Conservationists applaud one-salmon retention limit

Conservation groups are applauding the one-salmon retention limit announced Monday, but an MHA from Newfoundland's west coast slammed the move, saying it will be bad for tourism.

• One-fish limit: Government releases salmon fishing regulations

Both the Salmonid Association of Eastern Newfoundland and the Atlantic Salmon Federation issued press releases supporting the limit, announced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Monday.

The salmonid association called it a "reasonable and necessary" moveto protect the early salmon run until the salmon stock can be properly assessed, while the federation said it's an effective response to years of population declines.

Effective response to declining stocks, say groups

"From a pure conservation perspective, live release to begin the season would be most effective," said Steve Suttion, the federation's co-ordinator of community outreach said in the statement.

"But DFO's plan strikes a reasonable balance between the need to take a cautious approach, the need to keep anglers engaged, and the need to support jobs associated with the fishery in rural Newfoundland and Labrador."

The salmonid association's president, Jim Dinn, said the group would have preferred to see the daily catch-and-release limit maintained at four.

"Catch-and-release is a proven conservation tool used successfully throughout the world," he said."However, we accept the decision to reduce it to three as a necessary political compromise."

Corner Brook MHAand Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne disagrees with the salmon groups, saying the announcement came out of left field, without any consultation.

"At the 11th hour literally just in the last 48 hours we learned that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, after informing us how we were to write the licence conditions on the licences we would sell to anglers, they now inform us that only one fish will be retained for any river in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Byrne.

At the11thhourthey now inform us that only one fish will be retained for any river in Newfoundland and Labrador.- Gerry Bryne

DFO had previously planned on a two-fish retention for Class 2 rivers, four fish for Class 4 rivers, and six fish for Class 6 rivers, said Byrne. Monday's announcement means every river in the province will effectively be reclassified, he said.

DFO assesses river classificationsbased on the "overall resilience" of their salmon stocks.

All rivers reclassified, says Byrne

"What DFO effectively has done is they have said that while there will be one fish available prior to July 20, that each and every river, including the mighty Humber, the Gander and the Exploits will no longer hold Class 6 status, the highest, reflective of the most resilient rivers. They will now be classified as Class 2 rivers."

That will have implications for the province's tourism and outfitting industries, said Byrne, who added that the province's anglers are strong conservationists.

"I will predict this: that as a result of this decision, you will see a very significant reduction in overall conservation of salmon in Newfoundland and Labrador, because the department has alienated the conservationists from the resource whom they have a social contract with."