Salmon Steward

R ecently, I was part of a group that spearheaded the development of a free tidal waters (saltwater) sport fishing app called Fishing BC. The app features up-to-date regulations, a species ID guide and the ability to easily display your B.C. tidal waters sport fishing licence and link it to a catch log. The app was created by the SFI in partnership with DFO, and supported by the Pacific Salmon Foundation. The Foundation was excited by our idea to help collect catch information from anglers and share fishing intel via a single app; it became our main source of funding, which was an enormous boon. The Foundation has our gratitude for helping make this tool a reality. In turn, the data fed into the app by the angling public and guides and sent to DFO will help the Foundation's ongoing eˆorts to understand the health of salmon. I'm the executive director of the Sport Fishing Institute of B.C. (SFI), an organization dedicated to protecting and promoting sustainable access to B.C.'s marine resources. I have also spent my entire life around sport fishing and salmon; which is to say it's no accident I was involved in creating the Fishing BC app. My granddad and father were avid fishermen, so I was Owen Bird EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SPORT FISHING INSTITUTE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (SFI) salmon Steward magazine 19 A lifelong passion for salmon is channelled into an intel-sharing app Owen holds a fish tagged during Langara Fishing Adventures' annual catch and release derby in Haida Gwaii, where he serves as tournament master. Fish tagged at the tournament have shown up everywhere from Alaska to Oregon, providing vital information on migration patterns. "The Fishing BC app shares information about our fish and fisheries with anglers, and will also help fish scientists better understand the impacts of sport fishing on stocks of salmon, groundfish or anything else a tidal licence holder may harvest." The Pacific Salmon Foundation contributed $245,00 towards creation of the app. Partial funding came from anglers who fish in B.C. (via fees from the Salmon Conservation Stamp). WHO CARES ABOUT SALMON? on the water at an early age, and now, my 11-year-old son, T.Will, loves nothing better than late summer and the chance to catch Pink salmon oˆ the shores of Bowser. I spent several years as a tidal angling guide and produced a TV fishing show for 10 years before becoming the SFI's executive director, and it's clear to me what this app will mean for anglers. For one, it serves as an excellent replacement for the DFO's Sports Fishing Guide, which is no longer printed and even in the past, was revised only sporadically. Now, with the Fishing BC app, users have direct access to real-time information provided directly by the DFO; this, combined with other attributes, and in spite of very little promotion, has so far resulted in the app being used by close to 7,000 people. Feedback to date praises ease of installation and use. The app is the culmination of earlier eˆorts by the SFI and DFO to create digital catch logs for guides, and it reflects the evolution of federal agencies, like DFO, away from paper to online information dissemination. The Apple iOS version launched in April of last year and was followed by an Android version in August. Now that it is widely available (and free), I look forward to seeing more and more people use it – to become acquainted with regulations but also to participate in catch data collection. It will be very interesting to see how info from the sport fishing community can aid the Foundation's research as well as help the DFO with its eˆorts to improve catch monitoring, to aid stock assessment, and other activities. In the meantime, I'm enjoying spending my oˆ-hours as close to the ocean as possible, helping my son catch salmon. My earliest memories are of the adventure and wonder associated with fishing for salmon in Georgia Strait, and it's great to think that this work may help ensure future generations have the same experience. n This app wouldn't be possible without extensive in-kind support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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