Fred's Custom Tackle
Popular sturgeon fishery threatened
Fred's Custom Tackle
The popularity of Sturgeon fishing over the past years has skyrocketed, with an increased record on angling effort. This incredible fishery is growing due to the unique and special ranking, from local anglers and visitors, as a world class fishery. The success and popularity of sturgeon fishing is also attributed to the reality that other local fisheries are declining. This growing trend is a concern on what impact it will have on this fishery.
Despite a huge commitment by anglers to monitor and tag sturgeon with a standard of excellence rating, and a highly monitored catch and release fishery, the recreational sector is under heavy scrutiny by government and other sectors. With the ability to track the population and sizes of sturgeon from angling, we know that there is a serious decline of juveniles that is not clearly explainable. The expectation of seeing a recovery on sturgeon over the past 20 years, with catch and release regulations and tighter enforcement, is failing. We are only seeing population increasing on the larger fish (150 cm plus), which is encouraging and supports a strong belief that catch and release is working on these bigger fish. The real questions are surrounding the diminishing population of fish under 150 cm.
The angling community is committed to all efforts to help sturgeon. The adoption of the best handling practices, a fundraising sturgeon conservation stamp, and volunteer closures on spawning areas, suggests that anglers are doing the lions share on sturgeon conservation to date. The situation demands more effort from everyone, and anglers need to realize that more education is required to ensure they are doing the very best to help these amazing fish. Further restrictions are coming down the pipe on angling, so be prepared.
The responsibility of sturgeon conservation is held by the provincial government. This is concerning, as we are not seeing a commitment to take a serious look at the impacts from the explosive seal and sea lion predation on salmon and sturgeon in the Fraser and ocean environments. There is a huge issue with the number of sturgeon that are caught in gill nets that target salmon in the river, and unfortunately a high mortality rate on the concerned sizes suggests a direct connection. The poaching of sturgeon and the lack of enforcement is appalling at all levels of fisheries. This needs to change.
The Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society is dedicated to protecting sturgeon. The community has to step up and make sturgeon conservation a priority. This means anglers, First Nations and government have to come together. Time is critical, lets get this done.
FRASER RIVER SPORTFISHING ALLIANCE (FRSA)
The Fraser River Sportfishing Alliance is dedicated to conservation and recreational angling opportunities. This organization has realized that leadership of all sectors is the only solution to obtain sustainable future fisheries for everyone. If we continue to follow the path of destruction and not seek a better management program to protect our fisheries moving forward, then the outcome will not be a good one. An end to abusing the resource, and not dealing with the issues that are damaging historic runs, has to be addressed now. To get involved and make a difference, visit fraseralliance.com.
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