Concern over people selling catches

[Van Isle]

The tricky thing here that we must remember, before we get bent out of shape about people catching octos, is that it is a legal sport fishery. If you have a license and follow the rules. SO just because you see someone grabbing an octo and bringing it to the surface doesn't mean they are doing anything illegal. It is illegal to try and buy or sell that catch without a commercial license.

VI

 

[tregrrr]

The tricky thing here that we must remember, before we get bent out of shape about people catching octos, is that it is a legal sport fishery. If you have a license and follow the rules. SO just because you see someone grabbing an octo and bringing it to the surface doesn't mean they are doing anything illegal. It is illegal to try and buy or sell that catch without a commercial license.

VI

soooo thats just the same as its ok to THINK about BUT its to take money or other incentives for actually popping an idiot??

My grief and anger is not towards the LEGAL harvest but with the ethics of another diver taking KNOWN animals from recognized and popular divesites. If someone is going to harvest animals do like the fishermen have to and guess where they are...go out to other shorelines and look for them in other places. Don't cheap out and take ones that have been visited and found for years on usual divesites.

When I was diving Sechelt regularly, there was an abrupt drop in Octo sightings that we attributed to this sort of legal poaching...I would love to see someone bring up a Whytecliff or Porteau octo on a busy day... I doubt I would be the only person with a like opinion