- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
From OFAH by email:
Changing Currents
(http://www.ofah.org/News/index.cfm?ID=2&A=GetDoc&DID=774)
I prefer to use my brief word space to talk about how you can catch more fish. But some new tides are rolling in that could drastically affect our fishing opportunities for the long-term future in this province. The Ministry of Natural Resources is proposing changes to the fishing regulations that will begin in 2007. We're not just talking a few odds and ends here; more like a total revamping of the way fisheries in Ontario are managed.
"This is probably the biggest change to fishing regulations in the province in our lifetime," says Robert Pye, spokesperson for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH). If you've been fishing for some time, you might have noticed that the rule booklet which rolls off the press every January has gone from being a brochure to a novel-length document. The regulations have been getting increasingly complex and the MNR knows it.
"Historically, we've been trying to manage fisheries on a lake-by-lake basis," says George Duckworth, the MNR's coordinator for the new program. "But with 250,000 lakes and even more streams, this is proving ineffective. We don't have the resources to monitor each lake and see how the new laws we implement are working."
As different concerns about a local fishery spring up, each lake has a long list of exceptions to the general rules to address those concerns. It's fast becoming a nightmare for anglers trying to figure out the laws. The intent of the new changes, as proposed by the MNR, is to streamline the rules, make them more user-friendly and eliminate many of exceptions. But according to Pye, this is not all it's cracked up to be.
"The opposite of that is taking place. We're concerned they're becoming more complex. Anglers are only going to see at best a 10% reduction in the exceptions. What's more, the avenue to get anglers' opinion on this issue has been lousy. They don't know what it is they're commenting on and they're likely to walk away from it in frustration," says Pye.
Some of the more important changes will be: the current 37 divisions across the province will be reduced to 20 Fisheries Management Zones (FMZs); anglers will see standardized provincial catch limits for perch, whitefish, and channel catfish; seasons for some species, such as lake sturgeon will be shortened. The trend is to now manage fisheries on a broad, landscape basis rather than lake-by-lake. This however is the OFAH's biggest concern.
"Fisheries management can't be dictated by administrative convenience" says Pye. "We are worried that the Ministry is potentially throwing out 20 years of careful scientific research in favor of an easy way out."
What are anglers saying? "The comments we've been getting are quite varied," said Duckworth. "I can say that most anglers, especially in Southern Ontario, recognize the need and support the new changes."
In general, the OFAH and the MNR seem to agree on one thing; that regulations are far too complex and a lot of the exceptions are redundant, if not contradictory. The sudden jump to "fix" this in a few short months however, is a bit hasty to say the least.
The smaller limits seem to be in keeping with the change in angling to a catch-and-release culture. This, in my mind, is a good thing. The black-and-white photos of old with smiling anglers holding up massive stringers of trout, are history book material. With 2 million people dipping their hooks in Ontario's waters each year, we simply can't afford to be greedy anymore.
However, a backwater in Northern Ontario simply doesn't see the same harvest as Lake Simcoe, so conglomerating them under one set of catch limits isn't playing fair and I doubt most anglers will buy the scenario.
The thing to remember is that next to the scientists who devote much time to research, we as anglers are the next best source of data for the MNR. So contact the OFAH with your concerns about the areas you fish in. "Anglers need to let us know what they think," says Pye. "Because when the time comes, we are going to take their voice to Queen's Park."
Related Links
* New Fishing Regulations Proposed for 2007
* MNR Press Release: New fishing regulations proposed for 2007
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Northwest Ontario
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Northeast Ontario
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Southern Ontario
* EBR #XB06E6001: Proposed 2007 Recreational Fishing Regulations for the new Fisheries Management Zones for Ontario
* New Walleye Regulations for Southern Ontario
Changing Currents
(http://www.ofah.org/News/index.cfm?ID=2&A=GetDoc&DID=774)
I prefer to use my brief word space to talk about how you can catch more fish. But some new tides are rolling in that could drastically affect our fishing opportunities for the long-term future in this province. The Ministry of Natural Resources is proposing changes to the fishing regulations that will begin in 2007. We're not just talking a few odds and ends here; more like a total revamping of the way fisheries in Ontario are managed.
"This is probably the biggest change to fishing regulations in the province in our lifetime," says Robert Pye, spokesperson for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH). If you've been fishing for some time, you might have noticed that the rule booklet which rolls off the press every January has gone from being a brochure to a novel-length document. The regulations have been getting increasingly complex and the MNR knows it.
"Historically, we've been trying to manage fisheries on a lake-by-lake basis," says George Duckworth, the MNR's coordinator for the new program. "But with 250,000 lakes and even more streams, this is proving ineffective. We don't have the resources to monitor each lake and see how the new laws we implement are working."
As different concerns about a local fishery spring up, each lake has a long list of exceptions to the general rules to address those concerns. It's fast becoming a nightmare for anglers trying to figure out the laws. The intent of the new changes, as proposed by the MNR, is to streamline the rules, make them more user-friendly and eliminate many of exceptions. But according to Pye, this is not all it's cracked up to be.
"The opposite of that is taking place. We're concerned they're becoming more complex. Anglers are only going to see at best a 10% reduction in the exceptions. What's more, the avenue to get anglers' opinion on this issue has been lousy. They don't know what it is they're commenting on and they're likely to walk away from it in frustration," says Pye.
Some of the more important changes will be: the current 37 divisions across the province will be reduced to 20 Fisheries Management Zones (FMZs); anglers will see standardized provincial catch limits for perch, whitefish, and channel catfish; seasons for some species, such as lake sturgeon will be shortened. The trend is to now manage fisheries on a broad, landscape basis rather than lake-by-lake. This however is the OFAH's biggest concern.
"Fisheries management can't be dictated by administrative convenience" says Pye. "We are worried that the Ministry is potentially throwing out 20 years of careful scientific research in favor of an easy way out."
What are anglers saying? "The comments we've been getting are quite varied," said Duckworth. "I can say that most anglers, especially in Southern Ontario, recognize the need and support the new changes."
In general, the OFAH and the MNR seem to agree on one thing; that regulations are far too complex and a lot of the exceptions are redundant, if not contradictory. The sudden jump to "fix" this in a few short months however, is a bit hasty to say the least.
The smaller limits seem to be in keeping with the change in angling to a catch-and-release culture. This, in my mind, is a good thing. The black-and-white photos of old with smiling anglers holding up massive stringers of trout, are history book material. With 2 million people dipping their hooks in Ontario's waters each year, we simply can't afford to be greedy anymore.
However, a backwater in Northern Ontario simply doesn't see the same harvest as Lake Simcoe, so conglomerating them under one set of catch limits isn't playing fair and I doubt most anglers will buy the scenario.
The thing to remember is that next to the scientists who devote much time to research, we as anglers are the next best source of data for the MNR. So contact the OFAH with your concerns about the areas you fish in. "Anglers need to let us know what they think," says Pye. "Because when the time comes, we are going to take their voice to Queen's Park."
Related Links
* New Fishing Regulations Proposed for 2007
* MNR Press Release: New fishing regulations proposed for 2007
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Northwest Ontario
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Northeast Ontario
* Proposed fishing regulation changes in Southern Ontario
* EBR #XB06E6001: Proposed 2007 Recreational Fishing Regulations for the new Fisheries Management Zones for Ontario
* New Walleye Regulations for Southern Ontario
