Ask Mr Cullen about gillnetters killing steelhead and he goes very quiet

The North Coast Steelhead Alliance highlights opposition to new reporting regulations for commercial fisherman in Northern BC.

The new regulations were put in place by the Department of Fisheries and Ocean in response to Marine Stewardship Council certification of the fishery. One of the conditions for certification set by the MSC was that all bycatch, especially steelhead, need to be properly accounted for.

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Tyee Daily Steelhead & Gillnetters

The North Coast Steelhead Alliance recently posted this graph, click to enlarge, that illustrates the corresponding drops in steelhead numbers right after commercial gillnet openings.

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Chum and Weedlines in Dean Channel

The managment of the commercial net openings that are currently occurring in British Columbia defies all common sense when it comes to protecting wild steelhead. In this particular case, the gill net fishery for chum salmon in the Dean Channel and the dropping of the weedline netting technique requirement.

From the North Coast Steelhead Alliance -

Allowing non-selective gillnetters into an area holding much more valuable summer run steelhead to target a fish that is worth pennies per pound. Where is the logic in that? In terms of management economics, it would appear cheaper to pay the 30 or 40 gillnetters to stay home than pay for the management time spent on this fishery in addition to the loss of incredibly valuable Dean river summer run steelhead.

The North Coast Steelhead Alliance reports and provides analysis on all the North Coast net openings, take a read but be prepared to tear your hair out.

Quality Waters?

One of the biggest impacts on the quality of steelhead fishing on the Skeena is the commercial gillnetting bycatch that damages critical early steelhead runs. Despite reports that have shown the economic benefits of the sport fishery far outweigh those of the commercial fishery, the Canadian Department of Fisheries continues their misguided management of the resource.

With just three months before the start of the commercial fishing season, the North Coast Steelhead Alliance has sent an open letter to the Canadian Department of Fisheries, taking them to task for not implementing strategies to reduce the commercial harvest impact on steelhead runs. 

LINK  (Via: Skeena Fisheries Blog)