What can one individual do – commercial netting

I’ve sent this to the Iowa DNR. Looks like Iowa and Illinois have taken up state sponsored market hunting for a select few. This isn’t just affecting the targeted sturgeon – it’s affecting every fish that migrates. Unless you’ve seen the amount of nets below the dams this last fall you cannot appreciate the seriousness of this situation. Out of state market hunters (from as far away as Arkansas) are paying a couple hundred dollars for a commercial license. They can have up to 5 people working under their license. I am dumbfounded that the tree huggers running the IDNR are allowing this.

Sirs,

Other than being confrontational (as happened at the Muscatine dam and surely is going to happen at the New Boston dam) what can any one individual do to get this commercial rape of a public resource stopped on the Mississippi River?

I understand that the commercial crews are now placing their nets again (as per the email I just forwarded you). With no barge traffic they will have the channel completely covered.

Don’t you feel that your efforts to improve the sport fishing are all for naught now? I am at a total loss as to how the state can endorse this practice of allowing a very few individuals to control the river for personal profit. There is simply no way I can rationalize the allowing of this practice. It is perfectly diametrical of all conservation efforts imaginable.

Would writing my legislator help? Who pays for the commercial harvesters lobbying efforts? Whom do they lobby to? How can I get the same consideration? Is enforcement being done? All regulations complied with? How many man hours have been spent on enforcement? Who does the enforcement? Is enforcement done from the water or the ramp? Are time periods between regulated net checking times being monitored? How much does the state gain from commercial licenses as opposed to sport license fees? How many commercial licenses can the river support? These are not rhetorical questions – I would really appreciate specific answers.

Hmmm…another reason to feel lucky with our fishery/laws.

Neil, you meantioned sturgeon. Is that what’s being targeted? Is there a weight limit. I guess I’m surprised that they allow out state commercial fishing?

Certainly brings up many questions.

From what I’ve seen on P 4, they stay with the nets until they are pulled out…I would guess these are called seine nets. Are they useing the same down there?

Neil–read with great intrest your letter to the DNR–It is truly hard to believe this is allowed particularly if they are useing gill nets–I have never seen one used but I would think it would be hard to release a walleye ,bass,northern with out injury to them if in fact they are releaseing them, Would surely like to see the dnrs response to your question. Keep after them and good luck–gene shay (snagged)

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Neil, you meantioned sturgeon. Is that what’s being targeted? Is there a weight limit. I guess I’m surprised that they allow out state commercial fishing?

Certainly brings up many questions.

From what I’ve seen on P 4, they stay with the nets until they are pulled out…I would guess these are called seine nets. Are they useing the same down there?

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Sturgeon are being targeted for roe. The caviar market has apparently gone through the ceiling due to over harvesting in Europe. The Iowa Conservationist Magazine had an article last fall about the money to be made from this harvest. Below are the regulations from the DNR’s site:

Sturgeon Regulations:
The minimum fork length for shovelnose sturgeon is 27 inches. No shovelnose sturgeon longer than 34 inches fork
length may be harvested from waters of the Mississippi River bordering Wisconsin. Shovelnose sturgeon is closed to
harvesting from May 16 – Oct 14. Shovelnose sturgeon must remain intact until the fish reaches the final processing
facility or business. For the purposes of this section, final processing facility does not include vessels or vehicles.

And, below are the regulations for checking nets:
Gear Attendance:
The licensee or a designated operator must be present when lifting commercial gear. All commercial gear shall be lifted
and emptied of catch at the following time intervals, except during periods of inclement weather. Inclement weather is
defined as that threatening to life, health or safety.
a. Constant attendance by the licensee or a designated operator of seines, trammel nets and gill nets is required
when the gear is fished by driving, dive-seining, seining, floating or drifting methods.
b. Hoop nets shall be attended at least once every 96 hours and slat nets at least once every 48 hours during open
water conditions. Hoop nets shall be attended at least once every 20 days during the ice cover conditions.
c. Trap nets and trotlines shall be attended at least once every 24 hours.
d. Gill nets and trammel nets shall be attended at least once every 24 hours during open water conditions, and at
least once every 96 hours during ice cover conditions.

