Online consultation surveys on Atlantic salmon and striped bass recreational fisheries
DFO is requesting the public to complete a survey designed to inform and consult Canadians on the management of the striped bass recreational fishery in the waters adjacent to the Maritime Provinces in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The data from this online consultation will be considered in the decision making process of the next striped bass recreational management plan in the waters adjacent to the Maritime Provinces in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
In addition,the Species at Risk Management Division of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is also holding consultations on listing the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence striped bass population under the Species at Risk Act as a species of Special Concern. You are invited to comment on whether striped bass, Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence population, should be listed under the Species at Risk Act.
DFO is also requesting the public complete a survey on Atlantic salmon. In this survey, you will find information on the science and the history of conservation measures for the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Atlantic salmon population in the Maritime Provinces.
The objective of the survey is to inform and consult the Canadian public on the management of the Atlantic salmon recreational fishery in Salmon fishing Areas 15, 16, 17 and 18 in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Maritime Provinces).
The data obtained from this online consultation will be considered in the decision making process for the next Atlantic salmon recreational fishery management plans in Salmon Fishing Areas 15 to 18 in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Each survey will take approximately 5 – 10 minutes. To complete the surveys go to http://www.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Gulf/FAM/Recreational-Fisheries and look for “Online Consultations”.
As a Striped Bass fisherman for over 50 years & an Atlantic Salmon fisherman for 15+ years, I truly hope that someone is studying the recent large increase in striped bass and its effect on the salmon population in the Maritimes. It seems that the bass are arriving exactly at the time that smolts are dropping down to tidewater. Stripers are voracious feeders and would have little problem in virtually eradicating a year class of smolts, especially in the relatively confined areas of a river mouth/estuary. There is anecdotal evidence that even the relatively small bass which are allowed to caught & kept are feeding on smolts; the larger bass would be an even greater threat to these juvenile salmon.