The last of 11 province-wide fishery open house summits — which included an open house event in the Lac La Biche region — ended this week. Now local anglers are left waiting to see if their input will be incorporated in the upcoming regulations. Over the last decade, government regulations have put zero catch limits on once-popular fish stocks in area lakes. Last year, the province restricted anglers from catching and keeping northern pike in Lac La Biche lake — a lake already restricted for catching and keeping walleye. Several other lakes in the region have had similar restrictions, despite anglers and residents saying the fish populations are in abundance, not in danger.
Lac La Biche locals got to share those comments and concern last Tuesday, Jan. 28, in the community hall at Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park. Those attending had the opportunity to discuss the current state of fisheries within Alberta with biologists, anglers, and representatives from Alberta Environment and Parks. The open house featured a number of information tables where residents could discuss various issues.
Jordan Walker, a resource manager at AEP, says the format received several positive comments since it allows for more of a one on one interaction. Each station held an information board that discussed the state of fisheries around the province and possible solutions to help increase fishing opportunities. Some attendees, such as Mark Wiebe, are optimistic about this year’s open house, stating that this is a better way of providing feedback to the province from an angler's standpoint.
“The fishermen know the water better because they’re out there constantly,” he told the POST.
But some in the crowd of dozens who attended the open house are skeptical their discussions will go much further than the tables. One of the people who has seen the province ignore the local please is owner of Lac La Biche Sports Goods Albert Moghrabi. Again this year, he's worried the open house tour is more “lip service” from the province.
Moghrabi attended the open house with a petition carrying 3,000 names of people who want to see fisheries opened up in the region. He handed it over to Paul MacMahon, a regional resource manager for AEP in the middle of the room, for all the attendees to witness.
“I’m showing them the petition and giving it to somebody, so they don’t misplace it like before,” he says, explaining that a similar petition he collected and gave to provincial officials last year went missing.
Being a significant tourist attraction for the county, Moghrabi says he’s witnessed how the closure in fisheries has affected the local economy.
“How important is this product to this lake? Well, look, this town is dying. Look what’s happened. This is the first time in 44 years I’ve been in business that the campsites are empty,” says Moghrabi.
His petition calls for the undoing of the restrictions. Moghrabi is tired of waiting for the province to take actions in the matter. Still,
Walker reassures the POST that the feedback is assessed and that the region is trying out methods that are a little different than previous years. The government official remains hopeful about the outcome of the session, stating that they’ve had numerous successful meetings across the province.
“We’ve had great conversations with anglers and got some really good ideas about some of the things they would like to see us try,” said Walker.
Still, anglers and businessmen like Moghrabi will have to wait until the new regulations are released on April 1st to see if their voices were heard this time around.
