Permanent Limit on Perch Catch Backed
www.OneidaNation.org
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -
Tight limits on the amount of yellow perch that can be caught in Lake Michigan's Green Bay would become permanent under a plan approved by a key legislative committee that reviewed it.
The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules voted 10-0 Thursday to make permanent the temporary rule that cut from 25 to 10 the daily bag limit for recreational anglers, and from 200,000 pounds to 20,000 pounds the amount allowed annually for commercial fishing.
The rule took effect July 1 after studies showed perch reproduction has dropped far below good years in the early 1980s. Green Bay commercial
fisherman Mark Maricque said he and other fishermen question the yellow perch data-gathering by the state Department of Natural Resources and hope upcoming DNR-funded workshops will produce more information on issues affecting the perch population.
Maricque said he believes exotic fish such as white perch and carp are having an impact, as are the growing numbers of cormorants in the area.
“All you can do is try and make it through the next couple of years,” he said. “I’m not going to quit. It’s like a family farm. You’ve got too much invested to just quit.”
FULL ARTICLE
Tight limits on the amount of yellow perch that can be caught in Lake Michigan's Green Bay would become permanent under a plan approved by a key legislative committee that reviewed it.
The Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules voted 10-0 Thursday to make permanent the temporary rule that cut from 25 to 10 the daily bag limit for recreational anglers, and from 200,000 pounds to 20,000 pounds the amount allowed annually for commercial fishing.
The rule took effect July 1 after studies showed perch reproduction has dropped far below good years in the early 1980s. Green Bay commercial
fisherman Mark Maricque said he and other fishermen question the yellow perch data-gathering by the state Department of Natural Resources and hope upcoming DNR-funded workshops will produce more information on issues affecting the perch population.
Maricque said he believes exotic fish such as white perch and carp are having an impact, as are the growing numbers of cormorants in the area.
“All you can do is try and make it through the next couple of years,” he said. “I’m not going to quit. It’s like a family farm. You’ve got too much invested to just quit.”
FULL ARTICLE