Appeal Made To Relax Fish Quotas on Northern Lakes

Appeal Made To Relax Fish Quotas on Northern Lakes

Friday, December 16, 2005 at 13:05

 

 

Fishers in Buffalo Narrows are hopeful they will be able to pull more fish than usual out of lakes in that region this winter.

 

For the last several years, they’ve been restricted by limits and quotas on certain species as part of an attempt to replenish fish stocks.

 

The fishers say they’ve been working with Saskatchewan Environment on this issue for the last 15 years, and feel the time is right to ease some of those restrictions.

 

Members of the local fishing co-op met with a biologist, Northern Affairs Minister Buckley Belanger and some officials with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation earlier this week.

 

Co-op board member Brian McDonald says one of the things they asked for is a doubling of the amount of walleye that fishers can take out of Big Peter Pond Lake.

 

McDonald says the January fishery usually lasts only 8 or 9 days before the limits are reached, which he interprets as a sign that fish populations are healthy.

 

McDonald believes the meeting produced some positive commitments from government officials, but only time will tell.

 

The winter fishery in the Buffalo Narrows region is scheduled to open on January 3rd.