Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to table a petition on behalf of residents from Port Alberni, Qualicum and Parksville.
The petitioners cite that 2020 marked the second consecutive year that widespread restrictions on chinook retention around southern B.C. negatively impacted the recreation fishery and associated industries. The residents of Vancouver Island and the Pacific coast are already experiencing economic hardship.
There is a mark-selective fishery in place for coho on the southern B.C. coast. The states of Washington and Oregon have instituted a mass adipose fin clipping at their hatcheries and a mark-selective fishery. They believe that the current chinook hatchery production is enough to implement a successful chinook mark-selective fishery.
The petitioners call upon the government to begin operations of adipose fin-clipping machinery for the existing production of chinook hatcheries in the Pacific region and that these new hatchery-marked chinook may be retained as soon as they reach minimum legal retention size.