I hear so much about quotas, management, etc in Canadian provinces. How exactly does that work and does it work?

google--"Boco".

When you acquire a line, that line has set quotas. A quota is a calculation based on the carrying capacity of the land, that tells us how many of a certain species can be removed froma line and still maintain a sustainable population. Quotas are put in place on animals that can suffer easily from overtrapping. Fisher and Marten have maximum quotas. It is known that you can take one fisher per 2000 acres annually and still have a sustainable population. Those are rough numbers, and a more accurate method would be ratios of juveniles to adult females since some areas are just more productive than others. But it is the best general method we have. Marten I believe are calculated at one animal per 3000 acres.

My line has a maximim quota of 17 fisher, and 12 marten. Areas with excellent marten and fisher habitat can have open quotas, and the trapper must keep close watch on their populations to avoid taking too many.

The other animal that has a quota on it is beaver. Beaver has a maximum and minumum quota, wheras fisher and marten only have a maximum. Each trapper must kill between 75% and 100% of their beaver quota annually to keep their line. That is because beaver can be a nuisance and it helps keep them in check, and also prevents overpopulating. Beaver quotas are based on 1.5 beavers taken per active colony. If you constantly fail to trap your beaver quota, your line can be taken from you and given to someone who will trap it. This prevents non trappers from getting a line an using the cabin for hunting...It ensures the line is managed.

All other critters are less prone to overtrapping. Coon, rat, otter, wolf, fox, ermine, and bear have an unlimited quota. You can take as many as you want, however you shoot yourself in the foot if you do. it just gives trappers the ability to manage their lines based on the populations they have. Trappers can have their quotas raised and lowered based on populations...

Hope that helps.

Are there penalties if you don't take your minimum beaver quota?

yes, you can get a fine, then you can lose your line. The MNR will take it from you and give it to someone willing to trap. It usually goes through an application process based on experience. Kind of a points system.

it does take a few years of not taking quota til the MNR gets on your case about it. At the end of the year, you also must send in a season end report listing how many animals of each species you have taken. One report for each license you have. You may only have one line, but you can have a helper license for as many lines as you like, or can get permission on. There is no limit to how many helper trappers you can have on a line.

Hutchy nailed it.Good line management definitely works.There is one line documented near north bay that has been producing the same amount of beaver for 3 generations in the one family.

Cool. What is their beaver quota Boco? And I am going to be looking closely at my fisher ratios for the first time this year. I am always scared of overharvest, so it will probably help me sleep better lol

Around 50.

A picture of the back of my license, showing quotas. Notice that anything with a zero means closed, as in can't take any. I don't have any of those animals, so that's really why. My helper liceces just say "quotas as per head trapper".

What does a blank mean? Take as many as you want? Do you even have possum in your area?

Correct,blank is open quota.O is closed quota.

No possum on my line, and generally no skunk either, however I did see a skunk just south of me a few weeks ago.

That was one of my questions- how do they come up with population numbers?

Read my first post. It is based on scientific carrying capacity of the land. Beaver is 1.5 beaver per active lodge, marten in one marten per 3000 acres, and fisher are one per 2000 acres. This is considered sustainable harvest.

Sorry, you mean population numbers in general? I am not 100 percent sure, and also not sure it matters for quota. Knowing populations is a tough task with the natural cycles. That's why it is important for the trapper to be on top of what is happening on their line. If there are no for one year, try avoid trapping fox. If well managed the population swings shouldn't be as severe.

Certain areas just don't hold as many of a certain animal. Like up in marten country, fisher are more scarce. Where I am, I don't even have 12 marten on my whole line. I only ever get one or two max. Therefore I don't set for marten. The zone next to me has lots of marten. It's not perfect, but works very well.

The carrying capacity for marten varies according to food supplies, not how many acres. My acres never change, but my marten population does.

That's the beauty of management. If you have fewer marten, trap fewer marten. It's nice to know you are the only one trapping so you can manage it properly.

Biologists in different parts on the country have done mark and re capture studies to determine the home ranges of animals that are susceptible to overtrapping because of low reproduction etc in different habitats.Core habitat is identified on traplines and base numbers of resident animals for quota will be set.Quotas are adjustable up and down if the trapper submits scientific data to the fur tech\biologist supporting his request to increase or decrease the quotas.

For example I have as much as doubled my marten quota in years of very high juvenile recruitment,by bringing in skulls to the bio to support my request.In years of low juvenile numbers trappers curtail their harvest.


Beaver quotas can be raised or lowered as required by submitting an aerial beaver survey identifying all the live colonys.

Here is an example of a live colony survey and the resulting quota.

Do you guys have to "buy" a trapline or "bid" on one? This thread has been interesting and made me a bit curious about how one goes about it.
Thanks
Mac

very interesting here too