Jbob
07-05-2002, 07:14 AM
Read the article below. I know that this subject has been beaten to death but we need to do something about this. I was on a guide trip yesterday on the big lake and we(my clients and myself) witness this. We saw at least 10 floating walleyes on Sloppies and more on 4 mile. Yes the bite is GREAT but we need to harvest some of the bigger fish instead of wasting them. The DNR has a wantom waste law that they could prosecute us the angler with, why can't we charge them with the same law.
Hooking Loss Skyrockets at Mille Lacs
by Proper Economic Resource Management
Anyone who has followed the Mille Lacs walleye-management controversy knows
that tight harvest slots result in high hooking mortality. Over the course
of the 2001-2002 fishing season, for example, the DNR estimated that more
than 79, 000 pounds of walleyes died after being released, and those fish
were added to the anglers' harvest and included in the harvest quota. The
final 2001-2002 tally: About one walleye wasted for every three kept. The
thought of wasting that many walleyes sickened numerous anglers, but the
DNR said it was necessary to keep the harvest within the quota.
Last year's hooking mortality more than doubled from the previous year
(35,000 pounds), and it now looks like hooking mortality could double
again. DNR treaty fisheries biologist Rick Brusewitz believes hooking
mortality could reach 150,000 pounds for the 2002-2003 season, assuming the
"bite" remains hot. That figure, he says, could equal the poundage of
walleyes kept. Based on data for the first month of the open water season,
it appears that Brusewitz's estimate could be a little low. As of June 15,
open water anglers have already wasted 106,386 pounds of walleye and kept
84,322 pounds. Adding in the past season's ice fishing data, which is
counted against the 2002 angling quota of 300,000 pounds, hooking loss now
stands at 119,212 pounds and harvest 129,867 pounds, for a total of 249,079
pounds.
Despite the heavy hooking loss, Brusewitz is not overly concerned. Even
with the old one-over-20-inches regulation, he said, there would probably
be significant hooking mortality with the hot bite that's occurring. Maybe
not as much as we're seeing now, but a good chunk of that number. But
history does not back up Brusewitz's contention. In 1992, when the bite was
almost as hot and the one-over-20 rule was in effect, the DNR's estimate of
hooking mortality was 11, 502 pounds-less than 1/10th of the current kill.
And the 14-year pre-treaty average under the one-over-20 rule was 14,887
pounds.
"Wasting that many fish is pure insanity," said Dick Sternberg. His recent
report, The Mille Lacs Fish Management Plan: Threat to Minnesota's Premier
Walleye Fishery, challenged the DNR's tight slot limits and warned they
could cause a build-up of big walleyes that would decimate the baitfish
crop. "When the anglers are wasting almost as many walleyes as they keep,
your really have to question the DNR's management strategy.
"By preventing anglers from thinning out the big walleyes, the DNR is
perpetuating the problem," Sternberg explained. "With baitfish of all kinds
at historically low levels, the walleyes are biting like never before. The
DNR's response is to tighten the slot more and more and allow only smaller
fish to be harvested. This, in turn, promotes a build-up of bigger walleyes
which deplete the baitfish crop even more, so the walleyes are even
hungrier.
"The short-term fix is to further tighten the slot-maybe they'll reduce it
to one inch. The long-term fix is to allow anglers to harvest some of the
big walleyes so the baitfish have a chance to recover. That will slow down
the suicidal bite and hopefully prevent a collapse of the larger walleyes
in the population."
Liberalizing the regulations to allows anglers to harvest some large
walleyes during the summer was exactly what State Representative Bill Haas
(R, Champlin) suggested at an April 30 meeting of the House Natural
Resources Finance Committee. He plans on discussing his proposal with
Commissioner Alan Garber and Fisheries Director Ron Payer. His plan has
the support of many anglers who have been catching "skinny" walleyes and
believe most of them are going to die anyway.
George Nitti, proprietor of Hunter's Point Resort on Mille Lacs, witnessed
many underweight walleyes caught during his tournament on June 21-22.
"The walleyes were all skinny," he said. "There were maybe one or two nice
fish. A lot of them were beat up and sickly-looking. We had one 28-incher
that weighed only 5.95 pounds, several others just a little over 6, and
there was a 29-incher that weighed only 4.73 pounds." Normally, a 28-incher
would weigh about 8 pounds and a 29-incher, 9 pounds.
"I think we need to get some of these fish out of the lake," he continued.
The DNR should make a proposal to the band-they can take an extra 50,000
pounds and the anglers another 250,000 pounds. That would help get the lake
back into balance."
Nitti doesn't think the hooking mortality so far is as high as the DNR is
saying, but he expects it to increase. "With the heat of summer coming up
and so many weak fish, the problem will only get worse unless we do
something soon."
"I think both Nitti and Haas have the right idea," said Sternberg."
Anything that will remove biomass of walleyes from the lake will help. But
I'd like to see a regulation that allows some harvest of the bigger fish,
since they're the ones that seem to be in the most trouble. If we don't
take care of the problem now, Mother Nature will take care of it for us. In
fact, with some of the larger walleyes nearly 50 percent underweight, it
looks like she's working on it as we speak."
