South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition

04/30/2026

On behalf of the recreational fishing community, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all Members of Parliament who have championed the interests of recreational sport fishers.
Your dedication to raising our concerns regarding future fishing opportunities, the Salmon Allocation Policy (SAP), Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) recovery measures, and Marine Protected Area (MPA) closures — and for bringing these matters directly to Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson - St. John's East — is deeply appreciated.

The work you do both inside and outside of Parliament does not go unnoticed. Your efforts give a meaningful voice to the thousands of Canadians whose livelihoods, traditions, and communities depend on sustainable access to our fisheries.

Recreational fishing advocacy groups remain committed to supporting your efforts by providing sound, evidence-based data, broad public petition support, and firsthand accounts of the economic and cultural impacts facing our local communities — so that you may continue to effectively represent our interests in Parliament.

Thank you for standing with us.

Public Fishery Alliance Sport Fishing Institute of BC BC Wildlife Federation South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition

04/29/2026

Check out the response we got from the fishery minister from our letter sent in Feb.

We all need to continue to nudge the fishery minister that recreational fisheries help the local economic growth, people's mental health while on the water, kids experiencing nature while away from screens, and it's our west coast lifestyle.

Below is the letter from the Minister of DFO in response to SVIAC’s February 25, 2026 (see HERE for original letter) 2026-001-00819Download Share on Facebook

04/26/2026

We are back for day 3 at the Victoria Outdoor Show along with our friends from the Greater Victoria Pink Salmon Festival Society . Drop by!

04/25/2026

Come check out the Victoria Outdoor Show today and Sunday.

Come sign the petition to keep salmon fishing open to public.

Play a 20lbs salmon on the simulator!

Also help Greater Victoria Pink Salmon Festival Society with getting kids out fishing instead in front of screens all day ~

Buy some raffles to support them ~

04/24/2026

Start planning for this derby during long weekend !

04/23/2026

Check out what happened at the Salmon fishing survival rally meeting.

The Salmon Fishing Survival Rally in Victoria highlights threats to BC's recreational fishery. Read about DFO regulations and the fight for common property rights.

04/15/2026

Hello all,

There is an important meeting scheduled for Sunday April 19th, 10.00 AM at the Legion Hall in Langford.

Many of you may have attended a similar meeting last November when there were serious concerns that DFO would be coming after the recreational fishery for more regulations to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales, and Upper Fraser River Chinook. I would like to say that things have improved and become more clear since that time. Unfortunately that is not the case.

In fact it has worsened since with the inclusion of potential revisions to the 1999 Salmon Allocation Policy that would remove the priority access for Chinook and Coho and transfer that priority to the general commercial salmon fishery, effectively removing the guard rails that have safeguarded the public fishery and provided some degree of certainty of access for the two species that drive the fishery, making it the most valuable salmon fishery on the west coast by a wide margin.

I am not going to go into the details in this email, I expect most of you know what they are by now.

This meeting is intended to provide accurate updates on the critical issues from recreational representatives who were in discussions with DFO during, for the lack of a better word, a secretive consultation process which concluded at the end of March.

Aside from the critically important SAP issue, there are still concerns about additional measures to protect Upper Fraser spring and summer Chinooks, and potential severe closures on Chinook fishing in important south coast fishing waters to protect SRKW's.

I have attached a poster that has just started to be distributed to fishing outlets and businesses on the south Island promoting this meeting.

The speaker list will be short but the information they will provide is up to date and very important going forward. The meeting will be open to questions and discussions from the floor. There are also a number of door prizes available.

I hope you can attend, regardless of your connection to our public salmon fishery. If these proposals, as they currently exist, are approved by Minister Thompson it will have a devastating impact on our access to what is still a resource that belongs to all Canadians.

See you there,

Tom Davis

04/09/2026

Public Fishery Alliance Statement on DFO Expansion of Chinook Mass Marking

https://www.canada.ca/en/fisheries-oceans/news/2026/04/government-of-canada-expands-mass-marking-of-hatchery-origin-pacific-chinook-salmon-to-support-conservation-and-hatchery-management.html?fbclid=IwVERDUARDg4pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEedxuM9mRkaBmc59DipGOjiUro6XZxduqXmwikhmKao3Og4AdnIH9gv5wz2qc_aem_Y2fhGWl63McYRPzgEd_PaA

Today’s announcement by the Government of Canada to expand mass marking of hatchery-origin Chinook salmon is a positive and important step forward for conservation and public fishing opportunity in British Columbia.

This decision is the result of years of recommendations from the Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) and the tireless advocacy of the Public Fishery Alliance (PFA), the Sport Fishing Institute (SFI), and many others who have worked persistently to see this change implemented.

Mass marking is a proven tool that helps protect wild stocks while allowing fisheries to target abundant hatchery fish. Most importantly, this is a big step toward opening up new mark-selective fisheries and restoring opportunity to the public.

Recreational anglers have faced significant reductions in access over the past several years. Expanding mass marking creates the foundation for more predictable seasons, better conservation outcomes, and stronger economic benefits for coastal communities.

This is progress and it shows that collaboration and sustained advocacy can come closer to delivering real results for conservation and the public fishery. With that being said, just because the government will be marking more fish, doesn't mean this government will grant the recreational sector meaningful and measurable access to them, time will tell.

Ernie Klassen Jeff Kibble Patrick Weiler Joanne Thompson - St. John's East Brad Vis Elizabeth May BC Wildlife Federation Sport Fishing Institute of BC Great River Fishing Adventures Spruce City Wildlife Association Ron McKinnon Mel Arnold MP Clifford Small, Coast of Bays - Central - Notre Dame Tamara Kronis Blaine Calkins Aaron Gunn Island Fisherman Magazine South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition

04/07/2026

REMINDER- SVIAC AGM is April 8, 2026 at 7:00 pm at the Esquimalt Anglers Clubhouse. More Info at the link below:

https://sviac.ca/sviac-2026-annual-general-meeting/?fbclid=IwdGRjcARBVe9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeNMIqji9yajFZm89wm2Ws3A61XZ69urur86devc0Qcx_5vVtRDhWAd-WUTyQ_aem_U7CQNuf53c5Ax2GmhRL7XA

Dear SVIAC Members and Supporters, NOTE UPDATED DATE BELOW! This change was required to accommodate urgent conflicting fishery advocacy meetings. We apologize for the late notice and any inconvenience. We are excited to announce that the South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition Society (SVIAC) will....

04/04/2026

Attend this meeting if you have questions to ask. Very knowledgeable and recognized guest speakers from the marine industries

04/01/2026

Thanks Blaine Calkins for your continued support of rural Canada and salmon fishing in our coast . A very well written article : https://blainefcalkins.substack.com/p/property-rights-for-the-people?fbclid=IwdGRjcAQ6BOJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeWrMhG7idJ9TmwjJO6nP5pohUUXFNm5oDN6jDsxG_znDMEbPhFyawW_fPvv4_aem_8Neu46LscAPEUSuiqooPBg

Salmon is a shared resource, not something the government can gatekeep.

The proposed Liberal policy of rewriting the Salmon Allocation Policy will risk shutting everyday Canadians out of public access fishing.

Conservatives will fight for fairness for anglers.