Now this is exciting – We have a tremendous membership prize to announce! Many THANKS to INA Marine for their generous donation of a new Yamaha 9.9 high thrust long shaft kicker in support of SVIAC’s 2024 Membership Drive.
All 2024 SVIAC memberships purchased by May 31, 2024 will be eligible for a draw for the Yamaha kicker and other donated merchandise from our sponsors!
Watch here for updates!
Draw will be made on June 1, 2024.
Get your memberships here!
SVIAC is pleased to announce the return of its popular Membership Loyalty Benefits Program for 2024! We cannot do what we do without the support of our cherished local businesses and of course, our members! So get your membership today (Click HERE!) and visit the following local retailers (links provided for most in the name below!) to take advantage of these great offers!
Fire Safe Fire Extinguishers – 10% OFF fire safety equipment.
Gizmos Computer Exchange Ltd. – 20% OFF all in store technical services at 774 Bay Street location.
Ina Marine – VIP discounts – 15% OFF parts and 10% OFF services.
Island Outfitters – 50% OFF All Suffix Monofilament line spooling.
Integra Tire – 5% OFF All Tires and Services
Padgett Business Services – 10% OFF personal tax returns.
Reel Magic – Fishing Reel Services – 10% OFF all fishing reel maintenance services, not including parts.
Rite Angle Fishing and Marine – 10% OFF all in store fishing and marine products.
Sheraton Four Points Langford – Corporate room rate discounts
More great retailers are expected to be added to this list in the coming months, so check back often for updates!
If you haven’t already heard, DFO released a survey on proposed SRKW management measures for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. It closes on February 12, 2024, and only takes about 10 minutes to complete. The Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) released a backgrounder and advice to help anglers complete the survey, and SVIAC supports this advice and wants to help share it far and wide. Written feedback is also encouraged. Please complete the survey and share the link and this document with your friends. The SFAB document is copied below, but first, here is the link to the survey itself.
https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/consultation/fm-gp/srkw-eprs/2024-srkw-survey-sondage-ers-eng.html
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SFAB 2024 SRKW Survey Advice
DFO is actively engaged in consultation for a proposed suite of SRKW management measures for the 2024 and 2025 season. The SFAB urges you to get involved and have your voice heard by participating in the survey DFO has provided. It’s a short survey that can be completed in about 10 mins. Written feedback is also encouraged. The deadline for all feedback is Feb 12th, 2024.
We encourage you to read the following background information to assist you in completing the survey in a
manner that offers the best opportunity to achieve a balance between angling opportunity and meaningful benefits to SRKW, and to share this information widely.
Background
The SFAB completely rejects the idea that additional or increased fishery restrictions are necessary, and further suggests that removing or reducing fishing closure areas is appropriate. The negative socioeconomic impact on communities like Sooke, Port Renfrew and Sidney far outweigh any benefit these closures provide to SRKW in the high chinook abundance regime that currently exists when the closures are proposed to be in effect.
The SFAB has consistently supported the “Mobile Avoidance Zone” as the best management approach to reduce or eliminate competition for prey with, and physical\acoustic disturbance from anglers. Canada currently has a mandatory minimum avoidance distance of 400m to all SRKW plus a voluntary stop fishing zone of 1000m. This is the approach taken by WA state which does not rely on static fishing closures or “no go” zones as recovery strategies. The SFAB has also consistently supported ensuring that the avoidance zone is of a size that scientific evidence suggests would virtually eliminate physical and acoustic disturbance, and that this zone apply to all killer whales and all vessels. SRKW are highly mobile animals and we strongly believe that a consistently applied zone of protection that follows them throughout their range will offer the best protection from disturbance.
The SFAB does not support the static “Interim Sanctuary Zone” (ISZ) approach currently implemented by DFO. These zones, which occur in the Southern Gulf Islands, appear in red on the DFO SRKW proposal maps in the vicinity of Saturna and Pender Islands. SRKW are highly mobile animals and there is little to no evidence to suggest that SRKW consistently stay in ISZ’s for any length of time, or that they actually assist SRKW foraging activity because of this. Further reducing the effectiveness of static ISZ’s is the fact that they are not applied to all vessels since some fishing activities are still permitted.
The SFAB does not support the use of salmon fishing closures to reduce competition for chinook from recreational anglers. They are additional to management measures already in place to protect stocks of concern, and only apply when more abundant stocks are present which provide ample food for SRKW, especially in recent years. Critically important summer and fall stocks of chinook salmon were in low abundance when fishing closures were initially implemented in 2018, which was further exacerbated by the Big Bar slide in 2019. The majority of these stocks are now in high abundance, notably Fraser Summer 4.1 Chinook (over 625,000), Lower Fraser Fall Chinook (150,000 just to the Harison River), Cowichan Chinook (21,000) and Robertson Creek Chinook (200,000) all of which are returning during the months of August to October. This huge abundance grows considerably when we consider the highly abundant returns of enhanced chinook on both coasts of Vancouver Island, most of which are present during the August to October period when SRKW related fishing closures take place. And of course, there are vast numbers of US enhanced stocks in the mix as well. The fact is that there is absolutely no evidence to support a deficit of prey for SRKW in their Canadian habitat and much evidence to suggest near historically high levels of chinook abundance in southern BC waters.
