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Alberta anglers fear stream closures coming, blame industry, recreation

Feb 21, 2018 | 3:01 PM

EDMONTON – Some Alberta anglers are worried that the province will ban fishing in a number of popular rivers over fears of declining fish stocks.

They say they’re being scapegoated over the government’s failure to deal with the effects on rivers of heavy industrial and recreational use.

Jordan Pinkster of the Alberta Backcountry Hunters and Anglers says government officials have said in stakeholder meetings that a number of rivers will be closed for five years.

He says the closures are to include some of Alberta’s best trout streams such as the Ram, the Clearwater and the Kakwa rivers.

He says it’s not fair to penalize catch-and-release anglers without a plan to reduce the impact of industry and recreational users such as random camping and off-highway vehicle use.

A provincial spokesman confirms consultations have been held, but says no decisions on stream closures have been made.

(The Canadian Press)