Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Rodney on January 19, 2005, 02:31:00 PM
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Discussion continued from: http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5873.0
Please also provide feedback. Thank you.
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Since a vote with out a comment doesn't mean much:
What about fishers without Internet access? (yes they DO exist) What if you decide to go fishing while already travelling? Do you have to find an Internet Cafe? Nope. Don't like it all?
My $0.02
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Dragonspeed could not have put it better.
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That's one of the stupidest things i've heard FOC come out with yet. If they expect people to follow the regs people will want a hard copy of them to refer to when traveling etc. There is plenty of valueable information in them for the novice angler or other fishermen who don't know everything off hand, and won't bother to read online. If they want the regs to be followed they better be easily accessible or people won't bother to look them up.
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here here dragon speed ;)
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On line is great but a hard copy is a must for reasons given above. We advertise for tourism in Beautiful British Columbia and particularly our terrific fishing. What happens when tourists arrive and need to know the regulations, hope they all have their lap tops with them !
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I supposed you can print one from their website but I think it is more convenient to have hard copies available so people can pick one up when they renew their fishing licences.
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ok, seems like everyone objects as expected. Now, next question:
One reason that FOC is considering to eliminate the use hard copy of sportfishing guide is finance (surprise surprise :) ).
If money is the issue, let's hear some alternatives coming from you, the readers, that may reduce the cost of distributing fishery information to the public.
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One with annual license is free.
With Weekly license $1
With Daily license $2.
as a replacement: $2.50
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In my opinion charging the public for copies of the fishing regulations is absurd. It defeats its purpose. People won't pay for it; they'll just go fishing without it and then who wins ? There will be some that will argue that those that don't know the regulations will be charged. That's true IF there were enough CO's to enforce the regulations.
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Agree with FA on this one. It's important that an angler receives a guide when purchasing a license, I've noticed many vendors don't even hand out one when license is being purchased these days. Guide books should be mandatory, maybe a fee of the guide book should be included in the license, an extra 2 or 3 dollars.
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Did they hand you a copy of the Motor Vehicle Act when you got your drivers license? ::)
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Good point.... What's with you always making comparisons between fishing and traffic? ;)
The scenario I was thinking of is... a foreign angler travels to BC to fish. After purchasing a license, he assumes he can fish anywhere, at anytime, and harvest any species when caught because of not knowing the existance of regulations.
Many countries actually have very little or no sportfishing regulations.
Maybe a simple, double-sided sheet filled with generic regulations that need to be followed at all time can be produced.. and a permanent board with specific regulations can be posted at the stream. If there are late/temp. regulation changes, notices can be posted on the board, on the web, and at tackle stores via fax. This is the type of system that the Danes have set up in their country.
Are our regulations too complicated to have something like this set up? :)
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Maybe they should just have region specific regulations booklet. Instead of handing out a guide with the regs for all of B.C. just have a independant guide for the section you are in. It would save some money.
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Maybe a simple, double-sided sheet filled with generic regulations that need to be followed at all time can be produced.. and a permanent board with specific regulations can be posted at the stream. If there are late/temp. regulation changes, notices can be posted on the board, on the web, and at tackle stores via fax. This is the type of system that the Danes have set up in their country.
Are our regulations too complicated to have something like this set up? :)
Hmm... not a bad idea Rod :)
Let's read that email again...
"Over the next two years, DFO will be working with the recreational fishing community to make further changes to how the regulations are presented to the public. The intent is to move in the direction of a web-based Sport Fishing Guide/Freshwater Salmon Supplement starting in 2007. At the same time, a complementary handout will be developed with the basic information for anglers."
:D I think that's the plan! :D
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Here's the problem with the motor code comparison:
NUMBER ONE - you actually have to study the rules of the road and take a write and practical test!!! Any joe blow with a fishing rod can go buy a liscence and start fishing! PS I am in support of a formal test for a sports fishing liscence even if it cost an extra $25 to administer.
#2) when driving in new areas or going from the high way to a country lane a driver knows the speed limit (equivilant to gear or species restrictions) because its posted all over the place. Imagine if there were no speed limit signs? Would a driver have to know the speed limit from an online guide for the area he is driving in!?!?
