Alberta Fisheries Management Round Table update

The Round Table is a provincial advisory group established in January 2006 at the request of David Coutts, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development.

Members represent community leaders in fisheries management as well as many key sectors and organizations, including Trout Unlimited Canada, the Alberta Fish and Game Association, the Alberta Conservation Association and Métis and First Nations groups.

Minister Coutts refers to the participants as a “council of wise people.” Round Table members provide their views and recommendations on a wide range of fisheries management-related issues. Their counsel assists the Alberta government with fisheries planning and decision-making.

“Your experiences and community-level insights are invaluable as we seek the right balance to meet the needs of all Albertans,” said Minister Coutts. “I see government's role as working with all the different sectors you represent, toward the goal of achieving healthy fish populations while providing a variety of benefits to Albertans.”

During the first half of the six-hour meeting, provincial staff presented updates on several initiatives, including:

• the preliminary results of the 2005 National Survey of Recreational Fishing in Canada;
• the first-year results of a two-year pilot project introduced last July for a special walleye licence and tag;
• the introduction of licensing for competitive fishing events last summer; and
• the status of the Lac La Biche Fishery Restoration Program.

A key part of the agenda was the management of Alberta's fisheries in the future, and Minister Coutts challenged Round Table members to think on behalf of other Albertans. “I want us to focus together on Alberta's fisheries in the 21st century,' to envision what we want our fisheries to look like 50 or more years from now.”

Round Table members spent the final part of the meeting involved in brainstorming additional ideas for managing Alberta's fisheries — to ensure this resource will continue to provide a wide range of benefits for Albertans well into the future. This session was just the beginning of efforts to get public input on Alberta fisheries for the 21 st century.

Minister Coutts invited Round Table members to provide any final comments they might have on A Fish Conservation Strategy for Alberta 2006-10 — Alberta's “game plan,” or framework, for managing fisheries for the next five years. The province will finalize the document in the near future.

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Highlights

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Bison Grazing
Effective August 8, 2006, bison operators may apply to have their animals graze on agricultural public land dispositions under certain conditions. See your local Rangeland Management office for more information. A fact sheet is available here. (Fact Sheet) (August 8, 2006)