Anglers overcrowding the banks of the Skeena River is just a symptom of the greater dysfunction in fisheries management in B.C., says a provincial non-profit fishing federation.
Calling for the provincial government to establish an independent fishing ministry, the B.C. Federation of Fly Fishers says fish populations are being devastated as management issues fail to get needed attention within the catch-all Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations (FLNRO).
A stand alone fisheries ministry that’s staffed adequately would do much to preserve and enhance fish populations, says veteran angler Jim Culp, who lives in Terrace and is a representative for the fly fishers’ federation.
Culp is particularly concerned because more and more anglers are travelling to the few surviving fishing rivers like the Skeena as stocks are severely depleted on the Thompson River, Europe and elsewhere.
“People are getting really upset about it,” said Culp, noting that he was previously a fishing guide and is familiar with how dozens of anglers come here from across the world.
“It’s too crowded,” he said of the Skeena River.
Culp did acknowledge that tourist anglers bring benefit to fishing guides and other related business and they give a boost to the economy, but fishing and development cannot continue un-regulated.
“It’s got to be managed,” he said.
Besides populations being devastated by development and poor fishing regulation in B.C., Culp says there is a severe lack of information about fish populations in our rivers.
“There’s almost nothing done [for stock assessment],” he said, adding that habitat conservation and scientific study is also limited.
In the Skeena region, which includes nearly the entire northwest corner of the province, there are only four biologists.
FLNRO spokesman Dave Townsend said in email that fisheries management is integrated into the operations of the ministry, thus it is difficult to nail down a number of people focused on those concerns.
“There are a number of positions whose areas of job responsibilities include fish habitat,” he said.
Besides the four biologists in the Skeena region, “it is estimated that the fish habitat elements cumulatively add up to [the equivalent of 1-1.5 full-time jobs],” as well as one section head who does both fisheries and wildlife management.
They are supported by a provincial fisheries manager and provincial rivers biologist.
The Skeena region is about the side of Washington, Culp pointed out, emphasizing that the handful of ministry staff have likely never even visited all the rivers and lakes in the region.
“They just can’t do the work that’s required to keep up with this (the development and industrialization in the province),” Culp said. “There’s too few people and the budget is too tiny.”
Simply put, fishing concerns get lost in the massive amount of issues dealt within FLNRO, including forestry, mining, and wildlife matters, he added.
A fisheries advisory group meets with the ministry several times a year to bring forward concerns, but nothing ever changes, Culp said.
“The department of fisheries side of things has been pushed down into the shadows,” he said, adding that sometimes supervisors from other disciplines are dealing with fish management issues without really understanding the issues.
The fly fishers federation recommends that a Ministry of Fisheries be established, so that decisions can be made by people who know and understand how to protect and enhance the resource.
