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Monday » January
24 » 2011

Halibut division still up for debate

Heather Thomson
Alberni Valley Times; With files from the Nanaimo Daily News

Monday, January 24, 2011

The halibut season is just around the corner, but the debate is still ongoing
between commercial and recreational fishermen over how much they can
catch this year.

Recreational halibut anglers are being encouraged to write the federal

government to change the halibut quotas that see the commercial sector
receive 88% of the quota while the recreational anglers get just 12%.

The controversial quotas were established in 2003 by the department of

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, despite arguments from the recreational halibut
sector that they require 20% of the quota to make the industry economically
feasible. It makes up a significant part of the province's $650-million sport-
fishing sector.

With halibut stocks becoming more depleted over the years, recreational
fishermen fear their quota for 2011 could be as low as 430,000 kilograms for
approximately 100,000 anglers.

Port Alberni recreational fisherman Matt Stabler said unless things change,
small coastal communities will suffer. He said they have been off the water too
much lately, and rumours of a short season this summer is already affecting
business.

"This is going to hammer heavy on tourism," he said, referring to the decrease

in fish available to charter fishing operations. "Bookings are already down
50% because they won't come if they can't get the halibut."

Recreational fishermen claim they would need a quota of about 725,000

kilograms to round out a full season for the industry this year.

They also take exception to the fact that the commercial halibut quotas in the
province were "gifted free of charge" by the DFO to just 436 commercial
fishermen in perpetuity, many of whom now lease their allotted quotas to
other fishermen and make thousands of dollars from the industry without
having to fish themselves.

Stabler said the fish aren't privately owned, they belong to all of Canada.

"They shouldn't be giving away a public resource," Stabler said of DFO.

Nanaimo-Alberni Conservative MP James Lunney, who attended Tuesday's

meeting in Nanaimo, said it's clear that the "situation is not tenable" and that
he has written to Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, outlining his concerns.

But Bob Carpenter, a commercial halibut fisherman from Nanaimo who has
worked in the industry for 50 years, said Canada's halibut fishery is one of the
best-run in the world and accused the recreational fishermen of telling

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"blatant lies" to gain support for their crusade to change the quotas.

"Although nothing has been announced yet, we already know the recreational
halibut season will be cut short this year, possibly as early as mid-July, and
that would be a disaster for many charter companies, many of which typically
plan their excursions up to a year ahead," said Clyde Wicks, an avid
recreational angler and chairman of the Mid-Island Sports Fishing Advisory
Committee.

"Most in the recreational fishery always believed their interests were being
protected by their elected representatives and never thought that they would
be stopped from fishing during the most busy time of their year."

In recognizing that there may be flaws in its quota system, the DFO began a
roundtable discussion early in 2010 to try to develop acceptable solutions with
all stakeholders, but the meetings ended without finding any consensus on
how this halibut season should proceed.

Recreational fishermen claim the discussions were derailed when then DFO
and the commercial sector became "fixated" on the option of fishing guides
and lodges having to acquire a new level of licence and then purchase unused
quota from the commercial sector.

Wicks said a better option would be for DFO to hold onto the quotas and "lease
them out" at a fair price to commercial fishermen as the stocks warrant,
rather than having to buy quota at exorbitant rates that leave little for profit.

Stabler agrees, calling the commercial fishermen who are benefiting from this
practice fish poachers.

"Their answer is for us to buy quota from them," he said. "By doing that, we
would help the privatization of stocks and this would be even worse."

Carpenter said he has invested $1.5 million on boats and equipment over the
years and employs 10 people, so he takes exception to claims that the
province's commercial halibut fleet "got our business for nothing."

He also said the commercial halibut sector has seen its quota cut by about
47% over the last few years to protect halibut stocks as their numbers
decline.

First Nations are also allocated 17% of the total commercial quota.

"The recreational sector wants a wild-west fishery in which they want it all,"
Carpenter said.

"It's time the government supports DFO at making the recreational sector
more accountable and responsible for our valuable resources.

"Future increases in the total allowable catches of halibut will increase for all
sectors when the stocks warrant it."

Wicks said more meetings are planned on the Lower Mainland to raise public
awareness of the issue in the coming weeks and he believes the momentum
for change is growing.

"The very real danger exists that small boats will be venturing out into rough
seas early in the season to get a chance of catching a halibut before the
season is shut down," Wicks said.

"This is the very reason that the commercial halibut sector was placed on a

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quota fishery in the first place, so that safety could be assured by not forcing
their boats out in rough water."

Stabler is trying to organize meetings for the Port Alberni area as it could feel
the effects of the decisions made. But what he wants to see is a fair
agreement that will work for the majority. He said the recreational fishery
puts $800,000 into the economy, and it is time they received "fair and
equitable" distribution.

HALIBUT FACTS

- There are 436 commercial halibut licences in B.C.

- Estimates are that just 137 of these licence holders still actively fish, with
the rest of the licences being leased out each year.

- The commercial halibut industry controls 88% of the halibut quota, while the
recreational sector has just 12%.

- The recreational sector want their quota raised to 20% this year.

- About 100,000 recreational anglers take part in the halibut fishery each
year.

© Alberni Valley Times 2011

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