Fisheries committee  On the west coast there are specific rockfish conservation areas. They are not classified as MPAs under the Oceans Act, but effectively there are area-based restrictions that are designed to conserve areas of abundance of rockfish. I think the idea is good, but the issue is that

Fisheries committee  One minute?

Fisheries committee  A related issue is that large, offshore Pacific MPA processes have been announced regionally by DFO. Certainly, because it's offshore, it may be seen as low-hanging fruit. There is a review of rockfish conservation areas as MPAs going on. It appears that there was not any consult

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Sopuck. Briefly, I'll tell you who we are. The B.C. Wildlife Federation is a province-wide voluntary conservation organization representing all British Columbians whose aims are to protect, enhance, and promote the wise use of the environment for the be

Fisheries committee  I think there are basically three things that limit it. You need to have the right people, in the right place, and the opportunities for funding. Dr. Riddell mentioned the Cowichan. The Cowichan Valley has a very active stewardship group. They work in partnership with the Cowicha

Fisheries committee  I think an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The fisheries protection program has been realigned, and the jury is still out concerning its ongoing effectiveness. In a number of areas there needs to be greater investment. Some of them are related to Cohen and some of

Fisheries committee  Yes, sir, I am recommending that.

Fisheries committee  The focus of Cohen was restricted to the return of the sockeye salmon. I think investment in the west coast, not only for recreational fisheries but for all other fisheries, needs to deal with the sustainability issues and deal with how the resource is evolving and changing over

Fisheries committee  First of all, from a scientific perspective, I think the halibut fishery is very well managed. I think there can be increased fisheries catch monitoring on the recreational side, but ultimately the decision around allocation is a policy decision—a political one, not a scientific

Fisheries committee  There are two areas. First of all, people who participate in fishing and hunting and outdoor recreation certainly have an interest in their local watersheds and landscapes, and they take them very seriously. Whether it's the Pacific Salmon Foundation or the Habitat Conservation

Fisheries committee  Yes, certainly. In terms of implementing conservation projects, I think there is a great deal of coordination between the various non-governmental organizations in collaborating and implementing projects. I think the larger issues around habitat and habitat management are the c

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. I certainly will focus from a B.C. perspective and echo the words of Dr. Riddell, in terms of the core values of fish habitat and fisheries to the people of B.C. from an e

Fisheries committee  I can hear you, yes.

Environment committee  I think the major issue around prevention is that most of the assessments are done on a site basis and not on a landscape basis. As a result, our resources, our natural capital, are being eroded away through a death by a thousand cuts. We don't look at the big picture, as Mr. E

Environment committee  There are a large number of examples in terms of the purchase of properties. As Scott has indicated, the surcharge funds from the habitat conservation fund go into a number of different accounts. One of them is habitat enhancement for both fish and wildlife. Another one is stewar