[walking buffalo]

Glad to see this thread is back. Sad that the issue remains.


It's time for a Burbot Fishing Tournament.

PCR might be a good place, lots of fisherpeople, and close to Major Media.


Picture this.

Media coverage of 300 recreational fisherpeople catching thousands of Burbot, with all the fish being piled together, and left to rot.

The story explaining the issue and accompanying photos would finally get the Province's attention.







Previously posted?

The problem lies with the Fish Processing monopoly, not the commercial fisherman.

" I am a commercial fisher, Wasting Burbot."

I am a commercial fisher, those were not my nets. At present there is no market for burbot as we are forced to sell our commercial catch to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation and they refuse to buy burbot. We do whatever we can to give these fish away to whoever would like to take them, unfortunately we are not always able to find people who want them. This particular season has a zone that makes it especially difficult to avoid the burbot and still catch the targetted whitefish. There is a commercial quota on the burbot that is never reached as we are usually very good at avoiding this species. As commercial fishers we would like to see anglers keep as many burbot as they can catch. These burbot are extreme predators that are very adept at feeding upon walleye. We have dressed spring burbot and found as many as 60 walleye fingerlings in the belly of one burbot. In our commercial nets we can catch many whitefish with the very odd walleye, the walleye are usually no good as they have spent the night in the belly of a burbot and are partially digested. As for changing the law it would prevent people from seeing the wasted fish but these fish are being eaten by birds coyotees and the like, if the were hauled off of the lake they would needlessly fill our local landfills and truly be waisted. No easy solution here but please know that it is never the intention of a commercial fisher to waste fish.

Most groups that buy commercially caught fish are aware that we have no market for this species, they are also aware that burbot are not good keepers.

We are always looking for markets for this species and we have found markets but the F.F.M.C. has refused to allow us to sell into those markets.

The act that governs the sale of commercially caught fish does not allow us to sell for resale unless they are being sold to the F.F.M.C.
Perhaps we should use this forum to tell people when we will be fishing on lakes that are apt to have a high by-catch of burbot. anyone wanting these fish need only to talk to a fisher, most of us would be happy to give permission and reciepts for as many pounds as anyone would want.

Our next commercial season will be on L.S.L. this spring and I am always happy to take a sports fisher along to show how we do things. As for the burbot caught in our nets there is no limit to the amount that I can give to you. You would probably enjoy the experience and you would find that we are a responsible group who do our best to conserve the resourse and keep a balance that helps to enhance angling oportunities.

http://career.kcdc.ca/nlmc/minutes/n...009summary.pdf

Creighton Regional Development Corp. is supplying products to a health food entrepreneur from Chicago. With this company’s support, the Corp. recommenced a burbot liver oil project as a way to revitalize commercial fishing and processing in northern Saskatchewan. Burbot fillets are filleted and processed and the oil from the livers is extracted in a project with Creighton Community School students. The Corp. has set up as a buying depot in eastside communities to supply the health food company with up to 1,000 pounds of rosehips.


In 2003, the Saskatchewan Commercial Fisheries Ltd. (SCFL) raised money from the fishermen and government agencies to build a fish processing plant in Saskatchewan. However, plans for the processing plant did not proceed and the fishermen’s $600,000 has been kept in trust. In early 2009, the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) informed them that it was not supportive of providing a dual marketing system for Saskatchewan. In consequence, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment sent a letter to the Federal Minister stating Saskatchewan’s intent to withdraw from FFMC marketing system by April 1, 2011. SCFL anticipates that, by the end of November, it will have raised the extra funding needed to proceed with construction of a processing plant in spring 2010. Buyers continue to contact SCFL to see when product will be available.


http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublicat...&Parl=36&Ses=1

I'd like to bring to you to the folder I presented you with, with my paperwork here. If you take a look at the very beginning, you'll note that there's an Arthur Andersen report. This was put together after my company spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to get into the fish business, trying to take the fish species that the corporation didn't want. One of them happened to be burbot, and believe it or not, it's a codfish; it's an inland freshwater codfish. After a couple of years of going up and trying to market this product, we basically got shut down, and the reasons are here. Arthur Andersen gave the reasons why we weren't succeeding. I'd like to just comment on a few of these.

If you take a look on page 2 of this Arthur Andersen report, you'll see three points at the bottom.

It starts off: “The Real Canadian Superstore has introduced maria'— or freshwater cod —“as President's Choice `Fresh water Cod' in its Ottawa and Quebec stores from December to April.”

It took a year and a half for me to develop that market with Superstore, going back and forth to Toronto, spending a lot of money.

One Superstore was offered a price by me, which they accepted, when I had to go off and get a special dealer's permit from the corporation.
The corporation found out who my market was going to. They automatically got somebody in Superstore and low-balled my price.

http://www.hayriverhub.com/2010/02/f...ve-freshwater/

Feb.17 2010.
In a historic move members of the Northwest Territories Fishermen’s Federation voted last week to leave the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC).