CANADIAN GILL NETTING??

[RANGER]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-07-00 AT 12:07PM (CST)[p]I do not wish to open a can of worms here, although I probably will. There is a post and threads running on the "Fishing Reports" forum concerning this issue and I have read a number of them on this forum. My questions are multi-fold:

1) Where,actually, does this stand between the US and Canada? Is there any momentum rolling in the direction of banning this activity?

2) Are our Canadian bretheren as much "UP IN ARMS" about this slaughter as I believe the Americans are?? It's got to be killing their sportsfishing and boating industry along with their revenues from the industry, to say nothing about revenue from license sales!

The reason I am asking is because I REALLY want to know. I live in Pennsylvania and have heard and read wisps of this BUT, not until I came on board with Walleye Central, did I realized just how bad it seems to be.

I can only speak for Pa, but, for the last 5 to 7 years we had to pay a $3 license fee for a stamp to fish Erie. This, I am to understand, was to supplant the commercial fishing industry once it was banned. The stamp has since been repealed and is no longer required (the first time in my life that a "tax" was withdrawn as the government promised!!!)

Has this approach, or some form of it, been proffered to the Canadian Industry?

What about the treaties between our two governments? Has any leverage been afforded to dissuade the Canadian Government from allowing this to continue?

And what about the Canadian sportsfishing/boating community? As i said; this has to be killing these industries. Geez, with the way Canada taxes it peoples' there has to be BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars in their coffers. Can't a small part of this mother-lode (20 or 30 million) be forced on to the Gill Netters to supplant them, for a term, until they could find another way of life??

Ya' know!! I have grown up with Lake Erie. I have seen it at it's worst and at it's best (the last 10 years). I can't beleive that our two countries are allowing this to continue! Doesn't anyone remember the catastrophy of Lake Michigans salmon industry 20+ years ago? Are we doomed to repeat the past? OR WORST!

I can't figure it out! And I REALLY don't understand! With all the "Push" towards conservation and clean waters this stands out as a HUGE SORE THUMB and from what I can gleen from these posts and threads - it doesn't appear that our Senators, Legislators, Etc., are doing anything about it. We must talk with our VOTES, too!

RANGER

"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"!

[EyeWitness]

Over here in Minnesota you can watch the same thing happen on the Rainey River at the Manitou Rapids on the anadian side...they check their nets and fill all those five gallon buckets up and run them in to town pick up load after pick up load and I mean lots of them

[EyeWitness]

Over here in Minnesota you can watch the same thing happen on the Rainey River at the Manitou Rapids on the Canadian side...they check their nets and fill all those five gallon buckets up and run them in to town pick up load after pick up load and I mean lots of them

[RANGER]

I wasn't aware of that! Is this just happening with "border" waters???? Are they (the Canadian government) allowing this to go on in just the border waters thereby taking advantage of our contributions to the fisherie like stocking programs, etc.? Michigan, again??

The reason I am saying this is because I have fished Canada for over 30 years now, and I have NEVER witnessed this type of carte blanc netting that I am hearing about in Erie, and now in MN. As a matter of fact I am leaving for Canada tomorrow for a week of fishin' 'eyes in Georgian Bay. I will keep a tight eye to the waters for any netting that is going on WITHIN the borders. From my recall - I can't EVER remember seeing commercial nets up their!! EVER!!

RANGER

"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"!!

[Sunshine]

I've been fishing Lake of the Woods for years and occasionally see indians put out nets that appear to be over a half mile long.

[RANGER]

EyeWitness,
Sunshine,

Having read this from the two of you I am really wondering if this is, in fact, a Border "thing". Native Americans laying nets is probably the result of a treaty. What strikes me is that this occurrance was witnessed in "BOARDER WATERS" and makes me wonder which side of the fence the treaty was struck with. Do you, or anyone else, know if this is occuring in Lake Michigan, Huron or any other Border or inland waters? I haven't. As I said - I can't remember ever seeing nets in Canadian Inland waters and I will be looking for them next week and let you know.

You know, whatever needs done here has to come from the FEDERAL level. This is way beyond State authority and we (Americans) should not be required to pay for another country's indiscretion! My problem is - I still don't know what ground I'm standing on, here!!!

RANGER

[Frank]

It is very common in NW Ontario where I am from to see natives netting fish. As long as it is for their own use or feeding their families it is permitted. In NW Ontario stats have shown that 80% of walleyes are caught by US fisherman. The US because it has a population 10 times that of Canada dwarfs us in consumption of almost all products.It will be up to politicians to decide on the best use of a resource. To the walleye it doesn't really matter, nine times out of ten they will end up in an American belly, the only difference is was he caught on a line or netted.

[GaryMN]

This subject has been hashed over a number times by people on both sides of the border on this board. I've been dismissed as an idiot for pointing out that the Canadian Gov.seems to favor comercial fishing over Sport fishing. I'll now just ask that anyone with questions read the following reports:

#####://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/cbio/cancod.html

#####://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/ArcticCircle/NatResorces/cod/mckay.html

After reading these rather long reports explaining the part that the Canadian Gov. & its fisheries managment program played in the collapse of the Northern Cod, I see no reason to trust the data that they put out to justify the support of comercial netting at the expense of sport fishing that they seem to advocate. The whole episode is a black mark on fisheries managment. They seem to be doing the same thing all over again.

[Jersey John]

I have seen the gill nets of the Indians that live on a reserve in Quebec on the Gouin Res. They have them spread out going into a river called " Portage" which is where the big eyes pass through to spawn in Lake Portage. They know what they are doing, and I heard you don't want to get caught in their nets. They seem to be down right forcefull and heard they will even kill you! Don't know if this is true, but I have seen them and they are not friendly when in that area of the Res. So I would say gill netting happens not only on border waters but on inland lakes in Canada also. Bee safe and have fun fishing this year!!!!!!!!! JJ