Why We Need Stream Watch

[Guest Rocknbugs]

Now I am the last person you should ever accuse of racism, but WONG isn't a Canadian name. And from what I've seen on the BC coast. That type of last name is responsible for the complete destruction of crab, shellfish and cod populations anywhere near an accessible coastline.

 

Personal opinion. Don't play the racist card with me, OK?

 

 

Thats alright man, everyone has there opinion and everyone should be allowed to say what theres is regardless of what others think, hence the words "your opinion", everybody has one.

[Tako]

Fair enough guys. But if you've seen what I've seen. Basically, this situation over and over and over again, you could understand where I'm coming from.

[ÜberFly]

We should all have this info well at hand every time we head out!

 

Report A Poacher (RAP) toll-free phone number 1-800-642-3800.

 

I met the new conservation officer at FC during the Family Day holiday, his name is Cory (former RCMP) and had a great conversation about this sort of thing. Keep your eye's and ear's open folks, but don't take the law into our own hands, just be observant and diligent!

 

Peter

[Guest Rocknbugs]

Fair enough guys. But if you've seen what I've seen. Basically, this situation over and over and over again, you could understand where I'm coming from.

 

 

Hey dude I totally understand were you are coming from. Its not hard top develop an opinion when you see something enough.

[ladystrange]

i am from the west coast, i know what you are talking about. i have a tendancy to sit on the fence with this one. my personal opinion is to agree, but logically it doesnt make a whole lot of sence as Toolman pointed out. a poacher is of any race, creed, religion etc and is nothing more than a criminal. if we want to get technical, there are really no 'canadian' names as everyone's family has come from somewhere else in the last 400 years, not including Native Americans who also came from somewhere else 10,000 years ago and most of the native names are anglosized nowadays. best way to describe is as a non-anglo european christian name as per historic discent

 

as for the fine. only 4500.00. should a been 10,000 from him and another 20,000 the restaruant(s) if applicable to whom he was going to sell them too. i just cant see any need for anyone to be kicking around with 50+ fish for personal consumption. and the loss of the car. can't buy a license for a year, WGAF exactly. i guess that he can't buy a license is ontario, but did he even buy one in Alberta in the first place. Could Alberta also charge him if the charges were only Ontario for having a posession over 5 fish? if so, why havent we?

 

perhaps this spring there should be a poaching sting on the lakes in the area. if there is one guy, there probably is more.

[Tako]

The point I was trying to get across without sounding like a jackass (mission failed?) is that from what I've seen, newcomers to the country A) do not care about our regulations and do not bother to educate themselves

[dryfly]

The point I was trying to get across without sounding like a jackass (mission failed?) is that from what I've seen, newcomers to the country A) do not care about our regulations and do not bother to educate themselves

 

 

Tako,

 

Your posts are simply wrong. "WONG isn't a Canadian name." Lots of Wongs have been here a hell of a lot longer than most of our families here. And anyway. who does have a Canadian name? What IS a Canadian name? ... since we ALL migrated or immigrated from somewhere -- even natives.

 

"newcomers to the country" This is a a very bad inference and without more information that is not a fair statement. Maybe Mr. Wong is an immigrant. We simply do not know.

 

My name is Schaupmeyer. My grandparents came to Alberta in 1908...one hundred years ago. A lot of Wongs came before that. But guess what? I am a "newcomers to the country" .. I was not born in Canada. So what's that make me?

 

I will agree that all new anglers including those from other countries MUST adapt to the regulations and mores (the fixed morally binding customs of a particular group) of the sportfishing community. It is not alright for anyone to whack any and all fish.

 

Please be careful with sweeping statements. They will sneak up on you one day.

 

Cheers!

 

Clive

[bigalcal]

Well, I disagree with your comments TaKo.... FYI...Wong is indeed a Canadian name, with a Canadian Heritage that goes back more than a century in this country. I also find it kind of ridiculous to insinuate that poaching has a name and that it's name is Wong, or more broadly "that type of name"...That is kind of ridiculous if you think about it.

