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[standalone]

It is time to show our respect to the nature.

[Jimmy]

If Springs don't start getting caught until late June, why not open as usual and close during the peak time for the first couple of weeks..  Makes no sense to me unless there are different runs earlier.. 

This keeps the flossers out of the river during freshet. Still nothing in writing about leader restrictions or fixed weights, and guys can't get the hints and self regulate themselves on the river.

Close it for a year or two and once it re opens there may be a new respect for what we have.

And what about those that make their living guiding?? Easy to just say "close it down" but it's implications(including present and future tourism dollars spent fishing this area) would be IMO huge.

You need to look at the big picture,10 - 20 years from today.

[BwiBwi]

A resource without dollar value would not be taken seriously.  The guiding business lets more people know about our fish resource problems to people around the world, and not just local community.  If what you say about the guides hold true, all humans should be exterminated.  Do you know how much pollution a hybrid car, mini-cooper... generates in it's production phase?  Nylon (by the way that's the main component your fishing line's made from), vaseline and many daily material is made from not so green material.

With growing population the only way to ensure fish resource is through construction of more spawning channels, and hatcheries.  You can close all the river for fishing for all you might.  10, 20 years from now it'll still be the same.  If another abnormal weather happens again, 20, 30 years down the road the only fish available would be farmed fish.

[Randofish]

It's a shame on the closure till mid June.
I used to do alot of fishing in early May for the red Springs throwing spoons and spinners at the river and creek mouths.
But if the stocks need protecting for the future,better start sooner than later.
There are other species to fish for anyways.
Rando

[Rodney]

It is a small sacrifice for a possible long term gain, as Jimmy has stated. The gain can only happen if every interest group stops pointing fingers and starts developing solutions.

The problem for guiding companies with closures like this one is not so much the closure itself, but the publicity it generates. Fishermen have a tendency to exaggerate as we already know. With the aid of media, we are already painting "the end of the world" picture before salmon have even arrived. These are pre-season forecasts and precautions. While most likely we will indeed see low returns of early season Fraser River chinook salmon, it does not mean the remainder of the salmon season is a write-off. Guides and lodges do most of their advertising overseas, so the message "no salmon fishing before mid June" can often be mistranslated to "no fishing at all" by the time it travels 5,000 miles. Successful guiding companies in the valley actually do not market their product with salmon. The primary target species are white sturgeon, trout and char. Western Europeans who come here to fish have no desire to either be standing shoulder to shoulder for a few salmon, or sitting all day for the bar rod to go off. They want to get big white sturgeon, fall salmon, experience the river flyfishing with results that they never get back home for the same amount of dollars they spend. Good salmon fishing is often just icing on the cake for those whose trips here just happen to coincide with a good push of chinook salmon in the summer.

For those who live in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, a six week delay in chinook salmon fishing should not discourage you. The mainstem Fraser River will be experiencing freshet, fishing is generally poor in the first place. May and June are two fantastic months for interior lake rainbow trout fishing with fish in the 16 to 24 inch range. Locally, bull trout fishing is at its peak in the Lower Fraser tributaries. There is also white sturgeon fishing. Urban trout lakes will be regularly stocked for families. In the saltwater scene, salmon and groundfish fishing is available, as well as crabbing. If one truly wants to fish for salmon during this time, the Capilano River offers coho salmon fishing during this period. The only true opportunity lost is perhaps the creek mouth fishery for chinook salmon, but again it is a small sacrifice for a possible long term gain.

[BwiBwi]

I just hate the way people put those hard working people down.  So people is quick with their finger pointing, but have they looked at themselves?

With the withering fish stock, everyone is responsible.  So many unfavorable conditions for the salmons or just any fish, it'll take miracle for the fish stock to grow even if there's no harvest.  Devastation of rearing/spawning habitat, abnormal weather pattern causing flooding/low marine survival rate, disease, infestation... the future looks bad.

[Every Day]

If Springs don't start getting caught until late June, why not open as usual and close during the peak time for the first couple of weeks..  Makes no sense to me unless there are different runs earlier.. 

This keeps the flossers out of the river during freshet. Still nothing in writing about leader restrictions or fixed weights, and guys can't get the hints and self regulate themselves on the river.

Close it for a year or two and once it re opens there may be a new respect for what we have.

And what about those that make their living guiding?? Easy to just say "close it down" but it's implications(including present and future tourism dollars spent fishing this area) would be IMO huge.

