Skeena Quality Waters? - The Ministry has Spoken
Monday, April 26, 2010 at 12:05AM 
All Non-Resident Non-Guided Alien Anglers [NRNGAA] will be restricted to fishing only on Monday to Friday from Sept. 1-Oct. 31 on the Morice, Bulkley, Suskwa, Babine, Kispiox Rivers. On the Zymoetz [Copper] River, NRNGAA will be restricted to fishing on Monday-Thursday from July 24-May 31 in both the Class 1 and Class 2 waters. On the Skeena, 1 section around the Kispiox and another upstream from the Zymoetz will be restricted to fishing on on Monday-Friday.
From the Ministry:
This document presents final recommendations of the Working Groups for Skeena Angling Management Plans and the response from the Ministry of Environment. The ministry response indicates which recommendations were endorsed, those that were not endorsed, and those which were deferred for consideration in the future. The rationale for these decisions is also presented. The ministry response document brings to a close the extensive consultation process as part of the Skeena Quality Waters Strategy.
To view the response (PDF), visit http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/skeena/qws/
skeena quality waters in News
Reader Comments (31)
Oh and p.s. "We've been giving our fishery away for too long" NRA's pay $20 to $40 a day to fish plus the cost of the license...You say, go fish Quebec etc. and pay their fee's and deal with their restrictions...GLADLY...they got it right....Pay more but for a better experience..not a problem..
Here's a novel question...when is b.c. going to start paying for it themselves? what is your fee..damn near nothing...how many b.c. locals would pay $20 a day to fish? For all your bitching about NRA's etc. Who is really screwing the pooch here? Where does all the money collected from tags and fee's go and who does it benefit in the end?
Is it used by the governement for the "enhancement" of the fishery??? Isn't that what Quebec did? Nope, your govenment puts it in the general fund so line their pockets with and not jack shit goes back to anything, let alone enforcement...
Have fun...For years I've been dying to get the time off to join my b.c. bro's up there...Think I'll pull that plug and get a tan, fish for roosters and durado...Baja California...my new b.c. buds...
Lol....Cambell wins again...
Something is not right in this whole spactacle. We burn up an amazing pile of resources in the name of "getting back to nature." And then our actions in nature are centered on yanking a threatened animal through a near-death experience? And then we fight amongst ourselves over our "right" to do these things?
If I were a non-angler looking in, I'd be alarmed. As an angler, I cannot justify or defend our actions or our attitudes. We need to find a way to nurture the inner hunter in a more healthy, positive, and constructive way. Just like we need to find a way, in general, to live in harmony with our planet. If these fish are too valuable to be killed, aren't they also too valuable to harrass? Could our "sport" be slowly poisoning our souls? That might explain how we so often fall into asshole behaviors.
PLEASE? When was the last time you flew to Terrace and just fished the weekend? Stayed in "locally owned hotels" and ate at the non-franchise restaurants? This is more like it, (because Im up there when this goes down), you can't hide license plates.
Most non-resident Steelheaders are camping at the Telkwa Camp-sites, cooking their own food, drifting in their own pontoons, occasionally visiting SUBWAY(us), buying the odd steak and case of beer and bringing in all their own equiptment. How does this HUGE influx of International tourism spread through Terrace? ..... IT DOESN'T, these are Steelheaders.
The International crowd that are willing to pay to be guided, wined and dined, and a relative input into the local economy are not the BEAKS that are all jaded about this topic. C'mon, weekdays only?
It's amazing to see the number of people who are willing to defend this move, when what it really means is that any continued economic benefit from steelhead fishing in the Skeena system will now be concentrated in the hands of only a few. Unless you happen to be one of those few, why would you be defending a system designed to only benefit them?
This whole process was corrupt from the start - "focus" groups comprised of outfitters and guides and hardly anyone else, directed to make recommendations on how to "manage" the fishery, and then being told that they were not allowed to make any recommendations about conservation. Is anyone surprised that this was the result? How much more could the MoE have stacked the deck in order to get the result they wanted?
What you really need to be asking yourselves, instead of turning this into a stupid, "locals vs. NRAs" issue is why did the MoE stack the deck to get this result? If you don't suspect their motives, and if you don't think there is a lot more going on behind the scenes here, you have your head up your ass.
The original idea was more restrictions than what is being implemented. I feel this is a fair and just addition to the regulations. I put my input into the QWS and don't see a huge problem with the recommended changes. Yeah I can see an NRA getting upset because they are not getting as much access as they had before. You have to live here to see what it's actually like before commenting on the crowding issues.
Coming into a spot to see the same german (american/albertan/human) tourist there for a month is a problem. A little bit of equal opportunity to get access to the runs is what this is about. So you have to adjust your schedules a bit... it's a vacation, you're taking time off for leisure, spend the weekend doing something besides fishing and let the locals get at it then hit the flows hard during the week. You could spend that time moving to different spots or scouting the rivers, or even doing something non-fishing related and enjoy more of what our area has to offer. I'm sure your wife or s/o would appreciate it.
I work 40 hours a week (not impressive, but average) and live in this area and still might not spend as much time on the water as people coming up from out of town. When I do get out it's nice to have the opportunity to have water to yourself. If you think it's all about tourist dollars, we don't need your money. If you think it's going to cause environmental degradation due to lack of feet on the ground, we got enough die hard supporters of the area from the area. If you REALLY love this fishery as much as you all say why not relocate. We are always open to new residents, and you can put your body here and fish as much as you like. Not trying to be offhand or offensive but it's the reality, when you live in a place everything changes and it's not just a ticket for entertainment but something that can become your life.
THANK YOU David R.