Public Comments Sought on Arizona Fish Stocking Program So It Can Continue to Receive Federal Funding
November 6, 2008
Did you know that the feisty rainbow trout dancing on the end of your fishing line was most likely hatchery raised?
Each year, the Arizona Game and Fish Department stocks more than 3 million fish for anglers to catch in approximately 160 of Arizona’s lakes, rivers and streams - mostly rainbow, Apache, brook, and cutthroat trout, but some warmwater species such as largemouth bass and channel catfish as well.
The stocking program is supported with federal funds through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program, along with state funds from the sale of licenses and trout stamps.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are seeking public comments on issues associated with all the sport-fish stockings in the state as part of a draft environmental assessment process that is required to continue using federal funding for stocking activities in Arizona.
Public input is being sought to determine the extent and variety of issues that should be addressed by the draft environmental assessment. The comment period continues through 5 p.m. on Dec. 19.
Once the comment period ends, the wildlife agencies will prepare a draft environmental assessment to evaluate the social, economic and environmental effects of stockings related to continue funding for the program through the Sport Fish Restoration Program.
As part of the scoping process, the following three public open houses are being held to answer questions and gather public input on the stocking program issues:
- Pinetop, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17, Arizona Game and Fish Department Region 1 office, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd.
- Tucson, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24, Arizona Game and Fish Department Region 5 office, 555 N. Greasewood Road.
- Phoenix, 6:30 p.m. Nov. 25, at Arizona Game and Fish Department Headquarters, 5000 W. Carefree Highway.
“While we will be at the public meetings to provide background information and answer questions, all comments to be formally considered must be made in writing,” said Weedman.
Written comments can be sent to either:
David Weedman, Aquatic Habitat Program Coordinator, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086. E-mail: fishaz [at] azgfd [dot] gov
.
Harold Namminga, Sport Fish Restoration Grant Administrator, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, P.O Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103. E-mail: Harold_Namminga [at] fws [dot] gov.
All comments must be submitted in writing no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 19.
Weedman pointed out that recreational angling in Arizona totaled 4,156,000 angling days in 2006, creating a statewide economic impact of more than $1.1 billion annually.
Arizona’s natural fish fauna historically consisted of 36 species of fish, only a few of which were traditionally sought by early Americans for sport fishing, which is a trend that continues today.
Since the early 1900s, the Arizona Game and Fish Department and other agencies have supplemented recreational angling opportunities by stocking state waters with sport fish species.
“Fish stockings have evolved over the past 100 years or so to meet growing needs of anglers in Arizona,” Weedman said. “Now we consider a wide range of factors when determining where and when to stock fish, including biology, angler use, partnership commitments and needs, native fish impacts and social demands.”
Although most of the trout species caught in Arizona likely come from fish hatcheries, most of the warmwater species in the state - especially those in the larger impoundments such as Roosevelt Lake - come from natural reproduction.
The federal funding apportioned to Arizona is authorized under the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950, commonly referred to as the Dingell-Johnson Act and Wallop-Breaux Act. It provides federal aid to state wildlife agencies for management and restoration of sport fish.
These Sport Fish Restoration funds are derived from a federal excise tax at the manufacturing level on certain items of sport-fishing tackle, fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.
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Celebrate Free Fishing Day Sept. 27th in California
September 26, 2008
Free Fishing Day is Sept. 27 and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) invites anglers to enjoy California’s abundant fishing opportunities. Twice a year a complimentary day of fishing sets aside the normal requirement for anyone 16 years and older to possess a California fishing license. All other fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. The previous 2008 Free Fishing Day was June 7.
“This is a great opportunity not only to go fishing but to take a novice or youth fishing,” said DFG Fisheries Branch Chief Neil Manji. “Anglers can enjoy surf fishing, dunking a worm for bass or trout fishing in the Sierras.”
The state features more than 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 4,172 lakes and reservoirs, and 80 major rivers. It also has more than 1,100 miles of coastline and hundreds of native fish and shell fish species.
DFG offers several fishing-related programs designed to help everyone enjoy one of the nation’s most popular outdoor sports.
