Miramichi anglers 'disappointed' section of river closing for part of May

Some fishermen on the northwest Miramichi River are questioning a government decision to close part of the river to anglers for up to three weeks.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the section from Red Bank Bridge downriver about 10 kilometres will be closed mid-May to ensure successful spawning of striped bass.

• Extended striped bass season for the Maritimes brings mixed views

A few hundred people — including residents, politicians, businesspeople and members of fishing organizations — showed up in the rain at a rally Saturday in Parks Landing to protest the decision and seek answers and alternatives. No one from the Fisheries and Ocean Canada was at the rally or available to comment on it.

Community support

John Carney, an angler who lives in the Red Bank area, said he was encouraged by the show of community support at the rally.

"I think there's a real opportunity for a win-win," he said.

Why close the river to those children who want to go out and do their normal trout fishing in the area where they live?- John Carney

Earlier this year, Fisheries and Oceans lengthened the striped bass season and increased the bag limit to two fish per day.

In an email to CBC, a Fisheries and Ocean spokesperson said the Northwest Miramichi River estuary is the only confirmed successful spawning ground for striped bass in the entire southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The reason for the closure is to "achieve a balance between the increased retention, or catch-and-keep, opportunities under the 2017 fishing plan, and the need to ensure the continuous health of this stock," the email said. 

In an interview with CBC's Information Morning Moncton, Carney said fishermen understand the importance of being good stewards of the river, but closing a section to all angling goes too far.

He said the community has been lobbying Fisheries and Oceans to keep the river open, noting that even in the years from 2000 to 2013 when there was a ban on fishing striped bass, the river was never closed.

"We're disappointed," he said. "We see no reason for a closure."

Short window for striped bass

Carney noted striped bass numbers have rebounded significantly in the last two decades.

In 2015, Fisheries and Oceans estimated there were about 301,000 striped bass spawners [females] in the northwest Miramichi, the highest level since monitoring began in 1993. That's up from about 5,000 in the 1990s.

Every May in the last few years, the water churns with striped bass, like "a washing machine," Carney said.

But there is only a short window to fish them before they swim back to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

"It's something we look forward to every year," he said. "Closing the river for three weeks takes away a big part of our season."

If Fisheries and Oceans insists on closing the river, he suggested limiting it to the few days it takes for the fish to spawn, not for three weeks.

He said many local outfitters and guides depend on a short season to make their income and closing the river for three weeks hurts their business.