|1X I HI SW)RI IISIIIKV 



propv>rtion ot the catch of these species, espccKills in ihc 

 Strait ot" Cieorgia, and that these st()cks arc under csjv- 

 cially heavy fishing pressure and in need ot conservation 

 measures (as pointed out m Chapter 2). S») despite our 

 present ignorance aK>ut many aspects ot sptirtfishing ami 

 the resources it depends on, I recogni/.e a responsibility 

 to propose a more clearly defined course of actitin to 

 guide spt>rttishing management and protect overfished 

 stcK'ks during the next few years until a firmer foundation 

 for p<.>licy direction can be laid. 



I therefore propt^se a five-year program aimed at con- 

 straining the growth of sportfishing pressure on the 

 resource while maintaining high-quality sportfishing 

 opportunities. I have already recommended certain 

 changes that will tend to dampen the rate of increase in 

 sportfishing. particularly the doubling of licence fees and 

 the punchcard-lag arrangements. For the next five years I 

 propose a specific ceiling on the aggregate sport catch 

 and supplementary controls to achieve this. During this 

 pericxl improved management of the commercial, Indian 

 and sport fisheries, and enhanced production should be 

 capable of reversing the declines in important 

 sportfishing stocks. At the same time, the information 

 program I propose later in this chapter will provide the 

 essential data for meaningful consultations with the 

 sportfishing community, so that more positive 

 sportfishing policy can be developed for the future. 

 Specifically, I recommend — 



9. For the next five years the Department should aim at 

 providing an annual coastwide sport catch of 1 million 

 <>almon. of which not more than 900 thousand should 

 be taken in the Strait of Georgia and Fraser River 

 systems. 



According to our best information, described earlier in 

 this chapter, these proposed targets are close to current 

 levels of catch. 



To ensure that the sportfishing targets will not be 

 exceeded, the Department will need supplementary 

 and more flexible controls. For reasons I have alluded 

 to already in this chapter, sport fishermen should 

 be involved in designing these regulations. I therefore 

 recommend — 



10. The Department should invite the Sport Fish Advisory 

 Board to assist in designing sportfishing regulations to 

 ensure that the proposed targets for the sport catch 

 will not be exceeded. 



These consultations should concentrate on sportfishing 

 regulations of the kind described in the preceding section 

 as well as other means of managing the sport fisheiy to 

 meet the objectives. 



To complement these restraints on the sport fishery, 

 the Department should intensify efforts to reduce the 



commercial fisheries' catch of the vulnerable chinook and 

 coho stocks. Ihese efforts have already begun with elimi- 

 nation of terminal gillnet fisheries in many areas, includ- 

 ing the Fraser estuary; reductii>n ol the permitted depth 

 of seine nets to conserve the deep-swimming chin(K)ks; 

 bunt requirements to allow young fish to escape .seine 

 nets; restriction of many Indian bands fishing for chi- 

 nooks; exclusion of much of the troll fleet from the Strait 

 of Georgia; and barbless hook requirements, and 

 increased area and time closures for trollers. In view of 

 the urgent concern for conservation of coho and chinook 

 stocks in the Strait of Georgia especially, and until better 

 information is available about how these stocks are 

 fished, the catches in all fisheries should be tightly cons- 

 trained. 



We must recognize the possibility that the consultative 

 process will not succeed in designing controls that will 

 meet the regulatory objectives or that, for unpredictable 

 reasons, agreed regulations will fail. In either event, the 

 Department should have recourse in other means to con- 

 trol the catch. Thus — 



II. In the event that regulations designed in consultation 

 with the Sport Fish Advisory Board arc insufficient to 

 constrain catches to the target levels in any year, the 

 Department should close the sport fishery in either the 

 Strait of Georgia or the rest of the coast to ensure that 

 the targets are not exceeded. 



A general closure on sportfishing, either coastwide or 

 in the Strait of Georgia, should be invoked only as a last 

 resort. This is unquestionably a crude method of regulat- 

 ing the sport fishery; it causes serious dislocation for 

 those whose livelihoods depend on sportfishing, and it 

 abruptly eliminates sportfishing opportunities. It should 

 be invoked only to ensure that targets will be met for the 

 proposed five-year program. Beyond this period larger 

 sportfishing stocks and more discriminating management 

 and regulations should make such action unnecessary. By 

 then, the proposed system of licences, punchcards and 

 tags, coupled with intensive data collection, will provide 

 a solid foundation for determining the levels of 

 sportfishing activity and catches, the demand for 

 sportfishing and the impact of regulations. 



IMPROVING INFORMATION ON THE SPORT 

 FISHERY 



I cannot overemphasize the importance of reliable and 

 comprehensive data on sportfishing for purposes of man- 

 aging salmon stocks; managers cannot continue to rely 

 on extrapolations from estimates in which they have lim- 

 ited confidence, such as those I have referred to in this 

 chapter. In my Preliminary Report I expressed the hope 

 that studies then nearing completion would identify the 

 sportfishing effort and salmon catch with much more pre- 

 cision. Unfortunately, they have not done so. 