For the novice angler, DFG offers Fishing in the City, part of the Urban Fishing Program. The idea began in 1993, to provide fishing opportunities to Californians living in the Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Fishing in the City clinics teach kids how to fish and provide the chance to fish close to home. DFG stocks dozens of ponds with trout in winter and catfish the rest of the year. More information is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/fishinginthecity.
Free Fishing Day can also help launch new anglers into DFG’s new fishing incentive and angler recognition program called the California Fishing Passport program. The Passport program is for people of all ages and skill levels. Anglers are encouraged to catch all of the different sport fish species that occur in the state and can use the passport booklet as a guide. More than 150 different species of freshwater fish, saltwater fish and a number of ocean shellfish species can be found in California and are included as part of the Passport Challenge. More information is available at www.fishingpassport.org.
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Snakehead Eradication Meeting Sept. 18 in Brinkley, Arkansas
September 3, 2008
BRINKLEY – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a town hall meeting and public hearing about eradicating northern snakehead fish at 7 p.m., Sept. 18, in Brinkley at the Convention Center.
Snakeheads, natives of Asia, were discovered in the Piney Creek watershed in Lee and Monroe counties last spring. An eradication effort is planned for this October.
The first part of the meeting will outline the need to protect the Piney Creek watershed from the fish, which eat sport fish and can survive in a wide variety of habitats and temperatures. Without control, snakehead fish will spread into the lower White River and eventually up the Mississippi River. The second part of the meeting will be open to public comments about the Piney Creek Environmental Assessment and the eradication project.
Several AGFC personnel and FWS biologists will be available during the meeting to answer questions. The eradication will be staged in three phases: treatment, short-term assessment with retreatment, and stocking of fish and long-term assessment.
Phase I: Treatment
Treatment will be conducted Sept. 29-Oct. 18, although that schedule may change because of weather and field conditions. Water will not be treated when Big Piney Creek flow exceeds 50 cubic feet per second at Buckhorn County Road Bridge.
Treatment will consist of aerial and ground application of up to 24,000 pounds of powdered rotenone and 3,000 gallons of liquid rotenone to Big Piney Creek, Little Piney Creek, tributaries, and ditches. The estimated treatment coverage is up to 4,000 acres; the area treated will depend on the amount of water present in Piney Creek.
Rotenone is a chemical commonly used to control nuisance species in fish management and has low toxicity on other wildlife.
Aerial application will consist of liquid rotenone in ditches, tributaries ponds, and lakes without tree canopies. FWS helicopter crews will conduct aerial treatment with pilots certified for rotenone application by the Arkansas State Plant Board.
The FWS has prepared an Environmental Assessment to evaluate the potential impact of providing resources to assist AGFC in its efforts. The FWS will provide about $150,000 of in-kind assistance to help the AGFC restore native fish in the Piney Creek watershed. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the FWS is requesting public comments on the proposed federal action. The 30-day comment period begins on Aug. 22 and ends on Sept. 22. At the end of the comment period, the FWS will determine the extent of the federal action’s impact.
Phase II: Short-term Assessment and Retreatment
Phase II will rapidly assess the success of the treatment on northern snakeheads. Retreatment will be conducted in areas where incomplete kills are suspected. This phase will begin immediately after the treatment phase and should conclude by Nov. 1.
Assessment crews will determine the success of the kill by sampling fish and looking for snakeheads. Areas with live fish may be retreated with liquid or powdered rotenone.
Phase III: Stocking and Long-term Assessment
Big Piney and Little Piney creeks will be stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, and channel catfish. Largemouth bass and bluegill will be young-of-year, at least 3 inches long. Channel catfish will be a combination of yearlings (7-8 inches) and adults (10 inches and longer). Stocking may begin immediately following Phase II in early November and proceed through summer 2009. Stocking locations will be determined by availability of access, but attempts will be made to stock fish throughout the treatment area.
During the long-term assessment phase, the Big Piney Creek drainage will be monitored for northern snakeheads and the colonization of the treatment area by fish and other aquatic life. Long-term monitoring will begin in 2009 and continue until it’s no longer necessary. The AGFC will work with local landowners to secure access permission and not interfere with farming operations.
