Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc
Curious how you get 10%? If SRD doesn't know how do you?
Here's lies the problem with the management of our lakes. SRD needs to start with the basics and go from there. Does SRD know how many anglers there are in Alberta? No. They can tell you how many licenses were purchased but what about those over 65, those under 16 and our aboriginal citizens? A guess at best. Studies need to be done, data needs to be collected and plans need to be made and followed through with according to that data to make our fisheries the best damn fisheries we could hope for. Then they need to re-study the data on a continuance basis to then tweak our fisheries. Throw the models they follow now out the window (which I believe is a general X amount of trout x the number of hectares = the amount of stocked trout). Lakes like McLeod (Carson/Pegasus) will get more because of high fishing pressure and "quality" lakes get less because of the special regs but generally there doesn't appear to be a lot of thought that goes into it.
Now I know our boys running the show aren't stupid, they're highly qualified and I also know it all comes down to money. How much is it going to cost to manage our fisheries right? They really need to look at Parkland County in Manitoba for that and see how much they're spending and then the return that area is bringing in from anglers now visiting from all over North America due to those huge trout.
I think it's time we all sit down for 5 mins and write an email to our local fisheries biologist, MLA, the Minister and the Premiere. Let them know, we want great fishing here too.
|
I pulled the 10% out of the air to make a point. It all comes down to your own perception I guess and drawing your own conclusions from there. If you surround yourself with people that want something a certain way then your perception of what the majority wants may not be as realistic as you think.
Yes, you are entirely correct that no one knows what the exact number of anglers are in the province. Licensed yes, but total no. SRD can make a pretty good guesstimate based on what they do know though.
I think that the best solution to confirm either way what anglers want is to ask SRD to conduct a survey of all licensed anglers. It should include a section with the number of children in the home and the counts of the children should count towards how the angler votes. This would cover licensed anglers as well as their children that will inherit the fishing waters from us adults. The only group not covered would be seniors and an online or similar poll could be available for them. Is there any logic to my thinking?
If done fairly, whatever the results, I would be happy to live with it. As I have previously stated, I do see an upside with easing the fishing pressure in harder to get to lakes as a result of creating easy to get to "quality" fisheries close to large urban areas like Calgary and Edmonton.