Well we could close it down now and maybe help the salmon stocks out so those people only lose their jobs for 3 or 4 years (and could get another one really easily right now) while we try to help the survival rates of salmon or....   

We could do nothing about it and continue to let those slamon stocks deplete to the point where we won't be able to fish for a long time causing those people to lose their jobs for alot longer, also in a few years since the economy is booming now it may be harder to find jobs because I can't see this eco boom going much past 2010...

Just my opinion on this..

[chris gadsden]

Not to get everyones hopes up but I heard today from a fairly good contact we may now have an opening starting on June 16 on the Fraser for chinooks.

[Rodney]

http://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/xnet/content/fns/index.cfm?pg=view_notice&lang=en&DOC_ID=108418&ID=recreational

[roeman]

Unlike last year, First Nations have not been getting permits for ceremonial fishing (weddings, naming ceremonies, first fish ceremonies etc.) with the only exception for funerals and those permits have gear/time/quantity limits.  Therefore there is a difference from last year, which hopefully will result in a few more fish 4 years from now.

Does it really matter if FN has permits to fish, I would say no, there was a boat drifting the lower Vedder last week and DFO said they were not aware of any permits issued.  And this is for the prized steelhead that all are suppose to care about... kind of a joke..
FN can do what they want, wait and see.  Wait untill they get approved ( like it really matters ) to harvest sturgeon. 

[coryandtrevor]

Unlike last year, First Nations have not been getting permits for ceremonial fishing (weddings, naming ceremonies, first fish ceremonies etc.) with the only exception for funerals and those permits have gear/time/quantity limits.  Therefore there is a difference from last year, which hopefully will result in a few more fish 4 years from now.

Does it really matter if FN has permits to fish, I would say no, there was a boat drifting the lower Vedder last week and DFO said they were not aware of any permits issued.  And this is for the prized steelhead that all are suppose to care about... kind of a joke..
FN can do what they want, wait and see.  Wait untill they get approved ( like it really matters ) to harvest sturgeon. 

You really dont care much for FN do you ? How are you so sure 'white' people or other ethnic groups arent poaching fish or harvesting illegaly/unethically  ?

[Every Day]

Unlike last year, First Nations have not been getting permits for ceremonial fishing (weddings, naming ceremonies, first fish ceremonies etc.) with the only exception for funerals and those permits have gear/time/quantity limits.  Therefore there is a difference from last year, which hopefully will result in a few more fish 4 years from now.

Does it really matter if FN has permits to fish, I would say no, there was a boat drifting the lower Vedder last week and DFO said they were not aware of any permits issued.  And this is for the prized steelhead that all are suppose to care about... kind of a joke..
FN can do what they want, wait and see.  Wait untill they get approved ( like it really matters ) to harvest sturgeon. 

You really dont care much for FN do you ? How are you so sure 'white' people or other ethnic groups arent poaching fish or harvesting illegaly/unethically  ?

We arn't sure, but the natives seem to make it apparent that they dont care about what the rules are and do it in front of every one.... other ethnic groups try to do it in secret 

[Randog]

Further to FN 131 effective 00:01 hours Tuesday, April 1 until 23:59 hours
Friday, May 30 in Subareas 29-6, 29-7, 29-9, 29-10 and in Region 2 the non-
tidal waters of the Fraser River the daily limit is zero (0) chinook salmon.
If trying to protect early stocks maybe a change in the wording may be in order, something like no angling for salmon during certain periods. The way it is written can be taken as a catch and release situation.

[roeman]

Maybe said a littl too much,but at least and any other race gets caught doing something illegal as far as fishing goes there are consequences.  And I never meant to imply that others don't harvest illegally.

[salmon river]

You really dont care much for FN do you ? How are you so sure 'white' people or other ethnic groups arent poaching fish or harvesting illegaly/unethically  ?

Other ethnic groups do it as well including white folks but a certain band in the valley is so blatant about it though, yet whenever that fact not opinion but fact is mentioned anywhere the one mentioning it 'hates natives' or is called a racist...people need to grow up and from what i see on many forums no wonder the fish stocks are in the mess they are in. It does not help DFO usually does nothing about it anyway and if they do the courts rarely do.

In a few more years as the river warms up and th ocean continues to warm up, the pollution, fish farms we won't have to worry about this issue anymore....we will just be sculpin fishing on the Fraser as that is all that will be left..