Go up to a person who doesn't fish, and ask him or her, "Why do people go fishing?"
Most likely the reply will be, "To catch fish."
Most people who start out fishing because they want to catch a fish. Take a kid out fishing, if the fish are not keeping him or her occupied, it is time to go home.
Most people who start out fishing in BC because they want to catch a salmon. People are lured into the sockeye fishery because of its tasty meat and a seemingly easy way of catching them.
As anglers grow if they choose to continue in this activity, they move onto other fishing opportunities in this province. Every type of fishing has a different fun element, some may enjoy it, some may not. The thrill of being able to bring home a couple of best tasting salmon home is what drives people back to the Fraser. Being able to share that thrill with a close family member or friend makes it even more attractive.
Some people, like me, enjoy fishing with only a couple of people around most of the time. In the wintertime I enjoy catching and releasing dollies and steelhead with itosh, chrome mykiss or trout slayer, doing it for the "sport".
Does that make me better than the other 200 people standing at Peg Leg this week? Not really.
The bottom line is, the Fraser River sockeye fishery is designated as a legal fishery. If someone chooses to participate in it, it doesn't make him or her an idiot, beek or moron. I choose not to participate in it because I find my thrill in other types of fishing, and the taste of sockeye doesn't lure me as much. Does that make me holier than those who choose to do it? Not really.
If you feel that drivers are driving too fast on a particular street near your house yet they are not exceeding the speed limit, what do you do?
Do you, yell at them to tell them to slow down?
No, you go to the source of the problem, those who designate the speed limit!
If people feel that the Fraser River sockeye fishery should be closed as it degrades the recreational sector (don't bother present statistical argument of how this fishery can destroy the salmon stocks, because it does not), then you should be voicing your thoughts to those who make the regulations - DFO!
It's not going to be me, I'll say that on the record, because I value my life, car, belongings when I go fishing in Chilliwack. It has been suggested by some of my colleagues that I should push for a closure, that's not going to happen.
What's the difference between two dead sockeyes from the ocean and two dead sockeyes from the Fraser River beside the fact that two are known to bite the hook for sure? Nothing, they're both dead. They both will not make it to the spawning ground to produce offsprings.
What's being debated is personal values, morals, ethics, which differ from one person to the next. There isn't a right or wrong, just like many other issues in life.
How is it ethical when a so-called sportsman dangle a natural or artificial food in the water to lure the fish closer. When the fish bites that piece of food, it feels a sharp object being pierced into its jaw. The pain causes the fish to struggle as it begins to breath heavily and swims around in fear. At the same time, it feels some force is pulling it closer to the surface and the pain in its jaw is getting worse. As it reaches the surface, a large hand grabs the fish in the air. The fish is now lacking oxygen, and feeling the burn from the sun. As this takes place, the sharp pain is relieved. The fish then drops into the water again and swims away slowly. It sits on the bottom, trying to recover while the fisherman has a sense of accomplishment because he or she just made hell in some living creature's life.
Now I bet this person sleeps better than those who have been standing at Peg Leg killing sockeyes for food, because... you know, he or she was ethical.
Bait fishing, really ethical too, to kill a life to catch another one.
Playing a large marlin, one of the most magnificent fish in the world, on a fly rod to the point that the fish reaches exhaustion so the angler can obtain a world record, the fish bites the hook, but is it ethical?
Spearfishing, obviously not ethical, the fish didn't bite the spear.
In Japan, the unique fishing style for ayu salmon is done by hooking a live ayu on your line with a couple of trailing hooks, place the luring fish in another ayu's territory. Due to its defensive behaviour, the inhabiting fish will attack the luring fish, therefore hooked by the trailing hook. The tradition has been practiced for hundreds of years, normally only done by upper class anglers. Is it ethical?
Paddlefish in the US are filter feeders that cannot be enticed by natural bait on a hook or lures. The only existing recreational fishery for paddle fish is SNAGGING. The fish are literally snagged and pulled to shore for harvesting. The eggs are made into carviar due to their similarity to sturgeon eggs. Each year a harvest quota is given and the fishery is sustainable and brings tremendous amount of cash to the local businesses. Is it ethical?
The chairs, tables that you are using right now, or the house that you are sitting in, are made of wood. Wood, coming from the trees being cut down by the logging industry, is a vital resource for salmon bearing streams. We are endangering our salmon by reducing shading, increasing run-off in our watersheds. Ethical?
The problem I do recognize is that there has been a sharp spike of misinformed newcomers in the recreational fishing sector. People from the city, who are not as connected to the river, do not necessarily understand the mutual relationship between the river and its users. Issues such as garbage, fish species identification need to be emphasized.
Identify the issues, set your objectives, it'll make this small (sportfishing) community better. Coming here and arguing against each other
is not helping, it only drives people away from the views that you believe in. The intentions are great, the approaches are not.
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Topic: sockeye season in review (Read 19167 times)