Proper Economic Resource Management (PERM) is a conservation club dedicated
to balanced solutions to natural resource management issues. To contact
PERM call 763-441-6869 or visit PERM online at www.perm.org.
Hooking Loss Skyrockets at Mille Lacs
by Proper Economic Resource Management
Anyone who has followed the Mille Lacs walleye-management controversy knows
that tight harvest slots result in high hooking mortality. Over the course
of the 2001-2002 fishing season, for example, the DNR estimated that more
than 79, 000 pounds of walleyes died after being released, and those fish
were added to the anglers' harvest and included in the harvest quota. The
final 2001-2002 tally: About one walleye wasted for every three kept. The
thought of wasting that many walleyes sickened numerous anglers, but the
DNR said it was necessary to keep the harvest within the quota.
Last year's hooking mortality more than doubled from the previous year
(35,000 pounds), and it now looks like hooking mortality could double
again. DNR treaty fisheries biologist Rick Brusewitz believes hooking
mortality could reach 150,000 pounds for the 2002-2003 season, assuming the
"bite" remains hot. That figure, he says, could equal the poundage of
walleyes kept. Based on data for the first month of the open water season,
it appears that Brusewitz's estimate could be a little low. As of June 15,
open water anglers have already wasted 106,386 pounds of walleye and kept
84,322 pounds. Adding in the past season's ice fishing data, which is
counted against the 2002 angling quota of 300,000 pounds, hooking loss now
stands at 119,212 pounds and harvest 129,867 pounds, for a total of 249,079
pounds.
Despite the heavy hooking loss, Brusewitz is not overly concerned. Even
with the old one-over-20-inches regulation, he said, there would probably
be significant hooking mortality with the hot bite that's occurring. Maybe
not as much as we're seeing now, but a good chunk of that number. But
history does not back up Brusewitz's contention. In 1992, when the bite was
almost as hot and the one-over-20 rule was in effect, the DNR's estimate of
hooking mortality was 11, 502 pounds-less than 1/10th of the current kill.
And the 14-year pre-treaty average under the one-over-20 rule was 14,887
pounds.
"Wasting that many fish is pure insanity," said Dick Sternberg. His recent
report, The Mille Lacs Fish Management Plan: Threat to Minnesota's Premier
Walleye Fishery, challenged the DNR's tight slot limits and warned they
could cause a build-up of big walleyes that would decimate the baitfish
crop. "When the anglers are wasting almost as many walleyes as they keep,
your really have to question the DNR's management strategy.
"By preventing anglers from thinning out the big walleyes, the DNR is
perpetuating the problem," Sternberg explained. "With baitfish of all kinds
at historically low levels, the walleyes are biting like never before. The
DNR's response is to tighten the slot more and more and allow only smaller
fish to be harvested. This, in turn, promotes a build-up of bigger walleyes
which deplete the baitfish crop even more, so the walleyes are even
hungrier.
"The short-term fix is to further tighten the slot-maybe they'll reduce it
to one inch. The long-term fix is to allow anglers to harvest some of the
big walleyes so the baitfish have a chance to recover. That will slow down
the suicidal bite and hopefully prevent a collapse of the larger walleyes
in the population."
Liberalizing the regulations to allows anglers to harvest some large
walleyes during the summer was exactly what State Representative Bill Haas
(R, Champlin) suggested at an April 30 meeting of the House Natural
Resources Finance Committee. He plans on discussing his proposal with
Commissioner Alan Garber and Fisheries Director Ron Payer. His plan has
the support of many anglers who have been catching "skinny" walleyes and
believe most of them are going to die anyway.
George Nitti, proprietor of Hunter's Point Resort on Mille Lacs, witnessed
many underweight walleyes caught during his tournament on June 21-22.
"The walleyes were all skinny," he said. "There were maybe one or two nice
fish. A lot of them were beat up and sickly-looking. We had one 28-incher
that weighed only 5.95 pounds, several others just a little over 6, and
there was a 29-incher that weighed only 4.73 pounds." Normally, a 28-incher
would weigh about 8 pounds and a 29-incher, 9 pounds.
"I think we need to get some of these fish out of the lake," he continued.
The DNR should make a proposal to the band-they can take an extra 50,000
pounds and the anglers another 250,000 pounds. That would help get the lake
back into balance."
Nitti doesn't think the hooking mortality so far is as high as the DNR is
saying, but he expects it to increase. "With the heat of summer coming up
and so many weak fish, the problem will only get worse unless we do
something soon."
"I think both Nitti and Haas have the right idea," said Sternberg."
Anything that will remove biomass of walleyes from the lake will help. But
I'd like to see a regulation that allows some harvest of the bigger fish,
since they're the ones that seem to be in the most trouble. If we don't
take care of the problem now, Mother Nature will take care of it for us. In
fact, with some of the larger walleyes nearly 50 percent underweight, it
looks like she's working on it as we speak."
Proper Economic Resource Management (PERM) is a conservation club dedicated
to balanced solutions to natural resource management issues. To contact
PERM call 763-441-6869 or visit PERM online at www.perm.org.