Consider also the fact that DFO is planning to cut production of Chilliwack River enhanced chinook in 2024 that was intended specifically to provide prey for SRKW. Clearly, scarcity of prey is no longer a high priority for DFO moving forward, and it shouldn’t be given the abundance noted above.
Therefore, the SFAB completely rejects the idea that additional or increased fishery restrictions are appropriate, and further suggests that removing or reducing fishing closure areas is appropriate. The negative socioeconomic impact on communities like Sooke, Port Renfrew and Sidney far outweigh any benefit these closures provide to SRKW in the high chinook abundance regime that currently exists when the closures are proposed to be in effect.
It’s important to note that there is already a 400m avoidance distance measure in place which should be of appropriate size to eliminate disturbance to SRKW, so fishing closures are only in place to reduce competition for chinook salmon. Given the completely different abundance regime we are currently in compared to 2018, the idea of increased restrictions being necessary is not supported by evidence.
2024\2025 proposals:
DFO proposals for the Fraser River mouth and Southern Gulf Islands are recommending no change from 2023. The SFAB suggests that reducing the size of the closed area to move it further away from the popular Pt. Grey Bell buoy area would reduce unintentional compliance issues with the current boundary.
DFO proposals for Southern Gulf Islands are recommending no change from 2023.
DFO Option 2 presents a significant enforcement and compliance issue given the convergence of closure boundaries at the highly popular Otter Pt area. Either maintaining the status quo, or moving the inshore boundary of the proposed eastern zone closure of option 2 to a minimum of 2km offshore would remove this problem.
The negative socioeconomic and boating safety impacts of DFO Option 2 to the community of Port Renfrew simply can’t be overstated. These negative impacts, which effectively remove virtually all sheltered small to medium sized boat access to chinook fishing opportunity for the community and its visitors thereby creating significant safety concerns, are vastly out of proportion to any minor additional benefit to SRKW that may be achieved. The SFAB believes that this option is insensitive to this small coastal community and unnecessarily causes anxiety to its residents due to uncertainty about their economic future and food security.
The SFAB completely rejects Option 2, and given chinook abundance realities in 2024, further recommends the creation of a reasonable angling corridor in the vicinity of the mouth of the Nitinat River to provide access in the terminal area to that abundant enhanced stock.
Link to DFO Background Material:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1y_wuV7ATe4w9JJ4ZfnyQsy5QuNi5HPke
New Donation Challenge! In the early days of the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative, some of the whale watching community in Victoria were the first to step up with financial support from their conservation funds. One local prominent fishing charter was a bit embarrassed that his business wasn’t collecting a similar fee for salmon enhancement, given his business directly benefits from this important project. Since then, Rollie Rose from Sooke Salmon Charters, who also serves on the Board of Directors of SVIAC, collects $5 from each of his charter trips (as low as $1.25 per person on a 4 person trip) specifically to support the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative. Rollie carries a laminated explanation of the project on his boat, and is happy to explain the value of this project to curious customers (in the short breaks between hookups, which are few and far between on his trips). This contribution results in hundreds of dollars in donations each year. Rollie challenges other fishing charter guides around Southern Island to do the same with their guests for the project, and other charters up and down the coast to do likewise to support other similar projects in their area. If not on a trip-by-trip basis, an annual donation to such projects is another great option. As heart, Rollie is a fisherman first and foremost, so he poses the same challenge to all fishermen and women of all ages, to support the fishery for generations to come.
SVIAC is actively fundraising to support next year’s Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative. Did you know that since 2017, more than 4,130,000 juvenile Chinook salmon have been successfully raised and released into the Sooke Basin. Over 500,000 have been coded-wire-tagged and adipose fin clipped to allow for identification and stock assessment purposes. So far, there has been no monetary support from government. Over $400,000 of private money has been raised to fund SCEI equipment purchases and pay operational expenses.
In 2023, we successfully raised another 630,000 Chinook that were released from our TME in April and May. The same or more are planned for 2024. Operating this initiative and releasing this many chinook requires funding to cover brood stock collection, hatchery rearing, special fish food, medication, electricity, fin clipping, inserting coded-wire-tags, transportation, TME equipment maintenance, net repairs, moorage fees and storage, plus the professional services of an aquaculturist. This coming year, the net pens need significant net repair or possible partial replacement. Total annual budget is approximately $70K every year.
So there you have it – this project needs your help! There are many different ways to support the project, including via donations to the upcoming online fundraiser, supporting derbies, becoming a member and with direct donations. We have some great businesses in and around Southern Vancouver Island who have long supported our efforts, and we welcome more! We also have some great examples of individual contributions. Read about one such contribution below!
* Longstanding individual donation pledge and challenge: Tom and Betty Cole have made an individual family donation to SVIAC to support the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative since the project began! Their annual donation of $500 is an incredible contribution to the operating costs of the project. For 2024’s project, they have already pledged their donation and challenge the sportfishers out there to match their donation! SVIAC would be grateful if you’d consider doing just that!