Change Spearfishing Rules in Ontario, Canada

[Mowgli]

Hi Guys..

I'm new to Canada, but I emailed the Minister of Fisheries and Forestry in Ontario in late 2019, to speak to him about legalising spearfishing in Ontario. His deputy and office manager/ Kyle, if I recall correctly, called me back a couple of weeks later.

We spoke for almost an hour and he seemed to be quite supportive of the idea towards the end of our conversation and stated that he will put up a propsal to the committee on changing spearfishing laws. Then COVID19 stopped everything.

Anyone interested in joining this plight, pls. call me.

My name is Ashraf. My number is 647 780 8844.

Ps. We've changed the law in Dubai, UAE, and I see not why we can't change it here.

Cheers

Ash

[Stephane]

Good luck with that. It is legal here in Quebec, but only for a very limited number of species. Basically, as soon as there is a size limit, it's not allowed. The authorities seem to think that you cannot precisely measure a fish before shooting it, therefore you can't shoot it with 100% certainty. They seem to forget that the survival rate of released fish is far from 100% AND anglers have to catch way more fish than us in order to keep just a few. I'm pretty sure that an average angler leaves way more released dead fish than me in a day.

[Mowgli]

Originally Posted by Stephane

Good luck with that. It is legal here in Quebec, but only for a very limited number of species. Basically, as soon as there is a size limit, it's not allowed. The authorities seem to think that you cannot precisely measure a fish before shooting it, therefore you can't shoot it with 100% certainty. They seem to forget that the survival rate of released fish is far from 100% AND anglers have to catch way more fish than us in order to keep just a few. I'm pretty sure that an average angler leaves way more released dead fish than me in a day.

I completely agree. What I've discovered speaking to various authoritorians who ban spearfishing, is that they are totally oblivious to the sport.

During our debates, an officer in Dubai once said: We don't allow spearfishing because once you shoot a fish in a certain spot, all the fish migrate out of it forever. Another one said: Your spearguns (shafts) destroy the corals and kill the marine eco system. A third one on a boat once said: There is no way you guys can hit the bottom (it was 100 feet), spear a fish and come up on a single breath of air. You would explode (as opposed to implode) under the pressure and you woild never make it back up. My friend took offense to his accusation, held hus breath, dived and came up with a handful of sand from the bottom, the officer apologised for his ignorance.

It's just out of the lack of awareness and miscommunication in my opinion. That's where we come in.