The outreach coordinator for the Victoria-based Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. said the pond in Hastings Park is the first freshwater fishery in the City of Vancouver.
"Before this, Vancouver residents were forced to travel to places like Rice Lake in North Vancouver to fish," said Mike Gass.
The society's Fishing in the City program has also stocked ponds and lakes in neighbouring municipalities such as Coquitlam and Surrey.
On May 23, the last of 900 sterilized rainbow trout were released into the pond at the Sanctuary in Hastings Park as part of a joint urban fishing program with the Pacific National Exhibition and the city. On May 10, the society paid for a pier to be built from where people can fish and the PNE had a wheelchair accessible ramp and stairs installed.
Gass explained now that the pond is stocked, fishing season is open to anyone with a fishing rod, and for those 16 and older, a valid freshwater fishing license. "They can catch as many as they want," noted Gass. "But they can only keep two. These urban fisheries can get fished out pretty quickly."
The society is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the enhancement and conservation of B.C.'s freshwater fish resources for the benefit of the public. The society delivers the provincial fish-stocking program with a goal to support sport fishing, offer a range of conservation services to protect wild fish and promote the importance of sport fishing and conservation. Each year, the society stocks about 800 lakes and streams throughout B.C. According to the society's website, it's the Ministry of Environment's provincial regional biologists who manage the lakes and determine the stocking levels, types of fish and sizes to be released into B.C.'s waters.
The Courier reported earlier this week that several community groups dedicated to Hastings Park are concerned about the move because the environmentally sensitive area has become a nesting ground for several types of waterfowl. In a recent letter to the park board, the Hastings Park Conservancy group listed several concerns, including one that the installation of the pier and increased noise and human activity is disruptive to ducks and other aquatic birds nesting on the secluded north end of the pond.
George Clulow, president of B.C. Field Ornithologists, agrees. "I'm concerned because when you stock an urban fishery you open it to not just the designated structure," said Clulow. "Instead, you have people tramping over the whole pond including the riparian zone."
Clulow said the damage could be minimized by restricting fishing to children and youth. Hastings Community Centre is offering free "Learn to Fish" courses at the pond for children aged five to 15. "That would reduce the impact and parents would be in charge of their kids," said Clulow. "I have to wonder if they've thought this through carefully. It's a very sensitive habitat and I believe this was a poor decision."
Clulow was also surprised by the timing of the project, which coincides with breeding and nesting season at the pond. "Now they have this large number of people rushing down in the middle of breeding season. They should have delayed stocking the pond until the birds had finished breeding. But instead they maximized the ecological damage."
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