Public Fishery Alliance re: Political Election Campaign

From the Public Fishery Alliance:

It should be no surprise to any of you that our public recreational salmon fishery is under assault. The attached document from the Public Fishery Alliance explains our current situation in detail, what the Public Fishery Alliance is, and what the Public Fishery Alliance is doing to advocate on behalf of salmon anglers in BC leading up to the September 20th general election.

If you believe that Canadians have a right to angle, that salmon need a much greater and robust recovery strategy from the federal government, and that recreational fisheries must be managed on the twin principles of “Expectation and Opportunity” which provides for a modest but sustainable future through these difficult conservation times, then you can help by donating to the Public Fishery Alliance’s political campaign.

The issue of fair and reasonable public access to salmon, that allows angling to proceed within the bounds of conservation, is the primary concern. Government’s mandate states fisheries should be allowed to proceed where opportunities exist that do not pose unreasonable conservation concerns. Unfortunately this Liberal government and the current Minister of Fisheries, Bernadette Jordan, have forgotten this last part of the equation. She has continually rejected conservation based fishing plans that were developed by the Sport Fishing Advisory Board and Pacific Region Fisheries and Oceans staff. These proposals were rated as low to very low risk of conservation concern. Instead she has continued with the failed policy of Chinook non-retention, which has effectively shuttered salmon fishing for up to 5 months in most key southern BC recreational fishing areas, while dragging her feet on fin clipping 100% of hatchery produced Chinook and Coho, which could allow anglers in many affected areas to retain at least one hatchery fish. These hatchery salmon have been bought and paid for by the Canadian Public, but as it stands they benefit no one because they cannot be identified and separated from the wild stocks that need to be protected.

The issue of the public’s access to healthy wild and hatchery produced Chinook and Coho salmon crosses political lines. Whether you support the current government or not, they need to be told clearly and bluntly that their policies are unnecessarily dismantling the BC public salmon fishery, which is still the most important economic salmon fishery on the west coast. You can help send this message by donating to the Public Fishery Alliance’s political campaign.

You can also help by forwarding this to your friends, angling organizations and business associates who have the same dedication to the salmon resource, and want to maintain a future for BC’s public Chinook and Coho fishery.

You can donate through the Public Fishery Alliance website or cheques can be mailed to:

Public Fishery Alliance,
c/o Kathryn Sharp,
Pacific Angler,
78 East Broadway,
Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1V6