Re: “Statistics don’t lie: so it’s time for a boost in wild salmon money,” Feb. 6.

I hope D.C. Reid’s latest commentary and the facts released by B.C. Statistics start the correction in fishing policy in B.C.’s coastal waters.

Sports fishermen and women have been pouring money into the economy and government coffers as the regulators have been ignoring the sector while kowtowing to the interests of a few commercial interests.

Fishermen go fishing because they believe in the prospect of success. But there comes a point when optimism will not continue the behaviour once insufficient rewards are recognized. That point is never known until it finally occurs.

In the sports-fishing sector, it will be the time when too many fishermen realize that there just aren’t enough fish to make fishing worth the trouble. When that time comes, the Canadian Tire stores will notice that nothing is moving on the tackle aisle, the fishing-licence cash cow will dry up, the marinas will have a glut of vacancies, the boat sales and service sector will be shifting into selling lawn mowers as a billion-dollar recreation sector loses interest and moves on.

And that time may be much closer than many realize.

Mark Brown

Victoria

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