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Charter operators fear early closure of halibut

fishery
http://www.muskegnews.com/charter-halibut101?pfstyle=wp January 8, 2011

Charter operators up
and down the coast of
B.C. are concerned the
recreational halibut
fishery could be shut
down as early as
mid-July, pushing away
clients and costing
them money. But the
Department of
Fisheries & Oceans says
it cannot predict when
the season will close
because it hasn’t yet set
any daily limits on
halibut for 2011, nor has it announced when the fishery will actually open.

Charter fishermen are angry with their allocation of 12 per cent of the total allowable catch
of halibut, mandated by the federal government, which they say is too low.

Rodney Proskiw, the owner/operator of Fishin’ Rods Charters in Prince Rupert, says he
has had to deal with early closures in the past, after the federal government declared the
industry went over the 12 per cent limit mid-way through the season.

Since many of Proskiw’s customers come to Rupert to fish for halibut, the early closures
have put his business in an uncertain situation. “When the carpet gets pulled from under
us in the middle of the season, what do we do?” he asks.

The halibut fishery on the west coast of North America is managed by the International
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), a regulating body with Canadian and American
representatives that determine conservation levels of the resource. Although fishermen
tend to distrust and lash out against any government body, the IPHC is a shining
exception: many recreational halibut fishermen respect it as a top-notch management
entity.

Using data from the previous fishing year, as well as measurements on biomass levels, the
IPHC sets the total allowable catch for 10 fishing regions in the seas off the west coast.
These numbers are then handed down to the respective governments to implement and
monitor the halibut catch. In Canada, Area 2B is the main concern: it stretches along the

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entire west coast of the country.

Last month, the IPHC’s staff made a recommendation for the total allowable catch of
halibut in Area 2B for the 2011 season: 7.65 million pounds, up from 7.5 million pounds in
2010. This is not the final number – it is still up to the IPHC’s commissioners and advisory
bodies to adopt the official total allowable catch for the halibut fishery.

Since 2003, Canadian fishermen have been regulated by the 88-12 rule, monitored by the
Department of Fisheries & Oceans. The IPHC’s total allowable catch for halibut is divided
between two industries: the commercial fishery, which receives 88 per cent; and the
recreational fishery, which receives 12 per cent. So if this year’s allocation stays at 7.65
million pounds, the commercial fishery’s limit on halibut will be 6.73 million pounds,
while the recreational fishery’s limit will be 0.92 million pounds.

The 88-12 percent division, which was legislated by the government in 2003, is the biggest
sticking point in the debate for recreational fishermen. Since its inception, says Paul
Rickard, the recreational industry has been fighting the rule.

Rickard is with the B.C. Wildlife Federation, one of the member organizations of the B.C.
Sportfishing Coalition, formed in December 2010. He says members of the recreational
industry have written and met with various fisheries ministers for the past seven years to
change the 88-12 rule, all without success. As a last resort, he says the coalition was
formed to mobilize support in town-hall meetings across Vancouver Island, and to
encourage its members to write to their MPs and MLAs.

“This coming year could be a disaster,” says Rickard, who, like Proskiw, predicts the
recreational halibut fishery will be closed sometime in July. “How do you book people in
when you don’t even know what you’ll be able to offer or when you’ll be able to offer it?”

Rickard estimates there are 100,000 recreational fishermen out in the Pacific each year,
who bring in about $65 million to the provincial economy. This year, those 100,000
fishermen will be allotted 0.92 million pounds, if the commission accepts the
recommendation of the IPHC staff. Rickard says it simply isn’t fair that the remaining 6.73
million pounds are allotted to 435 commercial licence-holders.

And Rickard is not alone in that opinion. While operators like Proskiw don’t have any
harsh feelings towards the commercial fishing industry, they say the needs of a vast
majority are being denied to make 435 people very wealthy.

“As long as the 88-and-12 exists, there will be a problem,” says Proskiw. “Our government
is just divvying it up all wrong.”

Proskiw says a slight rise, say, to 16 per cent, may even be enough. “But something has to
happen,” he says.

A spokesman with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans says the prediction of a mid-July

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closure is based on the recreational industry’s advice to the government. Tamee Mawani,
the regional manager for groundfish in the Pacific region for Fisheries & Oceans, says the
Sport Fishing Advisory Board (which represents the recreational industry in negotiations
with government) advised the government on a daily limit of two halibut, up from one
halibut per day last year – which they predict would close the fishery in July.

“That was their advice to us,” says Mawani.

Mawani also points out the Department of Fisheries & Oceans has not yet set a daily limit
for the recreational halibut fishery for the 2011 season, and it has not decided when it will
open. She says the government is aware of the concerns over the 88-12 rule, and it has
discussed the issue since April 2010 with the recreational & the commercial industry
(represented by the Pacific Halibut Management Association).

Mawani says it is ultimately up to the minister to decide whether or not to increase the 12
per cent allocation.

Meanwhile, the total allowable catch for halibut in both industries will be set by the IPHC
at its annual meeting, held this year in Victoria from January 25-28.

~Written by Chris Armstrong. Photo submitted.

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