Whitby asking for public feedback to amend fishing bylaws
Published September 28, 2021 at 11:49 am
The Town of Whitby is considering opening up its parks and open spaces to fishing and is looking for feedback from the public on the idea.
None of the town’s urban neighbours currently allow fishing in their parks but the practice does go on – in contravention of local bylaws – and the Brock Street bridge and the nearby pier are hotspots for anglers.
“I don’t think we’re looking at opening up permitted fishing all over town. We really want to target those locations,” said Matt Powers, the Town’s Senior Manager of Parks Planning “There’s this interaction between people who fish and people who enjoy the waterfront for other reasons.”
Whitby is trying to find a compromise between those factions, so people can fish safely. “We’re seeing a lot more people visit our waterfront,” Powers said, “and that’s only going to grow as the population grows.”
Whitby projects 193,000 residents within the next ten years and the town’s long-term development plan includes a variety of projects to build housing and attract visitors to the waterfront.
Whitby is running an online survey on Connect Whitby until October 8 to gather public feedback and Powers hopes any decisions will be finalized before Christmas. He is trying to stay ahead of the next fishing season to prepare and educate residents for any changes.
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