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Editor's Note:
This site was hacked by unknown attacker and this story
was removed from our web. The link to the story was
changed to an outdoor sports site. Unfortunately,
Mr. Dahlberg's original response to the charges was lost.
___
Legendary fly fisherman Larry Dahlberg was arrested by a
Canadian federal fisheries warden last week and charged
with “molesting” a steelhead trout.
The host of ESPN’s “The Hunt For
Big Fish” paid a $250 fine and stormed out of B.C.
The angry departure of
Dahlberg has left the sports fishing community in
Kitimat and Terrace aghast at the big one that got away.
By that they mean Dahlberg, not the 18-lb. steelhead he
caught, with camera running, on a fly rod in the Kitimat
River last Wednesday.
The catch was to be the centrepiece of a show on fishing
the Kitimat, and a juicy bit of publicity for the region's
beleaguered sports fishing industry. Instead, an outraged
Dahlberg paid his fine, collected his seized videotapes
and told the local media it's unlikely he'll ever again
promote fishing in British Columbia. He could not be reached
for comment Tuesday.
"In my opinion, it was a million-dollar fish for the
community," groans Colin Light, owner of Cutty's Fly
and Tackle in Kitimat. "A fish like that, given proper
airing, could have done wonders for tourism in our area."
Light says Dahlberg has impeccable credentials as a catch-and-release
conservationist. "It's not conducive to tourism to
send him back with a $250 fine and his tail between his
legs."
Two witnesses to the catch, Dahlberg's fishing guide Pat
Wilson, and fisheries officer Andy Lewis, give different
versions of the same event.
For Pat Wilson of Alta/B.C. Guides of Kitimat and
Calgary, landing Larry Dahlberg was no accident. It took
months of correspondence and the lure of an all-expenses-paid
visit to bring him to Kitimat. Wilson estimates he spent
$3,000 for Dahlberg's week-long stay in an attempt to promote
his business and showcase the region.
"It seemed
like a good idea at the time," he says. As Wilson describes
the scene, Dahlberg caught the fish, reeled it in, then
left it on the hook in the water for about 20 minutes before
reeling it in again while an underwater camera shot a second
version.
The landing was witnessed by two conservation officers on
the far shore, who ordered the fish released and charged
Dahlberg with "molestation" of fish. "That
looks really great, eh," says Wilson. "Molestation."
Wilson, who has a degree in biology, says the fish was unharmed.
"This fish was in the water the whole time. It was
respiring fine. It never went into oxygen debt, which creates
lactic acid build-up in the muscles and then they die."
The camera caught the fish swimming away after its release.
"This fish was fine. The issue was that we were holding
on to it for 20 minutes."
Although the multiple takes would be edited into a clean
landing and a quick release, Wilson says journalistic integrity
isn't the issue here. "The issue is not whether it's
staged, whether we're doing WWF wrestling, fishing-style.
That's something totally different. The issue at hand is
we were trying to promote this province and the department
of fisheries is making life miserable as far as I'm concerned."
From Andy Lewis's viewpoint, across the river through binoculars,
Dahlberg played in the fish three separate times over 25
minutes. He calls it a clear violation of Section 4 of the
B.C. Sports Fishing Regulations, which state: "no person
shall molest or injure fish."
Lewis says
the fish could legally have been killed, if shown to be
from a hatchery, but its abuse is prohibited. He concedes
he doesn't know the health of the fish, which was released.
"But, if you play a fish three times in a row, it's
probably not very happy." Lewis says he did not know
of Dahlberg, whose show is primarily broadcast in the U.S,
but it would not have altered his decision if he had.
"We fishery officers try to be as professional, consistent
and fair as possible and I would suggest it wouldn't matter
whether he had a big-time fishing show or not." Besides,
says Lewis: "I would suggest that an angler who calls
himself a professional as Mr. Dahlberg does, would treat
fish with more respect."
The incident has spawned a long discussion on the internet
newsgroup rec.outdoors.fishing.fly which details all the
arguments for and against catch-and-release fishing in particular. And, if you think Dahlberg was molesting fish, read the next
item where state biologists will be shocking up fish just
to show people how it’s done on June 12.
Dahlberg's Response
To This Story Was Deleted by A Hacker in 2004, shortly after
the incident took place.
Minnesota
DNR On Dahlberg Fish Molesting Incident
Filming a fishing show in
exotic locales poses risks--and not just the run-of-the-mill
white water, piranhas, and crocodiles. Last May, while filming
a segment on fishing for steelhead on the Kitimat River
in British Columbia, Dahlberg was cited and fined $250 under
a provincial regulation that "no person shall molest
or injure fish." According to federal fishery officer
Andy Lewis, Dahlberg played a steelhead at least 25 minutes,
bringing it to hand several times before releasing it. Dahlberg
said he delayed landing the fish several minutes, letting
the fish rest behind a riffle, so that his cameraman could
retrieve his camera from a distant boat and film the landing.
The steelhead was then landed and released.
"Officer Lewis and I disagree not only about some
details of the incident, but also over interpretation,"
Dahlberg said. "When we film the landing of a fish,
by necessity we keep it under control a bit longer than
we would if we were fishing only for sport. But we did everything
we could to protect the fish in question. When the Kitimat
segment airs in March on ESPN, the close-up footage will
prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the fish was never
mishandled or unduly stressed and was released in perfect
condition.
"Obviously, this incident is both embarrassing
and distressing to me. Earlier in the year I had received
the highest award for conservation from the International
Game Fish Association for releasing dozens of potential
world records instead of killing them for the sake of getting
my name in the record books. I've devoted my 39-year career
as a professional angler to the principles of selective
harvest and the responsible, ethical management of all our
resources, and I will continue to do so."
This note was written by Stephen Wisner for the Minn.
DNR's web site: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/janfeb00/nofear.html
According to the Minn. DNR the writer Wisner spent six
years working as a fly-fishing guide in Idaho. He is a field
editor for Midwest Fly Fishing magazine. He lives with his
wife and son in Eau Claire, Wis.
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