Less fishing, fewer violations after salmon catch and release order

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says the decision to implement a mandatory catch and release policy for the Newfoundland salmon fishery this summer was necessary to protect stocks.

When catch and release is done properly, it can be very effective.- Daryl Walsh

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans declared the island's salmon fishery catch and release only starting Aug. 6 due to low numbers of salmon returns.

Daryl Walsh, a senior compliance officer with DFO, saidit wasn't an easy decision but overall it seems to have worked out for the best.

He understands the damperit may have put on theseasonfor many, and saidofficers definitely noticed fewer people fishingonce the policy came into effect.

"Once we went to catch and release we could see a significant drop in the amount of people out on the rivers," he told the St. John's Morning Show.

Once catch and release was initiated, Walsh said officers had to change their approach to enforcement. That includedchanging the types of surveillance they do as well as the times they wereout in the field looking for violations.

Poaching also down

With the decrease in salmon anglers, violations reported by officerswere also down, Walsh said.

"Poaching was down this year.Last year were about 200 violations and this year was down to around 140," he said.

"We didn't see any particularly large violations. We did have eight people apprehended that were netting salmon, and of course that's very concerning for us."

Walsh said even though water levels were quite low in most of the province this summer, the situation has improved over the last several weeks.

He saidit's still too early to tell how things will lookfor the 2018 season, but any decision about catch and release will have to go through extensive consultations before anglers will be required to throw back their fish.

"We realize the cultural and economic significance of the recreational salmon fishery in the province and I'm sure we will do our best to try and come to an agreement on what is the best way forward," he said.

Some have criticized catch and release, saying it is still harmful, and in many cases even lethalfor the fish.

Walsh said that can be the case, but saideveryone has an obligation to educate themselves on how to properly return a fish to the river.

"When catch and release is done properly, I think it can be very effective and works very well for the salmon," he said."But if someone plays out the fish too long, or they handle it too much when they try to land it, then that can result in the fish expiring."