Time to hit the brakes DFO!!

So we've now clearly seen the intentions of DFO the last few days: they intend to maximise the sockeye catch over all other considerations.
It is time to start voicing our concern over the continuing commercial openings, as once the damage is done it is too late. We need to act now in order to prevent another 2006 episode.

Listed below are the contact emails of DFO staff, it is time to remind them of their obligations to users and sectors other than commercial fishermen. If you value Skeena steelhead now is a good time to voice your concern...they need your support to protect them from overzealous commercial fishing.

In 2006, it took a couple thousand letters, emails, and faxes from concerned steelhead supporters to make a dent in DFO....Wonder how many we'll need this year? Let's find out...start writing...please

Keith Ashfield, DFO Minister, Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Susan Farlinger, Regional Director general, Pacific, susan.farlinger@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Mel Kotyk, Area Director, North Coast, mel.kotyk@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Dale Gueret,  Area Chief, Resource Management, North Coast, dale.gueret@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister, pm@pm.gc.ca
Christy Clark, Premier of BC, premier@gov.bc.ca
Steve Thomson, Natural Resource Operations Minister, FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca


Things to highlight in your letters and emails:

The basics:
-Skeena steelhead are unique and highly valuable
-steelhead support a vibrant upriver sportfishing tourism economy in the region
-commercial fishing however described as 'selective' has negative impacts on these valuable fish
-the further into August commercial fishing goes, the more harm done to the steelhead run

This year:
-the steelhead return is not above average as in the previous few seasons
-this years return is below both the 2000's decade average and the 'All years' average as quantified at the Tyee Index
-there has already been a large amount of commercial fishing activity, alot more than in recent years

The request:
-please stop further commercial fishing in August as it negatively impacts the valuable steelhead return
-upriver communities depend highly upon vibrant steelhead returns for the fall sportfishng tourism season
-our steelhead are too valuable a sportfish to be killed unnecessarily as bycatch in commercial sockeye fishing...an extremely wasteful practise

Good to keep it short and simple. There are numerous other aspects such as MSC Certification, but focussing on the basics is good: the more commercial fishing there is...the more harm done to our steelhead returns.