Dear editor,
I would like to respond to the article of Feb. 22 in the Comox Valley Record entitled, "Three-per cent increase not enough, say fishermen."
First I would like to say I am a true recreational fisherman. I own a small pleasure boat that I fish from. If I happen to catch some fish, I am happy, if not I enjoy a pleasant boat ride since I am careful to go out when the weather is nice.
This was not always so. I was once a B.C. commercial fisherman and made my living selling fish.
Let's go through this one point at a time. The catch quotas are set by the International Pacific Halibut Commission for the Pacific Coast, from Alaska to California.
The IPHC is made up of people from Canada and the USA with the purpose of having a sustainable halibut fishery in perpetuity. They attempt to satisfy many competing user groups.
They have done a great job since the Halibut Treaty was passed in 1923 to preserve the seriously declining halibut stocks. Eight-nine years later we still have a halibut fishery to squabble over. Good job, IPHC.
The second point is three percent is a significant increase. Do some math.
Going from 12 per cent to 15 per cent is a 20-per-cent increase over 2011. I can't imagine the joy if I had my pension increased by 20 per cent. What about a 20-per-cent pay increase for the B.C. teachers?
This calculation is really a little misleading for 2012, but could have a huge impact in the future. Why?
In 2011, the total B.C. catch was set at 7,650 million pounds. Twelve per cent of that would be 918,000 pounds allocated to recreational fishing.
Due to smaller fish stocks in 2012 the total quota has been reduced by eight per cent to 7,038 million pounds. Thus the recreational share has increased to 1,056 million pounds.
Let us say the fish average 25 pounds each. The recreational segment went from 36,700 fish in 2011 to 42,200 fish in 2012.
Over 5,000 more happy fishermen. Insignificant?
The third point is that the guides and fishing lodges are commercial fishermen just as much as the fishermen who sell their catch to processors and wholesalers. The lodges sell their catches mainly to well-heeled middle-aged men.
This is not a bad thing, but it is a commercial enterprise employing people. Do not be fooled by the word recreation.
Finally, the commercial fishermen that the recreational sector like to portray as impossible greedy villains actually are responsible for supplying the retail trade and the restaurants with the tasty luxury food called halibut and the general population has access to it.
The guides and lodges supply only a select few, not the general public.
The recreational sector, instead of whining and lobbying, should give the true commercial fishermen a huge thank you for accepting an 11-per-cent cut in their take-home pay for 2012.
If you like halibut, then don't give it all to the affluent few that can afford the fishing lodges and guides. It is a very scarce resource. Thus, the B.C. commercial quota would only feed one portion of halibut to less than half the Canadian population for the year 2012.
As a recreational fisherman, if I don't catch one, I hope there will always be some halibut in the store to buy.
Keith McElwain,
Comox
