HiYa Folks,
The battle over access to this once common property resource has now commenced in earnest. Should the situation continue the way it is, recreational halibut fishing will most likely be cut off for all by some time in July. Not at all due to "conservation concerns" as this resource is doing better than most. Nope, the reason for the closure is completely due to the Dino having GIFTED 88% of the annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to 436 commercail operators. Many of which do not even bother to set foot on a boat, far preferring to lease their "Gift" at exorbitant rates to those who actually fish.
There are a series of town-hall style meeting being scheduled up and down the coast. Newspaper and magazine articles are out, and there are more to follow.
What the Government has done in the case of this once public resource is WRONG! Turning a public resource into a private commodity to the benefit of a handful of "Armchair" or "Slipper Skippers" must not be tolerated. This is the first step to privatization of all our fisheries folks - a VERY Dangerous trend!
Time to stand up and be counted Folks! Attend the meetings, get your buddies to do the same, write a few letters to your MP's, and get the message out there: We WILL NOT stand idly by and watch our access to common property fisheries be stripped away in favor of the already fat wallets of a handful of Fat Cat commercial harvesters!
A few items of note here:
http://www.canada.com/2010+halibut+season+...5310/story.html
http://www.canada.com/Dear+John+make+call/3955308/story.html
Related Poll in the Island Courier: http://www2.canada.com/courierislander/index.html
Nog - Engaged Firmly In This One!
Hey Nog,
Being a deckhand for many, many years, I don't agree with the leasing of quota at all. If you own quota, you should either have to fish it or sell it to another licensed, vessel owner. That's coming from every deckhand that gets screwed out of their crew share, as they are the ones that pay for the leasing fees on top of the Archipelago fees and all other expenses that are there. I still remember when the boat share was 20% and we made good god damn money too, but now you simply can't make it with the price dropping after the first unload as the market gets flooded.
However, a lot of these "skippers" your talking about were catching halibut off the Pribalof's back in the 8 day Rupert lay overs,as well as down here, before you were even an idea in your old mans you-know-what, and most of them { I'm not saying all} are the quota holders your talking about. When conventional 9 ft stuck gear was the only method, and only a certain breed of man could keep up. Now a days with your piddly arsed snap gear, anybody with half a brain can fish them, and this is the case, more than not in today's world. I'd like to see what you would do if you owned some quota. If your as smart as I think you are, you would also lease it to somebody willing to pay the price, so they can keep their livelihood going, and you could go on another out of province hunt, or whatever
The difference here is the fact that if the halibut closes to the sport fishermen, you and all the other guides, as well as the individual sporty's, are in for a world of hurt, and although I don't think this is fair, you better realize that a lot of these quota's your sniveling about were damn well earned by some of the most respected old time fishermen that ever graced this friggin coast. Guys like the late Fred Kozy etc are probably rolling in their graves with crap like this being said. They are the ones who fed you your first piece of fish at the local diner when you were a little brat remember.
Fight for your right to ensure your fishery, as I think you are entitled to do so, just as the commercial fleet is also, but don't be yapping off about "slipper skippers" cause you aint been around long enough to even hold their sling shots on the stern, or bait a skate of gear , let alone tell people who they are. Wonder what your opinion would be if the "MAN" said your troll license was invalid come the new year ?? and the only other thing you knew how to do was fish halibut for a living. It's a two way street here Matt, and their not the bad guys. At least the quotas are still being fished, and with today's mandatory cameras on every boat, you don't see the never ending pumpkin patch of yellow eye off the stern like you used to either, so no fish go to waste. They have to move their gear in today's fishery.
Although I respect you and your opinions in a lot of ways Nog, your wrong, when it comes to lashing out against these men. They risked their lives to harvest halibut for the world to eat, in weather you wouldn't want to be in, on a 150' vessel let alone an old wooden 70 footer. I could show you 8mm film of the Blue Pacific #1 and Misty Moon that would make your eyes open wide to say the least. People think the Deadliest Catch boys are tough,, well meh!! their not even close to these gentlemen.
Another thing too. those fat wallets your talking about weren't always that way either, and to see a few fatter than others today is a good thing. It's no different than in any other industry. Just like the fat wallets of the over priced guides with their rich European clients.
Lash out at the "GOVERMENT" but don't bad mouth honest, hard knocks, working class commercial fishermen, and I would assume your "strong" feelings wouldn't be so strong, if you were just some guy, who wanted to go out and jig a couple off the swiftsure bank for take home fish.
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Topic: Halibut Wars (Read 35426 times)