We Care About Fish
Anglers, through their passion for being on the water and their true respect for wild fish, recognize the importance of healthy marine and freshwater environments. At South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, we are strong advocates for conservation.
Many challenges face the future health of our planet and climate uncertainty is clearly having an impact on our oceans and rivers. Being guardians of our precious natural fish resources and being engaged both physically through volunteerism and fiscally through financially supporting habitat and restoration initiatives is the noble approach.
Orcas and Chinook Salmon – A Community Success Story
In 2016, a community-based initiative, coordinated and administered by South Vancouver Island Anglers Coalition, was launched to address a local wild salmon concern. Named the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative, this project is designed to strategically increase the number of large adult Chinook salmon in the Juan de Fuca Strait during the months of July, August and September each year.
Endangered Orcas Need Our Help
In 2020, the total population of Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs), the Pacific North West’s fish eating Orcas, has declined to 74 individuals. Listed endangered in both Canada and the U.S.A., the three main factors considered to be key to their recovery are pollution, noise and food availability.
Supporting Conservation
The public are often led to believe that anglers are simply uncaring users of the marine and freshwater resources and are, at times, blamed by radical environment groups for the decline of certain fish stocks. This could not be further from the truth. A vast majority of those who fish care deeply about wild salmon and the health and survival of all fish and invertebrates.
Rarely is it told that anglers are extremely generous and support, with their own money, millions of dollars each year. These important funds go directly to habitat restoration and enhancement programs. Anglers are also known as hands-on when it comes to volunteering for habitat restoration projects and offer continued support at their local fish hatcheries so this important work can carry on in the future.
