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[chris gadsden]

Dear Rebecca:

Considering the significant number of First Nations chinook openings & allowed retention of sockeye by catch it would appear that conservation concerns for chinook have diminished thus allowing for a recreational chinook fishery on the Fraser.  Our recreational bar fishery for chinook is truly selective & we suggest has demonstrated  the least impact of any fishery on sockeye stocks of concern. As you are aware we continue to support regulation changes to ensure selectivity & we support spot closure deemed necessary where selective fishing may not occur.

A very large segment of the Fraser River recreational community practices selective fishing and the chinook bar fishery as well as the jack spring fishery has been a very important family fishery practiced on many areas of the Fraser River for generations. To continue to deny this fishery while other sectors have significant allotments is not defensible. Our total annual catch of chinook is small in comparison to other fisheries.

Our organizations continue to support conservation & continue to offer to work with your staff. We only ask that our fishery be given the respect due & that our rights as Canadian citizens are recognized.

Thank you for your consideration & the anticipated opening of our chinook fishery.

Rod Clapton
Co Chair Fraser River Sport Fishing Alliance

Fred Helmer
Co Chair Fraser River Sport Fishing Alliance

[chris gadsden]

August 09 2017

 

To Rebecca Reid RDG

Department of Fisheries and Oceans  Canada :

 

Dear Rebecca

My name is Nick Basok and I am the vice president of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society based out of the city of Chilliwack, the hub of the Fraser river sportfishing on the Fraser river. It appears that the Chinook numbers in the test fishery on Fraser river are now starting to climb and this must mean that the Chinook conservation concerns should be diminishing therefore allowing a chance for a recreational sportfishery on these fish.The first nations fishers have had numerous openings for the past 8 weeks catching Chinooks by fishing selectively but also harvesting numbers of sockeye as by catch. This last fact leads me to believe that the sockeye conservation concern  is not in as dire straits as was portrayed a few weeks ago. The recreational fishery for Chinook is done by using selective methods which do not target sockeye while still allowing a harvest on target species.This is a family based fishery which should allow for recreational fishers to harvest some species while allowing weaker stocks to continue their migration to the interior spawning grounds. The negative economic impact on our area without some sort of opportunity is enormous and effects many different venues of sportfishing.The FVSS recognizes the rights of First Nations  constitutionally protected FSC fisheries and regulation changes to recreational anglers to fish selectively but we also wish to be allowed to share this fishery with our neighbours as we are Canadians also.

Hopefully an opening will be coming sooner rather than later. Thankyou for taking the time to honour our request for a sportfishery in this area.

 

Nick Basok

Vice president-Fraser Valley Salmon Society

[chris gadsden]

Others may wish to write too and post here too.

[wildmanyeah]

Others may wish to write too and post here too.

At this point if they are going to open the Fraser they might as well open it for
Pinks  too that are expected to be in abudence.

[Easywater]

An opening for pinks in the tidal is totally acceptable.
Much less of a chance to bounce for anything in the tidal zone.

Not many in there now but there should be in a couple of weeks.

Selective (bar) fishing for Chinook seems reasonable too - the problem Sockeye runs have gone through.

Love to see any responses to the letters.

[psd1179]

 

DFO - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Reply:  NO OPENINGS for RECREATIONAL FISHERY

You the "Sport & Recreational segment" mean nothing.
Your meaningless. Your pathetic.

Please stop writing these hopeless letters.
We will NOT LISTEN to you.

It's unbelievable that after 50 years ... you actually think that we care about the Recreational Fishery.
You are LAST on our agenda -> FIRST to be neglected & ignored.

We will continue to introduce BIZARRE "Suggested Fishing Methods". 
We will continue to implement Unnecessary Closures.
We will confuse even the already confused.

It's all part of our plan of INCOMPETENCE.
We hope you enjoy the misdirection. It's all part of our "Master Plan".

Please continue to purchase your "Tidal Licences" & Stamps.
We enjoy taking your money and offering no opportunities.

We are the DFO.
Certainly not here to serve you.

Have another crappy day.... your fishery is CLOSED!

[TNAngler]

DFO - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Reply:  NO OPENINGS for RECREATIONAL FISHERY

You the "Sport & Recreational segment" mean nothing.
Your meaningless. Your pathetic.

Please stop writing these hopeless letters.
We will NOT LISTEN to you.

It's unbelievable that after 50 years ... you actually think that we care about the Recreational Fishery.
You are LAST on our agenda -> FIRST to be neglected & ignored.

We will continue to introduce BIZARRE "Suggested Fishing Methods". 
We will continue to implement Unnecessary Closures.
We will confuse even the already confused.

It's all part of our plan of INCOMPETENCE.
We hope you enjoy the misdirection. It's all part of our "Master Plan".

Please continue to purchase your "Tidal Licences" & Stamps.
We enjoy taking your money and offering no opportunities.

We are the DFO.
Certainly not here to serve you.

Have another crappy day.... your fishery is CLOSED!

Actually, it is open between the Sweetwater bridge and the North Alabama Pipeline with retention of 1 Chinook over 54 cm and 10 sockeye.  You may only fish between the hours of 8:45 am and 9:12 am with no longer than 2 cm leader and more than 50 pounds of weight.  Our effort to further confuse and frustrate you will continue until you blather like complete idiots non stop.  Both these places are imaginary so sit there, enjoy your nurse fed applesauce and try not to bother your neighbors with your blathering.

[Blood_Orange]

The DFO is staffed by many passionate, talented, and hard-working people. Most are doing the best they can, while balancing competing demands from politicians, environmental legislation, the media, rec anglers, FN anglers, and commercial anglers.