If there is no regs printed then DFO need to post the specific regs for each water way and even that has problems. Recently on the stamp we fished moneys pool (top end). Upon getting there we saw a sign, seasonal fishing closures and bait closures...we were ok to fish, no bait. Next pool down river had a species restriction, from salomon season, no mention of a bait ban so we chucked bait. Next pool down there was no postings period and this was the most popular/recognizable pool on the river. A local there told us that the pool we were in was within the bait ban! Even with a regs book (which we all read before getting to the river) and a printed map from a tackle shop, the bait ban area was not clear at all....take away the guide and DFO shouldnt have any expectation that a fisher will know the rules for a specific piece of water.
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Drat - good knock down on my straw man Gooey :D
One with annual license is free.
With Weekly license $1
With Daily license $2.
as a replacement: $2.50
I still like this. You get some of your printing costs subsidized by your license purchase. you spend less on your license, you spend more on the regs. And it's not a choice. You buy the license, you buy the regs. package deal.
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They need to keep the hard copy. How will my old dad figure out the internet? Maybe they should publish the cost of the regs. If they are a couple of bucks I think they should add it to the price of a licence and everyone gets one with their licence renewal. If you need a second one you pay for it. Maybe they could put the money they save on the regs back into conservation ::) Like that'll happen.
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now every tackle shop ive been in the regs are in a box by the front door grab one if ya want one scenario
i grab a whole bunch everytime and throw them on the coffe table at work
getting rid of it is a very bad idea, getting me to use the ink on my printer is also a very bad idea
ok so the licience fee goes up a buck or two, i could almost live with that
making people buy it,read it, and take a test, IM ALL FOR IT
does it come in different languages ?
cnm
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The idea of knowledge test prior to obtaining a license has been brought up quite a few times. The idea is pretty good, but with numerous problems.
1) Where would the tests be conducted? Current vendors are certainly not the place to do it. Any tacklestore would not spend money on employees to spend hours supervising license applicants who are being tested. What's the validity of the tests when it is being given in a store without trained testing personnels?
2) If stations are to be built to conduct these tests instead, where would these stations be? BC is a HUGE province, and the overall angling population is only a small percentage of the province. Do we have testing stations in Vancouver, Airport (to accomodation those who fly here to fish), Victoria, etc... How do we convince people, to drive from Port Hardy to Victoria, to get a test done so they can retrieve a license? Or should the test be done one time only? If so, how do we keep track of this record (provincial networked computer database?)?
3) Do these tests apply to foreign anglers? If you are an angler coming from UK to fish. After spending money on the flight, booking of the lodge and guide, you arrive at YVR. You proceed to south terminal to fly out to one of the lodges. At South Terminal, you are told to take a test to obtain your angling license, and your flight is leaving in... 30 minutes.. :D You study for ten, take the test for ten, then you do not pass. What now? Do you proceed to catch the flight to the lodge? Or take the test again, until you pass and get the license, but miss the flight? :D
4) Furthermore about the foreign anglers, what about language barrier? Do we design a testing system in every single language?
5) Should tests be made up of random multiple choice questions? Can people "cheat"? To make sure the tests are conducted with no flaws, should it be done on paper, or computers?
Testing can certainly be a great way to eliminate the lame excuses people come up with when caught violating a fishery act, but it can be an administration nightmare for the above reasons. On top of the money spent on enforcement, how does FOC finance such a program?
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Fishin Freak's idea on having regional reg. book is not a bad idea. Instead of the big handbook that can be so difficult to carry in a vest, you would be carrying a smaller reference book for the particular region that you are fishing in.
I still wouldn't mind seeing reg. signs/bulletin boards go up at access points to the river. Small A4 sheets on the trees are just not visible enough. The sign doesn't simply have to be a list of boring regulations, it can contain educational or interesting facts about the region.
I brought this up a couple of times with FOC and City of Richmond at meetings awhile ago. The idea was not too popular as they believe signs would unfortunately be vandalized/burned at night. I'll be pushing for that once again this year.