The Department of Fisheries and Oceans have put in place rules and regulations to protect fish stocks.  However some stocks such as halibut and bottom fish can be intensively commercially harvested and therefore directly conflict with sport fishing areas set up for conservation and managed harvest.  Due to this overlapping pressures sport fishermen get hit with severe limitations on harvesting halibut for instance. Limits have been reduced from 3 any size, to 2 any size, to 2 any size but daily limit 1, to now 2 with 1 under 133 cm and 1 under 90 cm.  At the same time and in the same area...commercial harvest is unrestricted...any size halibut may be harvested.

Therefore it makes sense that since sport fishermen are very restricted by travel distance due to smaller size of boat and personal safety reasons and commercial boats are not, there should be 10 mile commercial fishing exclusion areas set up around key sport fishing areas.  Why should lodges and charters promote catch and release, lower limits and harvesting smaller fish at the same time generating so many jobs and economic benefits across a wider area just to have it destroyed by a commercial long liner or salmon trollers?

A number of years back the government gave commercial halibut fishing licenses to individuals for FREE!  Now many of these individuals simply sell the quota to others and pocket the profits.  They paid nothing for this free money.  At the same time sport fishing harvest quotas are slashed.  Sizes slashed.  Daily limits slash.  This is unfair and as sportsmen and women we must all stand up and be heard!

I have personally witnessed commercial salmon fishing boats trolling dangerously through sport fishermen 1 mile from a lodge.  I have personally witnessed commercial salmon fishing boats trolling deep and throwing hundreds of yelloweye rockfish away to float away and die.

So please sign this petition and let's take a positive step towards a sustainable sport fishing industry.  Let's put a 10 mile commercial fishing exclusion area around all sport fishing lodges/resorts and 15 miles around all public boat launches.  Let's get some fairness for sport anglers now!