Beginning in 2021, the commercial trapping season for fishers will be closing in areas where they are endangered. To assist recovery efforts, we need your help to reduce accidental captures of fishers.
The Fisher Exclusion Box is an elongated marten cubby fitted with a faceplate that is sized to prevent fishers from getting in and becoming bycatch. Click here to see diagrams and specifications.
How does it work? Almost all fishers have cheekbones wider the 5.6cm and almost all martens have cheekbones narrower than 5.6cm. This difference allows martens to enter the trap but keep fishers out.
Experienced trappers helped design the box that meets trappers needs, is relatively inexpensive, is based on animal biology, and meets the principals of humane trapping.
Will your marten harvest be impacted? No! Over 1800 trap nights and remote camera footage from a pilot study in the Northeast and Cariboo regions confirmed that Martens easily entered the modified box and were successfully harvested. We even heard from one trapper who caught his largest marten in 40 years in one of these boxes!
Fishers in the Central Interior are designated as endangered, and in Northeastern B.C. they are a population of special concern. This is primarily due to habitat loss, but trapping can also have an impact.
Try the Fisher Exclusion Box free! Starting October 9, 2021, a limited number of boxes will be available for pickup at the Omineca, Peace, Cariboo, Thompson-Nicola, and Skeena FLNRORD offices. Each trapper can have 10 boxes, free of charge.
For more information, email: Fisher.Conservation@gov.bc.ca
This initiative has been made possible by the BC Fisher Habitat Working Group, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Cover Architecture, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
To hear more relevant news and updates, become a member of the B.C. Wildlife Federation here.