After reporting a historically low run of Fraser River sockeye, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has cut off recreational anglers from all salmon fishing on the river. Lower Mainland anglers claim the decision is overly cautious. "The fishing fraternity is very, very disappointed," Fraser River Sportfishing Alliance spokesman Rod Clapton told CBC's The Early Edition, "We just got our fishery open four or five days ago, and now it's closed again." Clapton says there is no need to ban all salmon fishing in order to protect sockeye. "If you've got speeders on the freeway, are you going to shut down the whole freeway?" He said. "We have a selective chinook fishery that we've demonstrated in the
Anglers are expressing frustration over the closure of recreational salmon fishing on British Columbia's Lower Fraser River, saying they're already taking measures to preserve weak sockeye stocks. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans issued notice on Thursday that one hour after sunset the fishery would close until further notice. "I have concerns that they would target the sports fishery," said Rod Clapton, spokesman for the Fraser River Sportfishing Alliance. "Don't shut down the whole river when a large majority of the anglers are fishing selectively." The department said in its notice that current run estimates have resulted in the closure. On Tuesday, the Fraser River Panel do
It was supposed to be a protest fishery Monday at the Island 22 Regional Park boat launch by members of the Fraser River SportFishing Alliance. But when DFO decided at the last minute on Friday to open the recreational chinook fishery for Aug. 1, it changed the entire focus of the day, said Rod Clapton, SportFishing Alliance spokesperson, and president of the BC Federation of Drift Fishers. The need for a protest was actually averted. "We felt there was an opportunity to demonstrate that we are more than just a protest organization," said Clapton. "We used it as an education and information session to talk to anglers. So we turned a potential negative, into what we now perceive as a positive