I'm not bothered by people trashing DFO's policies but it irks me when I see posts RANTING and RaVING in CAPITAL LETTERS and bright COLOURS, insulting people who, for the most part, are doing their job to the best of their ability. Heck, some of those DFO people may even agree with some of your gripes but their hands are tied, for one reason or another. The snark is real but not constructive.

(I'm not associated with DFO in any way... it just irks me when an entire professional field, filled with people we've never met, is insulted because someone needs to have a tantrum )

[Steelhawk]

DFO is the only government department to make ordinary Canadians realize that they are the 2nd or 3rd class citizens when it comes to fishery management. We are treated as if we don't count while they appease/serve their other masters in ways much more than necessary under their so called mandates. Of course we understand natives have their rights but does it have to be so lobsided in the manner it is being managed by DFO? That one side can kill 100s of thousands of a run (sockeye) DFO consider in danger while we have zero participation (and we get it), but that we aren't even allowed the opportunity to target the spring salmon which is not a threatened species while the other side is having nets all over the place killing everything? This is happening year after year. This while we are the group paying for our licenses to support the budget of this incompetent and ungrateful government department and the other group not paying a cent. Does it have to be so lobsided as if we the hardworking Canadians who pay taxes and buy licenses don't count? Really, DFO which is staffed and run by mostly non-native Canadians should have more heart for their fellow Canadians who deserve their rights to fish too when their fishing is not going to impact the threatened species.

[clarki]

DFO - Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Reply:  NO OPENINGS for RECREATIONAL FISHERY

You the "Sport & Recreational segment" mean nothing.
Your meaningless. Your pathetic.

Please stop writing these hopeless letters.
We will NOT LISTEN to you.

It's unbelievable that after 50 years ... you actually think that we care about the Recreational Fishery.
You are LAST on our agenda -> FIRST to be neglected & ignored.

We will continue to introduce BIZARRE "Suggested Fishing Methods". 
We will continue to implement Unnecessary Closures.
We will confuse even the already confused.

It's all part of our plan of INCOMPETENCE.
We hope you enjoy the misdirection. It's all part of our "Master Plan".

Please continue to purchase your "Tidal Licences" & Stamps.
We enjoy taking your money and offering no opportunities.

We are the DFO.
Certainly not here to serve you.

Have another crappy day.... your fishery is CLOSED!

There's more to tidal fishing than just salmon.

There's more places to fish tidal waters than the LM.

There's more to fishing than just tidal waters.

There's more to life than fishing.

There's more to communicating than ranting.

[firstlight]

It has been proven time and time again that fishers will not selectively fish when there is an opening for Chinook.
Maybe they are fed up with watching the many bars filled with flossers not discriminately fishing.

[Birkenhead]

This while we are the group paying for our licenses to support the budget of this incompetent and ungrateful government department and the other group not paying a cent. Does it have to be so lobsided as if we the hardworking Canadians who pay taxes and buy licenses don't count? Really, DFO which is staffed and run by mostly non-native Canadians should have more heart for their fellow Canadians who deserve their rights to fish too when their fishing is not going to impact the threatened species.

That is some very broad and uneducated assumptions made. I am full status Canadian FN and I pay my share of taxes (to the tune of $13,351.00 in income tax last year.) That does not include the GST and PST that I pay for every day purchases just like everyone else. I also purchase my fishing licence every year just like you do also...

[Birkenhead]

The DFO is staffed by many passionate, talented, and hard-working people. Most are doing the best they can, while balancing competing demands from politicians, environmental legislation, the media, rec anglers, FN anglers, and commercial anglers.

I'm not bothered by people trashing DFO's policies but it irks me when I see posts RANTING and RaVING in CAPITAL LETTERS and bright COLOURS, insulting people who, for the most part, are doing their job to the best of their ability. Heck, some of those DFO people may even agree with some of your gripes but their hands are tied, for one reason or another. The snark is real but not constructive.

(I'm not associated with DFO in any way... it just irks me when an entire professional field, filled with people we've never met, is insulted because someone needs to have a tantrum )

I don't work for the DFO and have no association with them whatsoever and I completely agree with above. Instead of ranting here, people should be running for office or lobbying for change through organized groups. Otherwise their rants here - are just that and this forum is not a conducive avenue nor venue for voice of change.

[RalphH]

DFO gets no funding from Sport fishing license sales. License fees in non-tidal waters go to a Provincial Agency. In most cases in Canada (both Federal and Provincial) license fees go to General Revenue. It's long been demonstrated that the cost of managing the Commercial Salmon fisheries exceeds the license fees and the profits combined.

[cdjk123]

It has been proven time and time again that fishers will not selectively fish when there is an opening for Chinook.
Maybe they are fed up with watching the many bars filled with flossers not discriminately fishing.

Well said.

The culture and habit of fisherman flossing in the fraser systems has been a major contributor to this whole debacle we find ourselves in today. Flossing/bottom bouncing/whatever you want to call it has been an extremely popular method of fishing in the LM, and only in the last few years has the ethical nature of this style of fishing been seriously questioned.

If people keep teaching their kids "this is the only way to catch salmon", then we will continue to have this conflict between recreational fisherman and the DFO in regards to chinook and sockeye runs.

Fishing lobby groups can say that they only selective fish (ie, bar fish), but until we start to make flossing a taboo in the fishing community, nothing will change. It would also help if fly shops and fishing stores STOP selling bottom bouncing rigs to novices and experienced anglers alike.