CLOSING FISH SANCTUARIES WRONG-HEADED - RUNCIMAN
BROCKVILLE – The Ontario government’s plans to close bass sanctuaries in the Rideau area is “wrong-headed” and will do serious damage to the tourism sector in the region according to Bob Runciman, MPP for Leeds-Grenville.
Runciman, along with municipal officials, Rideau resort operators, fishing guides and bait store owners, attended a meeting in Elgin last Saturday, where officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources outlined proposed new provincial fishing regulations for the province.
One of the proposals is the closure of bass sanctuaries in the Rideau system and the Leeds-Grenville MPP argues there is no persuasive case for the closures.
“The sanctuaries are unique to the Rideau and have been in place since 1920” said Runciman. “Their benefit to the fishery may be debatable, but their benefit to tourism is beyond doubt.”
“In my view there appears to be no real downside to the retention of sanctuaries, but a very significant upside in terms of their tourism appeal as a unique component of the Rideau sports fishery” asserted the veteran MPP.
Runciman has written the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Tourism urging retention of the bass sanctuaries and a review of other proposed regulations, such as the elimination of minimum catch size for bass, that are causing concern among resort owners and fishing guides.
