On September 7th at Lac Bellevue Hall, a meeting has been scheduled regarding the limits on fishing across the province. Many anglers came forward to express they’re concerns, and are asking why not allow some of the fish in questions to be caught and utilized by Albertans.
The need for healthy fish stocks is the reason why the catch limits and rules exist in Alberta. Anglers however say that the limits could be loosened up and the anglers could utilize the fish stocks while still maintaining a healthy number of fish in each lake. For years there have been no catch limits on northern pike and walleye on many lakes in Northeastern Alberta.
Ray Mackowecki is from the Lac Bellevue area, and he has been long involved with Fish and Wildlife, Fish biology and many other organizations, and he was asked to organize the meeting and spearhead the discussion to take place there.
“For years people have been seeing large populations of walleye in several lakes in Northeastern Alberta, and they have made inquiries to the government and nothing has happened yet. High walleye populations could lower the population of feed fish, meaning that the perch and Northern pike populations will suffer, ” says Ray Mackowecki. “The government is weary that if things are opened up too much, it could once again collapse the fish numbers.”
Mackowecki was asked to host this meeting by concerned anglers who didn’t want to see the fish numbers be decline because of underfishing. So far, he has been able to get MLA’s David Hanson and Scott Cyr to attend the meeting as well as other local politicians. The St. Paul Fish and Wildlife Association, the Beaver River Fish and Wildlife association, Lac Bellevue Recreation and Ag Society, St. Paul Ag Society, and the Zone 5 Fish and Game association are all officially in support of this meeting, which adds to the support.
“So far I have a couple biologists who will be attending and they will bring ideas on how to sustain fish stocks while allowing them to be used by anglers. We hope to spread the word and make sure there’s a really good turnout for this event. We want to attract a lot of enthusiasts so that they can provide their input into the subject,” said Mackiwecki.
The meeting has already garnered a lot of support, and that support will be pivotal in deciding what is to be done to change the fish limits for good.
Local hobby fisher Randal Kuzma says that he understands why the limits are in place, but he thinks that the rules need to be changed in or order for them to be more effective in protecting the fish populations. “There needs to be structure in place so every lake isn’t fished out so that there will be places for my niece Charlie and other kids to go to when they’re older. At the same time I believe that people should be smart enough to only take what they are going to eat and there shouldn’t have to be limits. Its hard to always have the time to go out and catch that one fish to eat.”
He also says that the laws in Saskatchewan differ to the laws in Alberta, and they are better refined for the anglers and the fish stocks. “The limits in Saskatchewan let you catch a set amount of fish under a certain size and then only one over a certain size. It keeps the bigger fish with more potential to reproduce in the water and that’s good for the numbers.”
The meeting takes place on September 7th at Lac Bellevue Hall, a specific time will be released closer to the date. Mackowecki encourages anyone who is interested in the subject and has any input to solve this problem to come out for a coffee and a donut and be part of the solution.
