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DEC Proposing Changes in a Number of Fishing Regulations; Public Input Wanted - FishNews - 04-15-2008
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced proposed changes to freshwater fishing regulations to enhance fishing opportunities and protect fisheries resources statewide. DEC will be accepting public comments on the proposals until April 4, 2008.
The proposed regulations are the result of a careful assessment of the status of existing fish populations and the desires of anglers utilizing these resources, Grannis said in a press release. This formal review follows discussions held with angling interest groups over the past year.
Local waterways impacted include the Salmon River, the Lansing Kill (in Madison County) and the West Canada Creek.
Prior to the announcement of today's proposed regulations, DEC made the regulatory options the agency was considering available on the DEC website and took comments. The feedback received was integral to developing the regulation changes that are now being formally proposed.
The following are highlights of the proposed changes:
- Prohibit the act of chumming with fish eggs to protect against fish being harvested specifically for purposes of taking eggs and using them as a method to aggregate and concentrate fish to assist in their fishing success.
- Provide clarity on what constitutes a *tip-up* by defining it as any device used for fishing through the ice that has a signaling device attached, except a bobber or other floating object on the water, that will visually or audibly signal a strike. The draft regulations also clarify tip-up restrictions.
- Prohibit the sale of trout eggs to prevent the harvest of trout for the purposes of selling eggs for the use in tributary fisheries by anglers.
- Establish a specific list of bait fish to help clarify anddefine what bait fish species are acceptable for use.
- Remove American eel from the list of fish that can be spearfished to reduce fishing related mortality for American eels.
- Clarify that *whitefish* in the Statewide Angling Regulations does not include round whitefish - an endangered species in New York - to reduce the likelihood of illegal harvest of round whitefish.
- Restrict the use of weight on the line, leader, swivels or artificial flies used in the Salmon River Fly Fishing only area to reduce snagging of salmonids and provide consistency to the Great Lakes regulations.
- Refine the allowable fishing tackle that may be used in the special regulations fly fishing catch-and-release areas on the Salmon River in Oswego County to offer an unimpeded traditional fly fishing experience.[[
- Extend the winter *catch-and-release only* black bass season in Suffolk and Nassau counties to provide additional angling opportunities.[
- Establish a special regulation for kokanee salmon in Glass Lake in Rensselaer County with a minimum creel limit of three fish and 12-inch minimum size limit to reduce harvest and protect the kokanee salmon population.[[
- Establish a three fish creel limit with a minimum size limit of 12 inches for trout in Beardsley Lake in Montgomery and Herkimer counties, Kyser Lake in Fulton and Herkimer counties, and Stillwater Reservoir in Herkimer County, to enable the harvest of larger size trout in waters capable of growing large fish while providing sufficient protection for these quality fisheries.[[
- Reduce the creel limit on walleye and sauger in Lake Champlain to *three fish in combination* to provide better protection of walleye and sauger stocks and provide consistency with Vermont regulations.
- Provide clarity to the description of the Boquet River portion of the *Additional Lake Champlain Tributary Regulations.*
- Prohibit the use of bait fish in waters such as Henderson Lake in the Town of Newcomb in Essex County, and in Giant Mountain Wilderness Area to prevent more non-native fishes from becoming established which impairs the ability to restore native salmonids.
- Prohibit the use of bait fish in Wheeler and Clear Ponds in the Town of Webb in Herkimer County to protect these reclaimed brook trout waters from non-native fish introductions.
- Add the ponds and streams in the Raquette-Boreal Wilderness Area to the list of waters that restrict the use of bait fish to minimize the potential of introducing competing species to these sensitive brook trout ponds.
- Create a three-fish creel limit with a minimum size limit of 12 inches for trout in the ponds contained with the Massawepie Conservation Easement Area in St. Lawrence County (Pine, Boottree, Town Line, Deer and Horseshoe ponds) as well as within Tamarack Pond in St. Lawrence County to provide for a trophy brook trout water by protecting excessive harvest and to protect these heritage brook trout brood sources.
- Create a catch-and-release, artificial-lures-only regulation in Wheeler and Clear Ponds in the Town of Webb in Herkimer County to protect against harvest of fish that are needed for an ongoing heritage brook trout evaluation study.
- Eliminate the special regulation for walleye on Lake Bonaparte in Lewis County and on Trout Lake in Lewis County as the five-year stocking effort to establish a walleye population has ended.
- Create a special trout regulation consisting of a creel limit of five fish with no more than two fish longer than 12 inches on the Lansing Kill in Oneida County to protect larger trout and provide an enhanced quality trout fishery.
- Extend the catch-and-release section for trout on West Canada Creek in Herkimer and Oneida counties to increase the number of fish available to anglers and reduce overcrowding on the creek.
- Extend the current catch-and-release season for trout on the West Branch St. Regis River in St. Lawrence County to all year, thereby increasing angling opportunities.
- Eliminate the special regulation requiring catch-and-release fishing for trout on the South Branch of the Grasse River in St. Lawrence County and replace it with the statewide egulation
- Eliminate the special regulation requiring catch-and-release fishing for trout on Allen Pond in St. Lawrence County and replace it with a three-fish daily limit and 12-inch minimum size limit, which will allow for the harvest of trout, while still providing sufficient protection to this quality trout fishery.
- Establish a special regulation for Ellicott Creek in Erie County to provide anglers the opportunity to harvest trout within Amherst State Park.
-To request copies of the regulation proposals contact: Shaun Keeler at (518) 402-8920, or by e-mail to skeeler@gw.dec.state.ny.us . The proposals will also be posted on DEC's website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/34113.html .
Comments on the proposals may be submitted by e-mail to fishregs@gw.dec.state.ny.us or mailed to Shaun Keeler, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Fisheries, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4753. Final regulations, reflecting public comments, will go into effect October 1, 2008.