Sturgeon netting has become very profitable. So, market hunters had nets strung across the New Boston pool completely covering the areas sport fishers have fished in the fall for generations. You’d have had to seen the amount of nets to have believed it. Two or three crews of out of state commercial netters practically blocked the river for sport fishing. Below is an explanation of the new rules from the IDNR.
Bass fishing probably won’t be hurt as much as walleye and sauger – yet anyway.
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Mr. Toland
I did hear from one other angler who said you had emailed him. I also talked with a local commercial fisher that confirmed what you said about the high number of nets in the 17 tailwater. Internally there has been a lot of communication going back and forth between the biologist and the upper chain of command. So I want to assure you that this issue has not been dropped. We are attempting to get some addition information from Illinois about there commercial harvest and will be analyzing that when it is available hopefully by mid January.
To answer your question if Ill and Iowa share regulations and license fees being the same. In general the two states try to keep the regulations the same both for commercial fishers and sport anglers. We have joint meeting between the two states and try to come to agreement
on regulations that will be used. However, it is not always possible
to do this. In the case of sturgeon commercial regulations what Iowa has in place.
1. Harvest slot from 27 to 32 inches
2. Harvest season from Oct. 15 to May 15
was what was agreed to during our meeting with Ill. We were able to get these regulations in place. Illinois has not because of opposition by the commercial fishers association in Ill. Currently Ill does not have a season or harvest slot for sturgeon. The commercial fishers like the sport angler are required to follow the more restrictive regulation so both resident and non resident commercial anglers must follow Iowa’s rules when fishing in Iowa water.
Ill is currently working on a package that has the following regulations.
1. Harvest slot from 24 to 32 inches
2. Harvest season from Oct. 1 to May 31
3 roe harvester license and roe buyer license.
As far as economics go they play very little part in regulator decisions. We first look at the need of the resource and then the impacts to the fishers. We try to take into account as may factors as possible but it can get troublesome when yo attempt to figure all of the economic, social, and even political consequences of a regulation. As far as the out of stater versus the resident I would say we lean toward the residents when it comes down to a call between them.
I doubt that the resource could sustain 20 additional commercial anglers in Louisa and Muscatine counties
Hopefully I addressed your concerns if not pleas contact me again.
