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May 14, 1999
(Forest Resources and Agrifoods)


The following statement was issued today by Kevin Aylward, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods. It was also read in the house of Assembly:

I would like to inform the House of Assembly of some changes with respect to this year's recreational salmon angling. As my honourable colleagues are aware, this government introduced a two year experiment in 1997 by issuing a requirement for a river specific licence for the Gander River.

The trial was initiated for two reasons, first, to determine the acceptability of such a licence by the general public as a means of generating revenue that could be used to fund river specific, enhanced salmon management.

The second reason was to improve the information received from the licence stub returned to allow us to move toward river specific management.

Further, a preliminary technical evaluation has concluded that the river specific licence has not, to date, provided significantly improved data to justify its continuance.

In light of these two findings, I am announcing for the 1999 salmon angling season, that there will be no river specific licence requirements. Anglers will be allowed to fish on any river within the province that is opened to angling with a regular provincial salmon licence.

While their will be no river specific licences, we remain committed to implementing river specific management measures wherever possible. By doing so, we want to ensure the conservation of specific stocks while allowing our anglers the greatest access to the resource possible within the bounds of conservation.

We have worked closely with our federal colleagues in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to ensure that this year's salmon management achieves those objectives and moves us along the path toward river specific management.

In closing, I would like to extend my appreciation to the various volunteer organizations who have dedicated themselves to sustaining our provincial watersheds. I would like to thank the Gander River Management Association for their assistance with the pilot licence program and their advice to both levels of government. It is appreciated and will continue. As the House is aware, a committee to address outdoor issues was formed this past year and held numerous public consultations on a wide variety of issues. The committee took advantage of this process to evaluate the first objective of this experiment. Based on the input the committee received, it is their opinion that, while the anglers of this province are supportive of river specific management, they are not in favour of river specific licences as a mechanism to support this.

1999 05 14 10:20 a.m.


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