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Sunk by a 300% rise: lodge owners say huge hikes in freshwater fishing fees are destroying their businesses
Ist Teil von
Report newsmagazine (British Columbia ed.), 1997-05, Vol.8 (37), p.15
Auflage
British Columbia edition
Ort / Verlag
Vancouver: United Western Communications
Erscheinungsjahr
1997
Link zum Volltext
Beschreibungen/Notizen
The annual summer migration of fishing enthusiasts, who flock to B.C.'s remote lodges from points south and overseas for the delights of inhaling fresh air, bonding with their buddies and spending millions of dollars, is in peril. Fishing guides and fishing-lodge owners say the provincial government's sudden 300% increase in daily licensing fees for out-of-province fishermen is being interpreted as a signal that B.C. does not want their business. Not surprisingly, many tourists have changed their plans and say they will find their wilderness experience elsewhere, rather than cough up licensing fees of $40 a day--up from $10 last year. In the wake of this spring's announcement of the fee hikes, sports-fishing professionals have daily been fielding calls from frantic booking agents and tourists in the United States and Europe. The move, which came into effect April 1, has "totally killed this summer" for Williams Lake guide Ron Thompson, who has spent 27 years building up his business. Late last month, he heard back from a group of a dozen Floridians who cancelled bookings worth over $40,000. "There's not going to be a nickel made here," he says. In addition, licensing fees for professional guides have skyrocketed over 900%. Mr. Thompson's guide-licence cost around $10,000 this year. Last year B.C.'s 82 professional guides paid just under $1,000 each for their licences. That compares with US$250 in Idaho, and US$500 in Washington. Most states, he says, charge only about US$50. The measures are expected to result in revenues of only $3 million, and just over half that amount will be directed toward conservation projects and a new enforcement program.