As you can see, the sportfish have plenty of time to become stressed out and die between checking intervals.

All the regulations can be found at:
http://www.iowadnr.com/cs/files/542-0255.pdf

I’ve been writing letters since last fall but I have absolutely no influence over anyone. Policy is dictated by a select few unelected state officials of which the tax payers have no say – no say as to whom is appointed and no say as to what regulations are put in place. This is just a total disgrace. The DNR will check your boat for any possible violation, can ruin your life if you drink a beer on the water, will fine you if you forget your fishing license, will fine you if miscounted and tossed an extra crappie in your live well or mis-measured a fish by an eighth of an inch yet they sponsor and endorse gill netting, hoop netting, and trammel netting of migratory fish.

I’ve fished and hunted since I could walk. Obeyed every rule to a fault. With the new commercial regulations it’s pretty much been a waste of effort. The river has been getting better and better the last several years – both in ‘cleaning itself up’ and in the fish populations. In just a few years the nets placed during the spawning cycles will have to have a terrible effect on everyone’s efforts towards improvement.

What good is a slot limit to a gill netter?

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Neil–read with great intrest your letter to the DNR–It is truly hard to believe this is allowed particularly if they are useing gill nets–I have never seen one used but I would think it would be hard to release a walleye ,bass,northern with out injury to them if in fact they are releaseing them, Would surely like to see the dnrs response to your question. Keep after them and good luck–gene shay (snagged)

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Hi Neil. That is a frustrating situation for sure. May I suggest contacting a media source with this info? It is possible that a newspaper or TV station would find an interest in this and possibly make a story out of it. If you can, get as much footage or pictures of the netting by the dam. They might eat that stuff up. Just a thought…

Are we talkin shovelnose roe??? I wasnt aware of a demand…

From 2003 Re shovelnose:

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All Things Considered, October 6, 2003 · The rising price and shaky supply of European caviar in recent years has created a boom in demand for caviar produced in the United States. Conservation groups and fisheries experts worry that over-fishing could ravage the U.S. sturgeon population. NPR’s Greg Allen reports.

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Sure, but I thought most caviar was from Belugas and Lakes??

Here’s a very good read….and covers the 90% decline in Baluga Sturgeon…

One a side note…check out the caviar in the ads on the right side…Bowfin???

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060304/food.asp

Thanks very kewl read…
Always thought the shovelnose was worth nothing more than a fight and a picture

Those little guys don’t have much of a fight…compared to their cousin the Lake Sturgeon. I received one smoked last fall as gift…now I was just reading how contaminated they are with DDT and a bunch of other…not so good stuff.

Hey Ted?

When did this law get passed and is there any weights on how much was harvested?

Maybe someone could explain to me how a game fish survives in a gill net for those times?

The only net I’ve used is a Fabril and I use it to get my Johnsonville brats.

Just additional information but below is a reply I got from a gentleman with the Iowa Fisheries dept last fall. It wasn’t good news – Illinois is pressing for even less stringent regulations for market hunters. I’ve got tons of correspondence regarding this subject but the news has gotten continually worse with each mailing. Seems the sport fishers are taking a back seat to the market hunters.

“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.”

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One a side note…check out the caviar in the ads on the right side…Bowfin???

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060304/food.asp

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The prices listed on the links from this URL certainly show why there’s so many nets in the river this last several months. Some of the guys fishing down here have snaged paddlefish and remarked on how puckered and mis-shaped their anal opening (how’s that for polite terminology) is. Perhaps they are being ‘milked’ before being returned to the river. Of course there is no way of knowing since I have never seen any enforcement on the river except during the summer season.

If the DNR wanted, at the very least they could issue tickets for the second sentence in number 4 of “Unlawfull methods” of the regulations.