The Environmental Assessment is available at http://www.fws.gov/arkansas%2Des/. Copies may be requested by calling (501) 513-4470; by fax, (501) 513-4480; by e-mail, Mark_Sattelberg [at] fws [dot] gov, or by mail, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ecological Services Field Office, 110 S. Amity Road, Conway 72032.
For more information about the meeting, call Keith Stephens at (501) 223-6342 or Mark Sattelberg at the FWS Conway Field Office, (501) 513-4470.
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Lower Kenai River Coho Sampling Project
August 5, 2008
The Division of Sport Fish is sampling coho salmon caught in the Lower Kenai River sport fishery. From August 1 through September 30 anglers fishing the Lower Kenai River below the Soldotna Bridge may be asked by Fish and Game staff for permission to sample their coho salmon catches.
A sample requires the angler’s permission for staff to examine coho salmon for the presence of an adipose fin and to pass a hand-held device over the head of the fish to determine the presence of a coded wire tag. Some coho salmon will be sampled for scales and genetic tissue. The information will be used to improve management of Kenai River coho salmon.
The Department would appreciate if anglers will allow the coho salmon they have harvested to be sampled.
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Imnaha and Wallowa Rivers Open For Spring Chinook Fishing
July 8, 2008
ENTERPRISE, Ore—The Fourth of July weekend just got better for anglers fishing the Imnaha and Wallowa rivers in northeast Oregon. Beginning Friday, July 4, both rivers will open to hatchery spring chinook fishing through Sunday, July 13.
“It is nice to see our efforts pay off for the sport angler,” said Brad Smith, ODFW fish biologist from the Enterprise district office. “This is the first chinook fishery on the Wallowa River in 30 years, thanks to a successful hatchery program. We’re excited to offer anglers the opportunity to fish for Oregon’s premier sport fish on some of nicest rivers in the state.”
ODFW biologists estimate about 3,681 spring chinook are returning to these rivers this year. Of those, approximately 74 percent are hatchery fish.
Anglers may fish for spring chinook on the Imnaha River from the mouth to Summit Creek Bridge (River Mile 45). On the Wallowa River, anglers may fish for spring chinook from the deadline at the lower end of Minam State Park upstream to the confluence with the Lostine River.
The bag limit for each of these fisheries is one adipose fin-clipped adult chinook and five adipose fin-clipped jacks; 2 daily limits in possession. It is illegal to continue fishing for jack chinook once the adult bag limit is met. All unmarked fish must be carefully released unharmed.
In addition to a valid 2008 Oregon fishing license, anglers must possess a Combined Angling Tag to fish for spring chinook. All other statewide salmon gear restrictions provided in the 2008 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations apply.
Because private lands border much of the area open to sport angling, anglers are reminded to ask permission before entering private property to fish.
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Snagging Prohibited in Saltwater at the Mouth of Auke Creek
July 2, 2008
A small saltwater area in Auke Bay, immediately off the mouth of Auke Creek, will be closed to snagging or attempting to snag fish beginning 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 4, 2008 and remain closed through Sunday, August 31, 2008. Fish hooked elsewhere than in the mouth must be released immediately. The use of weighted hooks and lures, except those lures of standard manufacture, and the use of treble hooks with a gap between the point and shank that is larger than one-half inch, are also prohibited.
These regulations will be in effect inside of a boundary line that extends from the Auke Bay Laboratory’s boat dock south to the two orange floating markers that indicate the location of the University of Alaska’s saltwater intake pipe, and then on to a department regulatory sign located on the Fritz Cove Road shoreline approximately 100 yards south of the mouth of Auke Creek.
This action is necessary to protect adult sockeye salmon returning to the waters of the Auke Lake drainage, which is closed to sockeye salmon harvest. Although sockeye salmon harvest is already prohibited in this saltwater area, many anglers attempting to snag hatchery-released king salmon inadvertently snag sockeye salmon. Harvesting sockeye salmon, snagging or attempting to snag fish in this area is a violation.
For additional information, anglers should call the Division of Sport Fish office in Douglas at (907) 465-4270.
