IronNoggin
01-19-2021, 01:43 PM
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December 2, 2020
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Dear Minister Jordan,
I write you today to make you aware of BCWF’s position regarding proposed control pinniped populations in B.C. In short, the BCWF supports controlled harvest of pinniped’s along B.C.’s coast because there is currently an imbalance between pinnipeds and their prey, namely wild salmon, herring, and other fish stocks of concern.
There is now good science available to give some insight about what has happened to the pinniped populations in B.C. and how these out-of-control populations are affecting many species of fish. Amongst several other scientists, Dr. Carl Walters of the University of British Columbia has produced studies that show that Steller Sea Lions alone consume over 1,000,000 Fraser River sockeye.
Seals are also of great concern. Their population has also expanded wildly in the last 50 years. Though the seals consume far less from a total consumption perspective, seals are calculated to consume over 40% of chinook and coho smolts in the Salish Sea (Gulf of Georgia). In some river systems, it is estimated that seals can consume up to 85% of outbound salmon smolts. With predation levels this high, when these smolts are just heading out to sea, it is hardly surprising that some rivers get any more than a handful of adult fish returning at the end of their life cycle.
The BCWF also recognizes that ocean survival is problematic but there is little opportunity to influence this overriding issue. Controlling numbers of predators of endangered fish stocks is something that your department can control. For example, there are currently IFMP proposals submitted to your ministry for a managed harvest of pinnipeds here in B.C. These proposals are backed by science, would help save these precious fish stocks, would help increase food abundance for the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales and other species, and would provide employment opportunities for fishers in many coastal communities.
These are all positive steps that could happen with approval of these IFMPs by your ministry. Pinniped removal in rivers in the USA Pacific Northwest indicate immediate, positive effects on returning fish populations.
Though we realize that a harvest of pinnipeds may be controversial in some segments of society, we urge your ministry to approve a managed pinniped harvest in BC.
We hope that you, as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, have the courage to make this difficult decision and support the managed harvest of pinnipeds in B.C. The future of endangered fish stocks in B.C. is in your hands.
Yours in conservation,
Bill Bosch
President
B.C. Wildlife Federation
101-9706 188th St, Surrey, BC V4N 3M2 | T: 604-882-9988 TF: 1-888-881-2293 F: 604-882-9933 | www.bcwf.bc.ca
Posted with permission...
Nog
December 2, 2020
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6
Dear Minister Jordan,
I write you today to make you aware of BCWF’s position regarding proposed control pinniped populations in B.C. In short, the BCWF supports controlled harvest of pinniped’s along B.C.’s coast because there is currently an imbalance between pinnipeds and their prey, namely wild salmon, herring, and other fish stocks of concern.
There is now good science available to give some insight about what has happened to the pinniped populations in B.C. and how these out-of-control populations are affecting many species of fish. Amongst several other scientists, Dr. Carl Walters of the University of British Columbia has produced studies that show that Steller Sea Lions alone consume over 1,000,000 Fraser River sockeye.
Seals are also of great concern. Their population has also expanded wildly in the last 50 years. Though the seals consume far less from a total consumption perspective, seals are calculated to consume over 40% of chinook and coho smolts in the Salish Sea (Gulf of Georgia). In some river systems, it is estimated that seals can consume up to 85% of outbound salmon smolts. With predation levels this high, when these smolts are just heading out to sea, it is hardly surprising that some rivers get any more than a handful of adult fish returning at the end of their life cycle.
The BCWF also recognizes that ocean survival is problematic but there is little opportunity to influence this overriding issue. Controlling numbers of predators of endangered fish stocks is something that your department can control. For example, there are currently IFMP proposals submitted to your ministry for a managed harvest of pinnipeds here in B.C. These proposals are backed by science, would help save these precious fish stocks, would help increase food abundance for the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales and other species, and would provide employment opportunities for fishers in many coastal communities.
These are all positive steps that could happen with approval of these IFMPs by your ministry. Pinniped removal in rivers in the USA Pacific Northwest indicate immediate, positive effects on returning fish populations.
Though we realize that a harvest of pinnipeds may be controversial in some segments of society, we urge your ministry to approve a managed pinniped harvest in BC.
We hope that you, as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, have the courage to make this difficult decision and support the managed harvest of pinnipeds in B.C. The future of endangered fish stocks in B.C. is in your hands.
Yours in conservation,
Bill Bosch
President
B.C. Wildlife Federation
101-9706 188th St, Surrey, BC V4N 3M2 | T: 604-882-9988 TF: 1-888-881-2293 F: 604-882-9933 | www.bcwf.bc.ca
Posted with permission...
Nog