sockeye, pink and
chum salmon.
Recreational Priority to Chinook and Coho
The recreational priority to directed fisheries on chinook and coho salmon will
operate only after conservation needs are met and First Nations priority, as outlined
in Principle 2, has been addressed. Implementation of the priority will also:
• take into account that sport and commercial fisheries operate very differently,
and
• be consistent with needs of the recreational fishery where fishing time and the
opportunity to fish are more important than an explicit amount of fish.
Where conservation goals cannot be met, recreational fisheries for all salmon will
be closed. Where abundance is sufficient to meet conservation goals but
insufficient to address First Nations needs, recreational access will be restricted to
selective fishing only including non-retention of chinook andlor coho salmon as
appropriate. Where abundance is greater, directed recreational fisheries will be
permitted, however, the recreational limits for these fisheries will be determined by
relative abundance. Even in high abundance scenarios, recreational limits will not
exceed 2 per day with a possession limit of 4 for chinook salmon and 4 per day with
a possession limit of 8 for coho salmon (e.g., in terminal areas or harvest of
hatchery-produced salmon).
Recreational Harvest of Sockeye, Pink and Chum
Recreational sockeye, pink and chum fisheries will only be conducted after
conservation needs are met and the First Nations priority, as outlined in Principle 2,
has been addressed.
The recreational fishery will be managed to provide a stable and predictable
opportunity for recreational harvest of sockeye, pink and chum fisheries.
Management activities will allow an orderly expansion of the recreational harvest
of these species and yet minimize the adverse impacts on the commercial fishery.
The recreational harvest of sockeye, pink and chum will be limited to a maximum
average of 5% of the combined recreational and commercial harvest of each species
over the period 1999 to 2005. This maximum average will be revisited prior to the
2006 fishing season. The Minister may seek advice from the Allocation Board on
this element of the allocation policy.
The 5% allocation is a cap (that is, a maximum harvest quantity.) Therefore,
sockeye, pink and chum salmon, that is not anticipated to be harvested by the
recreational sector in any given year, will be made available to the commercial
fishery.
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Topic: 2022 Fraser River Sockeye Salmon Updates (Read 78691 times)