Angling community concerned that cuts to salmon program could damage recreational fishing in the corridor
While nothing has been decided by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, concerned anglers say proposed cuts to federally-funded salmon programs could destroy the $600 million a year recreational fishing industry for British Columbia.
According to the Sportfishing Defence Alliance, the DFO plans to cut as much as 25 per cent of the Pacific Region’s annual budget for fisheries enhancement and management. At the same time their sources within the DFO are saying that staff levels will be maintained, which would mean that the Operation and Management side of the budget could be cut by 60 per cent.
"We are advised that these cuts apply to the Habitat Branch," said Sportfishing Defence Alliance president Bill Otway in a letter to Fisheries and Oceans Canada Minister Robert Thibault.
"This Branch is currently not able to keep up with the ongoing threats to salmon habitat in this province being already under staffed and under budgeted. Your new cuts will ensure our critical habitat will disappear at an ever-increasing rate."
The Whistler Angling Club is concerned with the effect that the cuts could have on the fisheries in local rivers, notably the Birkenhead River in Pemberton, and the Cheakamus, Ashlu and Squamish rivers in Squamish.
"It’s going to impact a lot of people here," said Dave Brown, the owner of Whistler Fishing Guides, and a director of the Whistler Angling Club who is involved with the provincial Sportfishing Advisory Committee and the South Coast Steelhead Coalition.
"There’s a huge angling fraternity in Whistler, and there are also a large number of angling guide companies. There are also a large number of people who like to go and look at salmon. The same thing can be said for Squamish and Pemberton."
Brown estimates that there are 30 fishing guides in Whistler and six companies with combined revenues of approximately $1 million each year. When you factor in hotel stays, equipment purchases, and the fact that some people come to Whistler because they can fish, he estimates that the local recreational fishing industry supports as many as 100 jobs.
In Squamish, fewer salmon could also mean fewer eagles for the emerging eagle watching industry.
According to the Sportfishing Defence Alliance, they have confirmed cuts in the following areas:
• A $3.5 million cut to the Salmonid Enhancement Program this fiscal year with an additional cut next year;
• A reduction of up to 50 per cent in funding for technical and operating funds to various public involvement programs;
• A reduction or complete loss of support to streamkeeper and watershed stewardship organizations;
• The end of the Habitat Restoration and Salmon Enhancement Program (HSREP) with no mention of a replacement;
• And the end of the Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Program in March of 2003, with no mention of a replacement.
In addition, the SDA is looking into rumours of an annual $21 million cut to the overall Pacific Region budget, further cuts to the Salmonid Enhancement Program that could result in the closure of between five and eight hatcheries, a 50 per cent reduction to the stock assessment budget, a 50 per cent reduction to habitat production programs, and a 50 per cent reduction in enforcement.
"We’ve just gone through four years of not being able to fish for Coho, much less being able to retain one, and they’re looking at these kinds of cuts," said Brown.
As far as cuts to salmon stocking programs go, Brown believes there aren’t enough wild salmon to support any kind of fishery, or any of the other species of fish that share the rivers.
"These rivers have been severely impacted by man," said Brown. "There are not going to be wild runs of salmon that are self-sustaining in these rivers for quite some time, and maybe never if the habitat improvement programs are lost."
The recreational fishing industry won’t be able to switch its focus to another species of fish, such as catching trout or Dolly Varden, because both of these fish rely on healthy salmon populations, according to Brown. Salmon carcasses left in the river after spawning provide nutrients to the river and to the insects that feed other fish. In addition, Dolly Varden feed off salmon fry as they hatch in the river and migrate out to sea.
Opponents to the cuts are particularly concerned by the proposed $3.5 million in cuts to the Salmonid Enhancement Program. Currently 80 per cent of its annual budget goes towards hatcheries, and the remaining 20 per cent goes towards community stewardship programs to restore habitat.
"Of all the programs, this is one of the things that the DFO has really been successful with," said Brown. "You look four years down the line when the last of these hatchery fish have disappeared and the habitat work is over, and you don’t know what these runs are going to look like. It’s very discouraging.
"It’s not that much money compared to the Olympic bid, or what the government spent on security for the G8, or what we’re giving to other countries in aid – not that those aren’t worthy causes, but these cuts don’t make sense," he said.
According to Brown, the tax revenues provided by recreational and commercial fisheries more than pay for the Salmonid program. "I’m not saying you should do stocking on a river purely out of economics, I feel there’s an environmental responsibility for those stocks to be maintained as well, but I know the government and other people like to look at the issue in terms of economics and it doesn’t add up."
The Sportfishing Defence Alliance is hosting a public house meeting on Saturday, July 13, to discuss the cuts and has invited the DFO to send a representative to address their concerns.
"The perspective of people I talk to is that we’re not going to sit down and let this happen," said Brown. "We’re going to stand up and let the government know loud and clear that we’re not going to tolerate these cuts. We’re encouraging people to write letters to their MP, John Reynolds, to the federal minister Robert Thibault, and to attend the meeting in Vancouver on Saturday."
Brown and other local groups will also attempt to organize a local meeting to explain the cuts and stir up public opposition.
Susan Farlinger, the Acting Regional Director of the Habitat and Enhancement for the DFO, said she will be at the Vancouver meeting to defend some of the cuts that are planned.
"We have had a reduction to the (Salmonid Enhancement) Program since 1996," she said. "Last year is was $27 million and this year we’re looking for $3.5 million in cuts. We have managed to defer implementing that since 1996, but now we have to figure out how to implement that reduction. It’s still over $20 million."
The proposed cuts to the Salmonid program were not a secret, she said, and were confirmed again in 2000 when the DFO discussed the future of the program with public groups and stakeholders.
"The big question about the whole program is what is the focus of the program?" asked Farlinger. "Is it on large facilities producing fish to be caught or is it on a more strategic, conservation-based enhancement approach, and how does community involvement fit into that? Likely it’s going to be about finding a balance."
The federal minister has not made a decision regarding the cuts, and no schedule has been set.
The Vancouver meeting, hosted by the Sportfishing Defence Alliance will be at the New Westminster Campus of Douglas Collect in lecture theatre 2201 from 9:20 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 13.