A poacher is a criminal and criminals can be found anywhere on the planet. So, though your intent is not to come across as racist, your statements are clearly crossing that line. So, if this is just a case of a bad choice of words on your part, I'd suggest a little editing of your post.

Great thread Dryfly. Thanks for posting.

 

The surname "Wing" translates in English to "arm of bird" Just thought you might want to know

[lonefisher]

yeah being a poacher has nothing to do with race, or place of origin..... assholes come from/are already everywhere. However a lot of places around the world look at fishing much differently then we do..... even tons of people here. They see releasing a fish as being stupid, maybe even a waste...... but usually it is because of poor education on the subject..... the ones who are not educated on our regulations and the reasons for them are possibly fixable as they will often respond to proper education. The people that are the problem are the ones who have the me, me, me, mine, mine, mine ideolodgy so ingrained that they don't care either way..... educate all you want they won't give a hoot. Now there may be certain demographic factors that do play a part in the development of this way of thinking but it MUST also stem from many other factors. And location of origin will NEVER be the only factor...... I think on this site we have guys of basically every origin who have not developed this way of thinking and understand the need for conservation. That right there is a prime example.

[Tako]

Sorry if I offend you.

[WoollyBuggered]

This thread certainly ended up going in the WONG direction. Sorry, couldn't resist. Anyways, another thing to consider is that this guy may have taken 5 fish a day, put them in his freezer and after 10 days gone home. If that was the case its pretty much a miracle that he was apprehended. The stiff fine will hopefully set a precedent and prevent others from doing the same.

 

PS Weren't a bunch of you whining that the lake was overstocked anyways

[Weedy1]

In Bollywood you do real time for poaching, even when you're one of their start actors. I wonder how much time Britney or Paris would do if they shot a Chinkara Deer.

http://www.salmankhanhot.com/salmankhanhot...prisoner+no+343

 

Are our penalties enough? I don't think so considering F&W cops will tell you they spend a lot of their time chasing after repeat offenders.

[dryfly]

Ohh. That would get folks attention, eh? "Dryfly sentenced to five years for killing a bull trout!" Ouch.

 

Hum Saath Saath Hain. Now there was a great film!

[Weedy1]

Hum Saath Saath Hain. Now there was a great film!

 

The plot was totally banal. I'm sorry, but I just don't see the point of this movie. Barjatya is blatantly copying Ramayan in some parts of the story. Is Sooraj trying to ram old Indian values down our throats? If Barjatya wants to depict an Indian family with good values, he should quit layering on all that honey. It was starting to get a little cloying after three hours.

[dryfly]

Despite the picky flaws you noted--it was hardly pedestrian (or banal) as you said--the movie had great depth and showed how humanity can go against humanity and all suffer. And it brilliantly displayed how families hurt each other, but can also overcome deep rifts to live on in peace. In all, it was superbly done and I give 4½ of five stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Weedy1]

Ya whatever Roger.

[mwalters]

No the fines aren't enough. I know a few CO's & like Weedy1 mentioned, they continue going after the same offenders. There's time too when no action is taken against an offender. I heard of someone who pulled a Bull trout out by Red Earth Creek. AFTER he killed it someone told him he should have released it. So he took it & turned it into the Park Wardens who said it was a healthy (until it was killed) male around 30 years old.

 

All the wardens did was to thank the guy for bringing it in to them & remind him to release any he caught in the future. Yes he was a tourist, but from another part of the province.

 

Whether a tourist for another part of the province or another part of the world, you would think that it would be common sense to find out what the local regulations are. That being said, ignorance to the regs is not an acceptable excuse either.

[Hawgstoppah]

All the wardens did was to thank the guy for bringing it in to them & remind him to release any he caught in the future. Yes he was a tourist, but from another part of the province.

 

This is why our fisheries are in trouble. If enforcement doesn't take the regs seriously, how the hell do we expect poachers to?

[ladystrange]

the co and staff that i have met and talked to in the castle area spend most of their time running down atv people ignoring the rules - like it is an 'off road' vehicle, therefore, keep it off the road and on the specifically marked trail system, and out of the rivers. then there are the wayward grumpy bears who think the ski hills is a heck of a place to live, which needed to be run off with bear dogs. during the fire shut down, they spent time on rotation on access roads to keep people out of the closed area. which of course was needed, but then left the rivers that were still open, unchecked.

