1/8/2011 Westcoaster.

ca - Sports, Commercial Fi…

Sports, Commercial Fishermen Agree:

Halibut Allocation A Problem
Erin McMullan 07/01/2011 10:14:00

By Erin McMullan UCLUELET — The current problem facing the halibut fishery is one of
allocation, agreed sports and other fishing interests Thursday night.

The emergency meeting on the fishery took place at the Ucluelet Sea Plane Base Rec Hall.

Martin Paish, spokesperson for Sport Fishing Institute of B.C. (SFIBC), suggested the halibut fishery’s current
allocation for sports fishermen is closer to 17 per cent, including carryover from previous under-fished years.

Officially, 88 per cent of Canada’s allocation goes to the commercial sector and 12 per cent goes to sports and
recreational fishermen.

Paish urged the audience to inundate the office of Gael Shea, minister of fisheries and oceans, with letters of
protest before the 2011 season starts.

He suggested reallocation would also benefit commercial fishermen paying expensive leases, allowing them to
retain a higher percentage of profits after operations costs.

Dissenting voices from commercial fishing suggested these “slipper skippers” were a red herring, and that
sport fishermen work, as they had, to develop a mechanism to better access and account for fish caught.

A letter from Eco-Trust Canada, taking issue with the use of their statistics in SFIBC’s presentation, was read
from the floor by commercial fisherman, Dan Edwards.

When it was suggested that fishermen abandon in-fighting, one of the obstacles to finding a solution, Paish
wondered aloud what might happen if both sides sat down, apart from the bureaucratic process, to talk.

Doug Kimoto, of Ucluelet, pointed out that local sport and commercial interests do just that on the West
Coast Aquatic Management Board.

The crowd was united in wanting to avoid having West Coast fishing end up like the situation in
westcoaster.ca/…/10657-Sports-Comm… 1/2
1/8/2011 Westcoaster.ca - Sports, Commercial Fi…
Newfoundland.

Halibut is a West Coast issue, and it should be dealt with on a provincial level, Paish said after the town
meeting.

westcoaster.ca/…/10657-Sports-Comm… 2/2