Regulation Compliance and Enforcement
The first steps taken to protect and ensure the wise use of Alberta’s fish resources should always be proactive and preventive. Public consultation and education activities undertaken by fisheries managers and biologists, Conservation Officers, and conservation groups help anglers and others to understand the biological requirements of fish populations and the need for more restrictive harvest
regulations. The enforcement presence shown by Conservation Officers on routine patrols acts as a deterrent to would-be resource violators.
Fortunately, most anglers and other resource users comply with regulations. When illegal activities do occur, Conservation Officers take enforcement action. Penalties include license suspensions, fines up to $100,000 and jail for up to six months. Judges ensure the severity of the penalty relates to the severity of the offence.
Investigations conducted by Conservation Officers sometime lead to the prosecution of organized groups or “poaching rings”. These rings severely impact fish resources by harvesting very high numbers of fish, sometimes from vulnerable populations, for sale on the black market. However, by far, the greatest number of resource violations involve individuals contravening catch and size limits. While some may consider these infractions to be minor, especially where they involve “just” one or two fish over the limit or fish “just” a centimeter or two below the legal size, it is the large number of these infractions that can and has negatively impacted fish populations.
The Report-A-Poacher (RAP) program was established to involve all Albertans in reporting illegal wildlife activities, regarding fishing and hunting. Offences can be reported 24 hours a day, toll-free to 1-800-642-3800. Assistance from the public is critical to the protection of the fishery.
Whirling Disease and other Unwanted Invaders
Aquatic organisms can be accidentally moved from water body to water body. Undesirable species, parasites and diseases can easily upset the delicate balance in aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. Eurasian water milfoil is a restricted aquatic weed that can spread rapidly and outcompete other plants. Whirling disease, a potentially fatal illness of trout, has been found in Montana and many other western states. The tiny parasite that causes whirling disease can survive within live fish, dead fish and in water and riverbed mud. It can even survive in dry mud, including that on boats, trailers and equipment.
Anglers and boaters are urged to clean their equipment well, to not transport fish, plants or water from one water body to another, and to not dispose of fish parts in or near water when cleaning fish.
History of Fisheries Management in Alberta
“We’ve come a long way,” doesn’t begin to describe the evolution of fisheries management in Alberta. With the benefit of hindsight we can say that mistakes were made, despite our forefather’s beliefs and good intentions. We are learning from these mistakes and beginning to rebuild depleted fish populations. When the first pioneers settled this province they looked upon its resources as endless, a land of plenty. They believed that these resources, including fish, could support themselves and many others. This attitude prevailed until the latter part of the 20th century when serious fish stock problems were evident.
Before the 1960s and 1970s, a very small number of government staff members and a handful of university academics undertook “fisheries management” in Alberta. It wasn’t until the provincial government began hiring biologists and technicians that our fish resources and the users of this resource were monitored. The prevailing management philosophy of the time required biologists to prove that fish populations were being depleted before regulations could be changed. The public was concerned that their fishing “rights” would be taken away from them unfairly. During the time required to gather this “proof”, fish populations were further depleted.
Today, fisheries management operates under a restrictive code (termed “precautionary management”), where conservation is the primary goal and harvesting fish is permitted if a surplus is available. Prevailing attitudes and beliefs influenced activities in our past. The bull trout (Alberta’s fish emblem), was once considered “ungodly and barbaric” for its fish-eating behavior that at times included cannibalism. Bull trout were systematically removed and destroyed; Conservation Officers of the 1930s reported on the number of bull trout destroyed in government reports. Negative attitudes toward northern pike, also called “slough sharks” and “slimy snakes,” included the belief that they could
never be over harvested. Small pike were pickled whole while spawners were harvested with pitchforks and fed to pigs.
Fish stocking and fish transfers have a colorful history in Alberta. Fisheries managers introduced large and smallmouth bass into Sylvan, Gull and Cooking lakes in 1908 and into Lac La Nonne in 1924. Atlantic salmon was introduced into several water bodies in both Banff and Jasper National Parks from 1915 to 1962. None of these populations became self-sustaining.
During the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad circa 1903, (eastern) Brook Trout were carried in cream cans to Alberta’s east slopes and deposited in streams to “improve” our stream fisheries. Brown trout were stocked in the same waters for the same reasons, and with the hope that they would displace the “inferior” bull trout that was much less exciting to catch. The natural ranges of
Cutthroat trout and rainbow trout in Alberta were expanded as well. Yellow perch and northern pike were transferred from water body to water body by Conservation Officers, biologists, and sometimes by people who simply felt that it was a good idea.
Not only are we dealing with past mistakes, but also with diverse beliefs and technological advances of the present. Improved access afforded by new boats and roadways, combined with improved technology in the form of powerbaits and GPS equipment make the harvest of fish easier now than it has ever been. One goal of present-day fisheries managers is to bring our fish resources “back to the future”. Those who began sport fishing in the 1990s were introduced to a resource that was already depleted. It will take patience, time, and the acceptance of restrictive harvest regulations in order to return as many of our fisheries as possible to their former glory.
Keep Fish in Our Future
There are many ways to support and improve the status of Alberta’s fish populations. All Albertans can volunteer their time, money and/or equipment to help enhance, restore or create fish habitat, to provide lake aeration systems, assist biologists in conducting fish inventories and provide input during public Consultations. The Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Fish and Game Association, Trout Unlimited, or your local fish conservation group may have more information about volunteer opportunities. Anglers can be a good role model for other anglers by sharing their knowledge and fishing ethics and practicing safe fish handling techniques for catch-and-release fishing. And, by supporting and complying with regulations, they can help maintain and recover
fish populations.
Fisheries are a valuable public resource that all Albertans are responsible for safekeeping. Ensuring wise management and healthy fish stocks now will guarantee healthy and abundant fish populations for the future.
Again, information on suspected violations, including the destruction of fish habitat, should be reported immediately to the Report-A-Poacher (RAP) hotline, 24-hrs. a day at 1-800-642-3800. Know the RAP line and don’t hesitate to call it; it is everyone’s responsibility to keep fish in our future!
This article’s original source lives here http://www.whyte.org/time/riveroflife/fishmgmt.pdf
