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Restrictions on halibut raise furor
SHANNON MONEO
VICTORIA -- Faced with declining stocks, the federal Fisheries Department will introduce restrictions this month on the West Coast's popular recreational halibut fishery, a move that could "massacre" the fishery and related businesses, a seasoned fisherman says.
"This has huge ramifications, not just for the day-fishing charters, but cafés, guides, lodges," said Mike Hicks, who operates a lodge and charter fishing business in Port Renfrew. "These regulations will absolutely devastate little coastal communities like Port Renfrew, Ucluelet and Bamfield. It will be the end of recreational halibut fishing."
The department is proposing to reduce the number of halibut that can be caught in a day to one from two, and to place a maximum weight limit of about 11 kilograms on caught halibut, a fish prized for its heft. The weight limit would be a first, Mr. Hicks said.
"I have guys phoning me in tears. A good Canadian should be able to go out on the weekend and catch two halibut."
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"It's our heritage," said Mr. Hicks, 57, who has guided West Coast anglers since 1966.
When charter clients head to deep waters for a day of halibut fishing at a cost of $1,000, they expect to land at least two fish. Few people would pay $1,000 to catch one fish, Mr. Hicks explained.
And those with their own boats won't be smiling either.
"They're addicted to halibut fishing just like some are addicted to golfing," Mr. Hicks said. "This is like a golfer golfing nine holes instead of 18."
B.C.'s Sport Fishing Institute backs up Mr. Hicks's concerns.
In a letter to Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn, the organization wrote that anglers travel long distances to land a halibut and allowing only a single halibut would discourage them entirely.
"It's the quest to go out and catch that big fish," said Eric Kristianson, spokesman for the institute, which represents the recreational fishing sector (lodge and charter operators, even tackle manufacturers).
He said the commercial fishery should give up some of its quota to the recreational anglers.
The weight restriction is "unworkable," he added.
Anglers expect to hook at least a 15- to 25-kilogram specimen, and halibut often exceed 11 kilograms.
Oversize fish would likely die once released because of serious injury caused by the two large hooks that attach deep into their throats.
"The mortality rate would be absurd," Mr. Hicks said.
The Seattle-based International Pacific Halibut Commission in January reduced Canada's share of the 2008 halibut catch to 4.08-million kilograms from 5.2-million kilograms in 2007.
Canada's share has been decreasing since stocks began to decline in 2005.
Canada's commercial halibut fishery gets 88 per cent of the annual total. The recreational fishery is allotted 12 per cent, which this year totals 492,000 kilograms, almost a 50-per-cent drop from 2007's allowable catch. The fish are caught in the North Pacific off the B.C. coast.
The Fisheries Department has delayed the opening of recreational halibut fishing from its long standing Feb. 1 date to March 1.
But the saving in terms of fish is negligible because few anglers venture out in February when storms are common, said Gary Logan, a Pacific region manager for the Fisheries Department.
Mr. Hicks and the Sport Fishing Institute welcomed one change the department is considering: limiting access in a fertile halibut area 12 nautical miles off the Vancouver Island coast.
U.S. anglers can buy Canadian fishing licences using the DFO website, which allows them to hook "hallys" legally in Canadian waters. Their catches are deducted from the Canadian recreational total.
Mr. Hicks estimates U.S. anglers catch up to 100,000 kilograms each year.
Mr. Kristianson's organization calls the situation "intolerable," particularly because Washington state charter operators promote the rich fishery.
Recreational halibut anglers spend about $60-million per year in British Columbia in a fishery that has been growing each year. The figure is based on an estimated $642-million spent in 2005 by saltwater anglers in British Columbia, outlined in a report by G. S. Gislason and Associates.
Last year, about 330,000 individual saltwater sport fishing licences were sold in British Columbia, Mr. Kristianson said.
Mr. Logan stressed that all affected groups have been consulted about the potential changes to the halibut fishery.
If recreational fishermen are "not on side," enforcing the new rules will be difficult, he added.
The new regulations will be announced before the March 1 recreational halibut opening.
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