A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 3, 2008
3. Watersheds
New rules catch anglers of all ages; Those who fish must record their take of certain species to get a better count
Sacramento
By M.S. Enkoji, staff writer
As a budding fisherman before he was even kindergarten age, Guillaume Nash had a hard time understanding why his dad would let go of the nice little striped bass he just caught.
"We only take what we can eat," his father told him.
Now 5 years old, the
Under new state regulations, Guillaume – who won't need a fishing license for another 11 years – will have to record on a card certain types of fish he catches and turn the card in to the state Department of Fish and Game, just like his dad.
"I'm fine with that," said his father, Jeff Nash.
It's a tad more work, but Nash supports accurate monitoring of the fishery, which the new requirements are expected to improve.
His son, who has already accompanied him on ocean fishing trips, will fill out his cards himself as soon as he's old enough, said Nash, a 34-year-old systems engineer for IBM.
Fish and Game already requires licensed anglers to record each catch of certain species on a card that is returned at the end of the year.
This year, the department is extending the requirement to anyone who fishes abalone, steelhead, lobster and, in the Klamath watershed, salmon. Sturgeon reporting for all anglers began in 2007.
That would include minors, those who fish off a pier without a license and those who fish on the two annual days the department allows anyone to fish without a license.
Report cards for abalone and sturgeon, both highly susceptible to the black market, will come with paper tags that must be attached to the catches. The abalone limit is three a day and 24 a year. The sturgeon limit is one a day and three per year.
Universal reporting will give a more accurate picture of the species population, said Marci Yaremko, a senior biologist with Fish and Game.
Lobster, caught mostly south of
"We have very little info on what the recreational harvest has been," she said. "We suspect that it's increased."
The tags and report cards should also close some loopholes that bedevil wardens trying to enforce limits on highly prized catches, such as abalone, shelled mollusks that bring $100 each on the black market, Yaremko said.
Trying to verify the daily catch among a group of anglers could be tricky, she said.
"You have a guy bringing his four kids, one in a stroller, those kids didn't catch those," Yaremko said.
Sep Hendrickson, who hosts the California Sportsman, a talk show at 6 to 8 a.m. Saturdays on KHTK (1140 AM), plans to discuss the new changes this week with Fish and Game representatives.
"I don't think the true sportsman will have a problem with it at all," Hendrickson said. "They're doing it as an effort to keep people as honest as they can and to help forecast what's going with the fisheries."
Getting children involved in rules and regulations is not a bad thing, Hendrickson said. "A kid is only as good as the parent. I hope it helps them appreciate what they have."
Others might balk at the added cost, which varies depending on the catch, but the alternative could be more dire, said Jim Jones, a
"With all the threats that we impose on fisheries that are human-caused, we need for our youngsters as well as oldsters to really understand the factors that impact fishing," he said. "You can't always assume that you'll cast out a line and a magnificent fish will always bite." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/605906.html
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