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[mikeyman]

Way to go bottom bouncers!

[RalphH]

If the Fraser's still closed by then, the Vedder will be an absolute gong show. It would be nice if the DFO could restrict certain methods on the Vedder as well..

People need to know FOC/DFO has no control over fishing methods in non-tidal water as it's the jurisdiction of the Province.Try writing/emailing  the Premier Christy Clark, Mary Polak the Minister of the Environment and you MLA. Whining on the internet will get you no where.

[nosey]

   They said they would close it if people were using non selective measures and they did, this should be no surprize to anyone, too bad, lots of people were doing good bar fishing. I saw at least 20 bottom bouncers out today and no one else but me bar fishing. Wtf why do one group of anglers think that just because one species is open that they should be allowed to snag anything going by is beyond me. 

[Fish Assassin]

Does anyone actually read the DFO notice ? It has nothing to do with bottom bouncing.

[Noahs Arc]

Way to go bottom bouncers!

How did the bottom bouncers close the Banana?

[Burbot]

People need to know FOC/DFO has no control over fishing methods in non-tidal water as it's the jurisdiction of the Province.Try writing/emailing  the Premier Christy Clark, Mary Polak the Minister of the Environment and you MLA. Whining on the internet will get you no where.

But they do have jurisdiction over Salmon in non tidal waters and they can close the Chilliwack/Vedder to Salmon fishing just like they did the non Tidal part of the Fraser as of tonight up to Alexandria.

[Burbot]

Thank you flossers and snaggers for shutting things down for the ethical anglers.

[Rodney]

"Current run size estimates of Fraser River Summer Run sockeye salmon combined with record water temperatures in the Fraser River have resulted in no allowable harvest and a conservation concern.  The Department's priorities are
to ensure that there is sufficient sockeye returning to the spawning grounds."

The species of concern right now is sockeye salmon, and at the current level no allowable harvest is available for the recreational sector and by-catches need to be kept below a certain %. When resource managers conclude that % cannot be kept within the limit, the fishery closes, as you can see in this case. When the fishery opened in early August, Fisheries and Oceans Canada performed flight count in the Lower Fraser River to determine the % of anglers who are flossing/not fishing selectively. Preliminary results show that on opening day, 71% of participants were not fishing selectively. It was a lot better a few days after that, 38% were not fishing selectively. Last weekend, 61% were not fishing selectively, so the % went up again. By doing so, resource managers concluded that too many sockeye salmon were being incidentally caught, so the fishery closes. Obviously the tidal portion and mouth of the Fraser have very few participants who intercept sockeye salmon, but once the number of incidental catches reach the limit and no more by-catches are allowed, a total closure is needed.

The same scenario played out two years ago if people can remember that. Pink salmon fishery opened in early September once summer run sockeye salmon passed through, so we can expect the same to occur again. The unfortunate part is that some pink salmon opportunities will be missed out in late August, beside the excellent chinook salmon fishing opportunities right now.

[joshhowat]

Thanks Rod for pointing out that flossers did indeed cause this closer.

Maybe they will learn to fish now.

[KP]

lets be clear.  The non selective anglers [snaggers, bottombouncers, flossers] reporting sockeye releases in excess of 20 fish per outing are the reason for the closure. Dealing with these groups of  anglers is problematic.  The control of west coast salmon angling is in the hands of a select few on a sport fish advisory board which are the group DFO uses to dictate everything from a sportfishing for salmon percpective.  They have no interest in salmon once past their waters and probably enjoy us all being closed.  This is the real world from my angling experience.  Our licenses need to mean more.  Control is the problem and we need to take back control for our area.

[DanL]

When the fishery opened in early August, Fisheries and Oceans Canada performed flight count in the Lower Fraser River to determine the % of anglers who are flossing/not fishing selectively. Preliminary results show that on opening day, 71% of participants were not fishing selectively. It was a lot better a few days after that, 38% were not fishing selectively. Last weekend, 61% were not fishing selectively, so the % went up again. By doing so, resource managers concluded that too many sockeye salmon were being incidentally caught, so the fishery closes.

Obviously Rodney, you are much more in the loop w.r.t to the decision making process, but it seems to me this is pretty crucial information that impacted the closure, though not articulated at all in the latest announcement.

The previous opening was very clearly stated by the DFO to be contingent on selective fishing methods or risk total closure. Apparently they monitored and have quantifiable numbers to suggest the majority of people were not complying and therefore the fishery gets shut down, but nary a word that that was a contributing factor. A member of the general public not privy to the backroom discussions would need to really read between the lines of the announcement to interpret it as such, and even then its a stretch.

I'm actually pretty appalled that the rate was compliance was actually that abysmally low. If they went to such lengths to warn about selectively fishing then is there a rationale for not highlighting that now as a factor in the decision, if it was indeed the case?

If the BB'ers really did ruin it for everyone this time, then as a sport fishing community I feel we should have access to that information. I guess another way to phrase this is, if compliance to selective fishing methods was 100%, would the chinook sport fishery still be open? If so then the DFO needs to articulate that. When they have another opening for future runs using selective fishing methods, then we can use this year's results as a lesson for the future and maybe as ammunition for more future self policing and education.

edit: Just found this link dated two days ago that said a creel survey found that 70% were BB'ing.

http://www.theprogress.com/news/321633981.html

[RalphH]

But they do have jurisdiction over Salmon in non tidal waters and they can close the Chilliwack/Vedder to Salmon fishing just like they did the non Tidal part of the Fraser as of tonight up to Alexandria.

If you check the regs you'll see there are many streams and lakes they close to salmon fishing or are never open despite the presence of fish. The Fraser has been closed because of a specific conservation concern where presently closure is the only way to address that concern. What similar concern could close the V/C?

[fishseeker]

I have to admit to some confusion.

I do not fish for sockeye but is the problem due to people using flossing techniques for other species such as Chinook or Pinks? 

[colin6101]

The problem is that flossing does not target any one species in particular, so the by catch of sockeye is very high, whereas with bar fishing it is rare to catch anything other then a spring this time of the year. It can definitely still happen but not anywhere to the same extent as when you bottom bounce.

[nosey]

The problem is that people were standing in exactly the same places and using exactly the same methods as they do when they are targeting sockeye during a sockeye opening, there can be no denying the fact that they were targeting sockeye.