The controversial Skeena Quality Waters Strategy that would have changed angling management throughout the region this year is being put on hold, as the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations has decided it wants more information.
“The province has decided they need a little bit more information, that is why they’re doing a tourism and economic impact study,” ministry spokesperson David Currie said.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has decided to partner with the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation as they’re better equipped to take on a study such as this, Currie said. A timeline at this point is unknown as they’re establishing terms of reference.
The Skeena Quality Waters Strategy was a four-year long process looking at a means to control steelhead fishing along northwest B.C. rivers and to address the issue of overcrowding. Similar studies were done throughout the province.
Changes currently recommended would be applicable to the 2013-2015 angling season.
Over 200 e-mails flooded the doors of the Chamber of Commerce, manager Heather Gallagher said, who questioned the fact that they were continuing the study that left many disappointed.
“The study, it’s done a ton of damage,” Gallagher said. “It created a lot of dissension among all of the users and definitely created a lot of misinformation globally … and it made them really feel unwelcome.”
However she was pleased that they chose to involve the Ministry of Jobs, Innovation and Tourism. When they had the working groups arranged, the business and tourism groups felt quite left out until they campaigned to be involved, Gallagher said.
What the government should be doing, Gallagher said, is determining if there was a problem to begin with, and not continue to go down this path if it’s unnecessary.
Kispiox angling guide Todd Stockner agreed. A member of the central working group that ranged from Suskwa and included the Kispiox River, he says the government would be better off sticking to the information they have, rather than going to the Ministry of Jobs, Innovation and Tourism
“Rivers are not hotels,” Stockner said.
What he means by that is that while the tourism industry makes their money out of maintaining high occupancy, angling in the Skeena is not like that at all. Part of the angling experience up here is being able to go out on our pristine rivers and not see a soul, Stockner said. It is exactly the reason the strategy was undertaken from the start was to deal with overcrowding of our rivers, and yet here they are, pushing the strategy on the tourism industry whose ideals are very, very different.
“The consequences of that on the rivers are what we’re trying to avoid,” Stockner said. “It’s a much bigger picture than just the tourism economy. The quality of the experience is what we’re really trying to protect here and ultimately it’s what we’re selling.”
It is a delicate business, but what really upset Stockner about the strategy was that while the ministry put together all these working groups, ideas from them weren’t really incorporated into the Angling Management Plans.
“To volunteer their time to sit around these tables and then be told that it doesn’t really matter, we’re going to go do what we want and commission another study, its just comes across as a colossal waste of time,” Stockner said, for both the people involved and for the government.
For this year, Stockner noted that business has been steady, even with the new strategy up in the air as it has been. Northern B.C. has such a unique experience that people will be willing to come, whatever the changes made.
“Ultimately, people are still going to come here,” Stockner said.
