Sport fishing outfitters claim new federal regulations unfairly target their business

Sport fishing outfitters on the B.C. coast say new federal regulations on chinook salmon announced late last week are hurting their businesses and don't line up with what they're seeing on the water.

And that's not only bad news for the industry, they say, but bad science as well.

"The chinook fishery is now being based on politics, rather than science," claimed Jason Assonitis, the owner of Bon Chovy Fishing Charters in a recent interview.

Assonitis, who has three boats based in Vancouver and one in Sidney, says the shift in rules makes no sense.

New rules needed to protect fragile stocks, says DFO

The federal government says the new regulations are necessary to protect fragile chinook salmon stocks in the upper Fraser River.

But Assonitis says fish from those stocks form only a tiny percentage of the chinook salmon hooked along the coast each year by sports fishermen.

"Less than one per cent of the stocks that we encounter are the stocks of concern," said Assonitis. 

However, Jennifer Nener, the director of salmon management at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, says while it might look that way, there's a lot more at play.

Nener says she appreciates the lens through which sports anglers are looking at her department's decision, but she says the new rules are not only necessary but scientifically sound.

"They may only be catching one or two per cent of those stocks of concern, but the fact is a small percentage of a large number can still be a significant number of chinook."

The new rules mean a complete halt on chinook fishing in the Vancouver area and Howe Sound until September. Further up the Island, near the Comox Valley, the regulations are slightly less stringent. There, anglers are allowed to catch and release chinook until July 15, at which point they'll be allowed to keep one a day for the rest of the summer. 

50 chinook in 5 hours

But that is little comfort for Steve Veloso, who owns Island Pursuit Sport Fishing. He says most of his clients are locals who want to eat their catch. 

Since similar restrictions were put in place last year, he says 60 per cent of his business has dried up and he expects the same to happen this year. 

"I have a one-year-old. I just bought a house and things are looking a little scary," said Veloso.

The most galling part for Veloso is that there are so many chinook salmon. Veloso has been fishing since he was eight. He spends 250 days a year on the water and he says he has seen, by far, more chinook salmon than ever before.

"Last weekend in five hours, I caught and released 50 chinook with two rods," said Veloso.

Southern B.C. has 28 chinook salmon populations

Both Veloso and Assonitis help gather data for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That data helps inform the new regulations.

Both men say the fact that what they see on the water is not reflected in the new rules is evidence to them that the regulations are about politics and not science.

The DFO's Nener says dramatic action on all chinook fishing is needed to ensure the health of a a number of fragile stocks.

"I think we need to keep our eye on the longer term. It's short term pain for long term gain."

Nearly half of southern British Columbia's chinook salmon populations are in decline, according to a science committee that monitors the health of wildlife populations.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) found in 2018 that of 16 chinook populations studied, eight are endangered, four are threatened and one is considered of special concern.

Only one, located in British Columbia's Thompson River, is considered stable. The condition of two populations is unknown.

Southern B.C. has 28 chinook salmon populations.