BassBlaster

Using Derbies for Fishery Management

Could fishing tourneys be a valid fish management tool? Seems like it. Maybe they should be.

Cases in point:

> The Bonneville Power Administration in Washington state pays out over $1 mil a year for catching and removing pikeminnows (aka, squawfish), which prey on salmon.

> An Aussie tourney – the Bellingen Eel Fishing Championships, now in its 23rd year – began “as an initiative to improve the Bellinger River’s freshwater perch population by culling eel numbers….”

Why not some catch-keep-eat tourneys for stripers, wipers or even stunted largies? Anyone know of such a thing already going on?

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Brian

    January 3, 2011 at 10:03 am

    “Carp Rodeos” have become pretty popular in many states (http://www.8newsnow.com/story/12782057/nevada-carp-rodeo-aims-to-cull-invasive-species#), and in Bermuda they have started up Lionfish tourneys which are ‘catch and kill, all you can’ events (http://www.bermuda.com/articles/share/2009/august/lionfish-tournament-could-help-save-our-reef-life.aspx).

    Not sure I’ve seen too many events though where actual gamefish were allowed to be targeted to that degree, though here in Indiana they have on occasion removed creel limits for lakes that were going to be renovated, subject to winterkill, or in one case, over ran with channel catfish.

  2. Jack Mcgee

    January 3, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    Wisconsin Lake Associations around Hayward, WI (Nelson Lake for one) have had “catch n kill” or kill’em and grill’em derbies in northern Wiscosnin. Their goal was to diminish the largmouth population because they beleived the largmouth eat young of the year walleye fry….yes, we are backwards up here!

    • admin (mostly Jay)

      January 4, 2011 at 8:13 am

      Wow! Don’t fishermen eat walleye too…. I believe the state of Oregon still has black bass classified as a trash fish (no limits) for a similar reason (salmon).

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