 

lack of staff is a big problem but it isnt like there is a big paycheck involved either. you have to go to school before you can get the job but the cheque is barely enough to cover your student loans never mind cost of living. unfortunately it seems of all the money we pay for hunting and fishing licenses ends up in the general revenue account for other things and not funding what it is supposed to.

 

a lot of the places dont have cell coverage. so if i'm up on the other side of the ridge on the gardner, forget getting a hold of anyone to report. i'd have to hike out, drive 30min to the gravel pit and hope for a good cell phone day. by the time anyone gets up there, the offender would be long gone or hiding off somewhere. i guess that is where photos and plate numbers are good if you can get them.

 

i don't think that the problem isnt that the officers dont take the rules seriously, there just comes a point for everyone on some day when you are at work and you just think - &@$# it. ok, buddy, thanks for letting us know you made a mistake. fill out the form and dont do it again.

[Hawgstoppah]

Seems all too common though.... in my opinion

[BillyGopher]

First, this post should not have been done with the insinuation (sp) that the location was BHR without confirmation by an official. It's simply too touchy. While this may take time to do, it clarifies everything and allows people to vent, yes, but moreover it allows people to take action to ensure this kind of thing is addressed properly and action taken to curtail this from happening in the future. I don't disagree with much of what DF posts, however, in this instance must disagree with the one missing ingredient - checking things out first.

Secondly, I'll just leave my jaw on the floor with the racism, curtailed or not. I don't care what an 18 - 20 yr old has "seen" in his time. What has he done to encourage change in this area, rather than promote racial stereotyping?

Gopher back down the hole.

[Tako]

First, this post should not have been done with the insinuation (sp) that the location was BHR without confirmation by an official. It's simply too touchy. While this may take time to do, it clarifies everything and allows people to vent, yes, but moreover it allows people to take action to ensure this kind of thing is addressed properly and action taken to curtail this from happening in the future. I don't disagree with much of what DF posts, however, in this instance must disagree with the one missing ingredient - checking things out first.

Secondly, I'll just leave my jaw on the floor with the racism, curtailed or not. I don't care what an 18 - 20 yr old has "seen" in his time. What has he done to encourage change in this area, rather than promote racial stereotyping?

Gopher back down the hole.

 

I'd like to blast you, but I'll refrain. Go to Sooke or Tofino in the summer and tell me I'm 'profiling' when the only people on the docks with 30-50 fish over the limit are asians.

[ladystrange]

Seems all too common though.... in my opinion

 

 

true, but i wouldnt want a militant facist CO running around with his shorts on fire looking for anything to nail someone on either. there needs to be a middle ground

[mwalters]

Sadly, I'm not sure I'll that middle ground reached in my lifetime. Not unless some drastic changes are made. But as LS mentioned, lack of staff & funds not being directed as they should will keep any signficant chages from happening anytime soon.

 

I guess we all just have to do our part to help where we can. As for cell phones not always getting a signal, the two-way radios that have become popular can work in those areas. As long as someone is around to receive the transmission. If not, hopefully passing on the licence plate number will be enough for them to take action.

[johnbransfield]

I'd like to blast you, but I'll refrain. Go to Sooke or Tofino in the summer and tell me I'm 'profiling' when the only people on the docks with 30-50 fish over the limit are asians.

 

Thats like saying all people of the muslim faith are terrorist extremist, or that martimers are commercial fishermen. You might witness that but it sure as hell doesn't make it right. I mean come on you would think in todays day in age you would understand that comments like that are just unacceptable.

 

Anyways back to the real problem, ladystrange you make a good point about salary's being barely able to pay off student loans, let alone costs of living. I guess this is why things like stream watch are so important for our waters, because how many times has this happened before but gone unnoticed? I would be willing to bet to many times, oh well better put my money were my mouth is and walk the dog along the elbow and a cell and binoculars and do my part to help...