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Blind Slough Closes to Sport Fishing and King Salmon Bag Limits Decrease in Wrangell Narrows
July 2, 2008
Petersburg – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish today announced a closure to sport fishing in Blind Slough due to brood stock concerns at the Crystal Lake Hatchery (CLH). The closure includes all waters of Blind Slough upstream of a line between Blind Point and Anchor Point, from Friday July 4th through Thursday July 31st, 2008. Bag and possession limits for king salmon within the Wrangell Narrows Terminal Harvest Area (THA) are restricted to two king salmon of any size for the same time period. King salmon caught within the THA do not count toward nonresident annual limits.
Conservation measures will be taken in response to weak returns of king salmon in order to achieve hatchery broodstock goals (500 females and 500 males) at CLH necessary to sustain the hatchery release programs for Blind Slough/Wrangell Narrows and in Anita Bay, near Wrangell. A closure to sport fishing in Blind Slough is needed at this time to prevent additional pre-spawning mortalities in Blind Slough during summer periods of low- and warmer water conditions. Harvest restrictions in the marine waters will allow some harvest, yet allow additional escapement into Blind Slough.
Anyone needing further information concerning this announcement should contact the Division of Sport Fish office in Petersburg at (907) 772-5231.
For additional information contact Doug Fleming , Petersburg-Wrangell Area Biologist, (907) 772-5231.
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Situk River King Salmon Sport Fishery to Start With Non Retention For Large Kings in 2008
June 9, 2008
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that any king salmon landed in the Situk River that is 20 inches or greater in length must be immediately released beginning at 12:01a.m., Monday, June 9. The bag limit for king salmon less than 20 inches in length is 10 fish. These regulations will remain in effect until the 2008 large king salmon run strength is determined with more certainty.
The forecast of large king salmon returning to the Situk river in 2008 is 717 large fish (large fish are 3 ocean age and older). The escapement goal range is 450 to 1,050 large king salmon. Based upon this preseason forecast, fishery managers project the actual escapement to be greater than 450 large fish but less than 730 large king salmon. At this escapement projection, the Situk-Ahrnklin Inlet and Lost River King Salmon Fisheries Management Plan directs the department to restrict the sport harvest of king salmon in the Situk River by implementing non retention for large king salmon.
For further information, anglers should call the Division of Sport Fish, at (907) 747-5551.
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Clear-Smithport Lake to Undergo Second Drawdown
June 4, 2008
The second in a series of drawdowns of Clear-Smithport Lake, recommended by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Inland Fisheries Division, will begin on June 16, 2008. Inland Fisheries biologists reported positive results after last summer’s drawdown and a second drawdown should further improve the lake’s ecosystem.
Clear-Smithport Lake, which encompasses 2950 acres in DeSoto Parish, has historically had problems with heavy infestations of water hyacinth, alligator weed and submerged aquatic vegetation. Over the years these plants, along with leaf litter from the cypress canopy, have built up a large amount of organic matter on the lakebed. This organic matter has led to the loss of spawning habitat for desirable sport fish such as largemouth bass, crappie and bream.
Following studies into the habitat problems and the possible solutions, LDWF Inland Fisheries biologists have developed a plan to improve the quality of Clear-Smithport Lake through a series of up to three consecutive drawdowns. The plan is to improve the bottom substrate by allowing the built-up organic matter to dry and decompose. The drawdowns should also reduce the submerged vegetation. The invasive aquatic plant, giant salvinia, has become a major problem in the lake and the drawdown will also help control the salvinia that is stranded and dries and desiccates during the drawdown.
LDWF will continue its efforts to control noxious floating and emergent aquatic vegetation through herbicide applications in conjunction with the drawdown.
The drawdown will run through Jan. 30, 2009, at which time the gates will close and the lake will be allowed to refill with water. It is expected that the lake will drain at a rate of 4-to-6 inches per day. The lake will be drained as completely as possible to allow for maximum benefits from the drawdown.
The effects of the drawdown on the fisheries habitat, fish population and aquatic vegetation coverage will be evaluated to determine if an additional drawdown is needed.
For more information, contact James Seales at 318-371-3050 or jseales [at] wlf [dot] louisiana [dot] gov.
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