Panfish limits lifted in region; Local tourism operators relieved

[Spiel]

Panfish limits lifted in region; Local tourism operators relieved

 

 

May 23, 2008

Ronald Zajac / recorder.ca

 

 

The Ontario government has lifted catch limits on sunfish and yellow perch for at least two years, a move applauded by local tourism operators who faced financial damage from the restrictions.

 

But an outspoken eastern Ontario MPP, while welcoming the reversal at Queen's Park on the two types of panfish, said it should have happened in days rather than weeks.

 

Officials at the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) announced in a prepared statement Wednesday that, effective immediately, "there are no catch and possession limits on sunfish and yellow perch in Fisheries Management Zone 18 in eastern Ontario."

 

Zone 18 extends from Trenton to the Quebec border and north to northern Lanark County.

 

The ministry will set up a "fisheries advisory council" for the zone to advise the MNR on sunfish and perch management rules to be put in place in 2010, the statement added.

 

It describes the advisory council as being made up of "volunteers who represent the wide variety of interests related to fishing within the zone and provide advice to the ministry."

 

The MNR had imposed a daily limit of 25 of the panfish with a conservation licence or 50 with a sportfishing licence.

 

That left local tourism operators fretting over heavy financial losses due to cancellations and lost bookings, in particular from American fishermen who felt the catch limits did not make a trip to this area worth their while.

 

Roxanne Stewart, co-owner of Nordlaw Lodge on Bob's Lake north of Westport, credited Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield with following through on her promise to find a temporary solution to the problem - even if it took nearly six weeks from the April 12 meeting the minister attended in Westport.

 

"I'm very pleased," said Stewart, who credited a groundswell of opposition from local groups for the suspension of the limits.

 

"It doesn't matter how round the wheel is, sometimes it just needs a little push to get it going."

 

The move comes too late for Stewart and other operators to get back the Memorial Day weekend crowd south of the border, but at least they can start calling back people who have cancelled for later in the season, she said.

 

There will be a financial impact no matter what, since fishing operators, like any other businesspeople, are feeling the effects of high gas prices, said Stewart. The panfish limits were just one more nail in the coffin.

 

"She's (Cansfield) pulled one nail back out," said Stewart.

 

Bill Wills, who co-owns the Upper Rideau Resorts cabin rental business near Westport, said the MNR decision was "wonderful news," adding his business lost at least four or five rentals as a result of the limits.

 

People who stay at his cabins also buy bait in the area and eat at local restaurants, noted Wills.

 

"It's had to have some sort of large-scale detrimental effect."

 

Wills, who lives in Baltimore, said other pressures on American tourism to Canada, including the high Canadian dollar, high gas prices and uncertainty over U.S. passport rules, had no effect on his business last year.

 

But once the panfish limits became known, many fishermen stayed away as a result, said Wills.

 

Although his July and August rentals tend to be to families on vacation, the period from this coming weekend to mid-June tends to see fishermen rent his cabins, said Wills.

 

"A surprising percentage of them want to catch the panfish."

 

His business's next step will be to call back people who cancelled, said Wills.

 

Local opponents of the panfish limits felt the restrictions were imposed without consultation and without supporting scientific data.

 

They argued panfish such as crappies, yellow perch and sunfish are thriving in area lakes and preying on the eggs and fry of bass and walleye.

 

Randy Hillier, the Progressive-Conservative MPP for Lanark-Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and one of the leaders of the charge against the restrictions, welcomed their removal.

 

"I think it's a victory for rural Ontario," said Hillier, adding it is also "a victory for sensibility and reasonableness."

 

But the Opposition MPP said Cansfield assured him a variation order, which allows the minister to change catch limits as deemed necessary, could be done in two days.

 

He compared the panfish situation to another recent MNR about-face on bait size restrictions, saying it is symptomatic of a bureaucracy that does not want to admit mistakes.

 

"Here was ... another one of those simple little screwups by the MNR," said Hillier.

 

"It still took them six weeks to sign a variation order.

 

"Clearly, the bureaucracy is in control."

 

Hillier likes the "premise" of the advisory council, but worries it might be stacked in favour of "people from one side of the equation."

 

David Bauer, a spokesman for Cansfield, denied the delay was an example of bureaucracy run amok and said Hillier likely misinterpreted the minister's remark.

 

"We have to study situations as they come to us," he said. "Jumping the gun is just something that is irresponsible."

 

The ministry "did hear concerns from the local tourism industry" about the impact of the restrictions on business and strove to make a decision that favours the sustainability both of the species in question and the local economy, said Bauer.

 

The advisory committee is now being set up and its membership will be balanced, he added.

[Greencoachdog]

Those limits looked pretty liberal to me! I'm not sure how many Americans would travel to Canada to catch Sunfish, but it's probably more the Perch they're after.

 

What will the tourism operators do if the fishery collapses because of overfishing?...

 

... sit around and cry, and blame it on everything else except overfishing I'll bet.