Waiting game
Department of Fisheries and Oceans considering a ban on the harvest of salmon in province
Gary Warren is having a great summer on the river, so he’s taking a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to the state of the resource in this province.
Warren, who has been angling for salmon for more than 30 years, is among the avid anglers waiting to see what the future holds for Atlantic salmon runs after hearing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is taking a serious look at imposing a ban on the harvest of the silver missiles for the balance of the season because of low returns to the river systems this year.
Warren has spent a fair number of days casting a fly on the upper Humber and he’s been impressed with the number of fish he’s seen going up the river.
“The most I’ve seen in years. I guess it’s just a matter of timing and being there at the right time,” Warren, a Massey Drive resident, said Thursday afternoon.
Early in the year, when the water was high, he saw more fish than he had ever seen, and even though he would respect whatever decision is made by DFO, he says there may still be time for the numbers in the counting fences to rise.
“It’s probably a little premature. I mean, they’re basing their data on a few select rivers, but if they do make that decision, I got no issue with catch and release,” Warren said.
If there is a ban put in place he won’t be upset, he said. He spent a lot of time fishing Harry’s River when it was only a catch-and-release river, so if he has to do it again it’s not going to affect him in any way, he said.
His concern about nobody being allowed to kill a fish is that fewer anglers will frequent the river, and that may leave the rivers vulnerable to poachers, so the stocks could take an even bigger hit.
“The more people on the river the better, obviously, with more eyes, but there’s a lot of people who like catch and release, too.”
Whatever DFO decides, angling for salmon is something Warren said he plans to do for many more years, and he hope the numbers aren’t as bad as what they appear at this stage.
“I breathes and dies fishing, so it doesn’t make any difference to me,” he said.