Safe harvest levels exceeded - NFN

"Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope I'm wrong."

I think you are. I don't know how much you fish or where but there are a ton of places right here in Ontario that the fishing has greatly improved in the last 20 years. There are also many bodies of water where the populations of game fish are doing quite well and targeting fish for the table is fine, including the muskie that you say nobody eats (people do).

It's real easy, MNR should tell the natives quit fishing commercially and follow the laws of the province.


if not we will remove all laws and regulations for everyone, when the fishery is done prior to restocking negotiate First Nations have no special rights or the stocking will not take place.

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Originally Posted by Avid Angler

I fished a few tournaments up on Nip this year and saw or caught walleye each time. Last couple years we didn't run into them. I also caught a few decent eyes on Nosbonsing and Nepewassi. You guys have plenty of options to catch delicious fish, why don't you leave the Natives alone and start pointing fingers at the governing bodies affording us these opportunities as I couldn't catch a Walleye within 1hr drive of my house when our waters used to be teeming with them.

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Amazing ignorance, did you read the article? Anyway, they are admitting to mismanaging the lake, so much for them knowing whats best, but of course any sensible person would have seen it coming.

There was an article in OOD mag a few months back that said they were increasing the slot size in Nippising for sport anglers. You and Me.
The article said the slot size increase will leave only 3 % of the fish in Nippissing available outside the slot for sport fisherman to keep. This slot size change does not effect commercial fishermen of course.
Under these conditions, why would anyone waste time and money going there? Unless you are a local of course.

I have seen some amazing improvements in some areas re angling in this province and in some areas we have fallen behind. Back in the 70's and 80's every musky caught was kept, the impacting results were not good. Now 95% are released which is a good thing. If you keep that one special fish congrats nothing wrong with that, just use common sense. If I fish out on lake Erie and land 5 walleye they are going into the freezer. On the other hand if I'm fishing a Kawartha lake I might only keep one or two and release the rest. If I fished Nipissing I wouldn't keep any. Each fishery is unique and it's important to understand that. As far as the few out there who believe all angling should be catch and release, be careful what you wish for. I have some friends across the ocean who have told me some horror stories because of what that mindset has turned into.

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Originally Posted by rfb

I don't keep fish, not because I don't like eating them, but because they are a finite resource under extreme pressure these days. We've wiped out so many fisheries, killed off some species and pushed others to the brink of extinction that for me anyway, the time has come to stop keeping what we catch or at the very least vastly curtailng what we keep.
As far as having to eat fish in order to enjoy fishing, we don't eat Musky but we still love to fish for them. People target gar just for the joy of catching them. Why do we have to kill so many just to enjoy our sport?

I don't agree with a commercial harvest either although us telling FN what they can and can't do makes me very uneasy considering how much we've screwed them over in the past

I havent seen any fishery I use get better in the past decade or so, only worse. Unless there are drastic changes it will all come crashing down eventually. I think that's where we are headed but a lot of people will happily ignore all the signs till its too late

Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope I'm wrong.

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There are lots a great fishery in Ontario, from MNR study, so I don't understand why you are so dramatic?
I don't think it's getting worse, I think it's getting better because we learned from our mistake, we can't logged out up to a creek so the water stay cold, our lake are getting cleaner and you name it..... Most of the time fishing is not really the issue, it's what we don't see that I'm worry the most, pollution and so on.... I just can't imagine going fishing and not keeping any, eating is my favorite thing in life and it's tough to beat a fresh fish meal.

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Originally Posted by rfb

I don't keep fish, not because I don't like eating them, but because they are a finite resource under extreme pressure these days. We've wiped out so many fisheries, killed off some species and pushed others to the brink of extinction that for me anyway, the time has come to stop keeping what we catch or at the very least vastly curtailng what we keep.
As far as having to eat fish in order to enjoy fishing, we don't eat Musky but we still love to fish for them. People target gar just for the joy of catching them. Why do we have to kill so many just to enjoy our sport?

I don't agree with a commercial harvest either although us telling FN what they can and can't do makes me very uneasy considering how much we've screwed them over in the past

I havent seen any fishery I use get better in the past decade or so, only worse. Unless there are drastic changes it will all come crashing down eventually. I think that's where we are headed but a lot of people will happily ignore all the signs till its too late

Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope I'm wrong.

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Fisheries are moving targets, not just sliding downhill... They are either rising or falling.

Erie was dead in the 70's, now it's booming for sport and commercial... A lot of factors play into fisheries like spawning year classes, spawning beds, water quality, weed growth, fertilizer getting into the lake, and on and on... Angling pressure is only one factor and most medium to large lakes are hard to hurt with just angling alone, because most fish don't bite!

I wound't worry about keeping some to eat, slots are also getting better to protect spawners... But out lakes are definately not managed as well as out west or the states, but I think overall in good shape and many are improving...

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Originally Posted by rfb

I don't keep fish, not because I don't like eating them, but because they are a finite resource under extreme pressure these days. We've wiped out so many fisheries, killed off some species and pushed others to the brink of extinction that for me anyway, the time has come to stop keeping what we catch or at the very least vastly curtailng what we keep.
As far as having to eat fish in order to enjoy fishing, we don't eat Musky but we still love to fish for them. People target gar just for the joy of catching them. Why do we have to kill so many just to enjoy our sport?

I don't agree with a commercial harvest either although us telling FN what they can and can't do makes me very uneasy considering how much we've screwed them over in the past

I havent seen any fishery I use get better in the past decade or so, only worse. Unless there are drastic changes it will all come crashing down eventually. I think that's where we are headed but a lot of people will happily ignore all the signs till its too late

Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope I'm wrong.

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I have watched the walleye fishery in Muskoka/Parry Sound go from non-existant, to viable, over the past decade and a bit. Im 28, in my younger years I NEVER caught walleye. Now I can reliably catch some if I want to. This, IMO, is due in large part to the implementation of slot sizes and a reduction of catch limits. MNR has done considerable good work for the walleye fishery in central ON over the past little while.

Nothing wrong with keeping a few fish to eat. The Lakes I fish have an abundant supply I am far enough into the bush that very few people come here to the lakes I fish. I catch and eat maybe 6 - 16 fish a year and only keep no more than 6 from any of the lakes I fish.

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Originally Posted by rfb

I don't keep fish, not because I don't like eating them, but because they are a finite resource under extreme pressure these days. We've wiped out so many fisheries, killed off some species and pushed others to the brink of extinction that for me anyway, the time has come to stop keeping what we catch or at the very least vastly curtailng what we keep.
As far as having to eat fish in order to enjoy fishing, we don't eat Musky but we still love to fish for them. People target gar just for the joy of catching them. Why do we have to kill so many just to enjoy our sport?

I don't agree with a commercial harvest either although us telling FN what they can and can't do makes me very uneasy considering how much we've screwed them over in the past

I havent seen any fishery I use get better in the past decade or so, only worse. Unless there are drastic changes it will all come crashing down eventually. I think that's where we are headed but a lot of people will happily ignore all the signs till its too late

Anyway, that's my two cents. I hope I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by rfb

. Meat fishing needs to become a thing of the past otherwise nothing will really change

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I think you're on the wrong forum to be spewing that kind of talk?