Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: JustinG on August 15, 2013, 08:24:07 AM
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If fish out of Pt Renfrew all summer. We see US sport fishing boats coming in and out of Canadian waters all the time off-shore. Just out of curiosity, I called the Washington State Dept of Wildlife and asked about a non-resident license. For roughly $70 for an annual license I can go 6 miles out of San Juan Inlet and fish Sockeye on the US side all summer. If I go under 6 miles (on the Canadian side) it is closed. Because I would not land at a US port or am not meeting up with any other boats on the water there is no need to radio in to US Customs. No brainer for filling the freezer next summer.....
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Sure, you could do that legally, but as a Canadian citizen, is is it ethical to do so?
IMHO, it isn't.
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Why not? The majority are headed to Lake Washington.
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If you can be very confident that the sockeye are among the 100-200,000 that are bound for Lake Washington and not the several million that are bound for the Fraser R, then fill yer boots or boats :)
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Fair comment. A man with numbers, I can relate to that.
If there is any fishing at all targeting Fraser bound sockeye, under whatever banner they are caught, I have no issue whatsoever taking what we can eat in a year legally.
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How would you be able to prove you caught them in the US side?
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How would you be able to prove you caught them in the US side?
Fish on the US side talk differently. ;)
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They have a US Passport. ;)
Washington State License, my word where I caught them and if anyone wanted to get ornery about it, they could come up to the bridge and take a look at my GPS tracking record.
Unlikely I would get checked on the Canadian side as I would be underway (more likely on the US side). I have never seen anyone "pulled over" so to speak by DFO.
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when you come back to Canada, are you legally to retain?
Another grey area in life.
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Yes. I have buddies who do a trip to Alaska every year and bring back their state limit of sockeye. Sport caught fish cross borders everyday (normal course for most lodges' guests). You just have to have an accompanying license. Nothing grey about it.
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Fair comment. A man with numbers, I can relate to that.
I'm glad we're speaking the same language :)
If there is any fishing at all targeting Fraser bound sockeye, under whatever banner they are caught, I have no issue whatsoever taking what we can eat in a year legally.
And that's where we differ, I guess. As a Canadian citizen, to me it is unethical to harvest a Canada-bound fish in American waters when I am prohibited from angling for that same fish in Canadian waters due to conservation concerns. But that's just me... 8)
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We seem to agree for the most part on both. What I am saying is, if it is closed for everyone, I agree with your argument. If it is open for one particular group, I have will have no problem heading out.
Practically, if it is closed for everyone on the Canadian side that means it would be pretty much a futile effort in targeting sockeye anyway. This and last year we have had zero incidental catch.
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Just one thing as a devil's advocate- should we then be fishing salmon in the salt at all if we might be catching salmon of any species that are destined for streams that are endangered and/or closed on either side of the border? Who knows if the coho I might keep in Prince Rupert isn't from an endangered North Thompson stock?
For example, an old adage was that the majority of the Quinsam chinook (approx. 80%) were caught in Alaska before they even reached BC waters. Catching fish from more southerly runs (or that move through US waters and back into BC) needs to be considered, especially during Canada/US fishing negotiations. It's a biiiiiiig can o' worms, and creates a lot of acrimony.