New Agreement Supports Recreational Fishing on Private Forest Land
Mosaic Forest Management and the Province of British Columbia, through the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, have entered into an agreement to facilitate lake stocking within Mosaic-managed private forest lands in 2020. The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC, a non-profit organization that works alongside government’s fisheries management agencies, will conduct the stocking in 2020.
Lake stocking is the practice of releasing hatchery fish into lakes to increase fish populations for recreational anglers. By working together to ensure the continued stocking of lakes on Mosaic private forest lands, the Ministry and Mosaic are increasing local angling opportunities on 15 popular fishing lakes in 2020 between Campbell River and Shawnigan Lake. The lakes include: Beavertail, Echo, Helldiver, Kissinger, Lois, Loon, Nimnim, Reginald, Rheinhart, Rhododendron, Rowbotham, Shelton, Tadjiss, Wolf and Wowo lakes. Several of these stocked lakes are also being enriched to increase fish growth to provide opportunities to catch larger bodied fish.
Mosaic provides public access to its private managed forest land for recreational purposes, including fishing, when it is operationally safe to do so, and wildfire risk is at acceptable levels. The Ministry manages the recreational fisheries, setting the stocking rates and fishing regulations.
According to information received from the Ministry, stocking fish into lakes helps to sustainably manage freshwater sport fishing in B.C by providing a diversity of fishing opportunities, while also helping to conserve wild fish populations. This agreement enables the Provincial Fish Stocking Program to be continue in lakes on Mosaic’s private forest lands, to the benefit of the public and fish resources.
“Enhancing fish populations and supporting safe recreation opportunities align with Mosaic’s core sustainability and community commitments,” said Mosaic President and CEO Jeff Zweig. “We are pleased to see the continuation of this program and build on decades of partnership with the Province on fisheries enhancement.”
Each year on behalf of the Province, the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC conducts fish stocking on more than 800 lakes in BC. The Society’s six hatcheries raise and release rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, eastern brook char, kokanee and steelhead for recreation stocking, and white sturgeon and lake char for conservation purposes.
“This agreement between Mosaic and the Province is good news for anglers on Vancouver Island,” said Andrew Wilson, president, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC. “We will release rainbow and cutthroat trout into the 15 lakes located within the Mosaic managed forest lands this month, providing excellent fishing opportunities for anglers keen to visit these popular lakes.”
About Mosaic Forest Management Corp.
Mosaic Forest Management is the timberlands manager for TimberWest and Island Timberlands – two affiliated companies that have operated on Vancouver Island for over a century, delivering sustainable forest management within their private forest lands and Crown tenure areas. Mosaic employs several thousand people directly and indirectly striving to achieve the best economic, social and sustainability outcomes from the working forest. For more information, visit mosaicforests.com.
About Freshwater Fisheries Society of BCThe Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC is a private non-profit organization with a mandate to enhance and conserve BC’s freshwater fisheries for public benefit. Working in partnership with government, industry and anglers, the Society’s goal is to make fishing in BC even better through the enhancement and conservation of BC's freshwater fish resources. Find out more at www.gofishbc.com.
Media InquiriesEvelina Lamu
Media@MosaicForests.com