Gill nets on reefs --

[Links r Us]

Fishermen who encounter gill net buoys on reefs should take pains to avoid the areas. These are not poachers’ nets, but rather test-nets set by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Commercial gill nets have been banned in Ohio lakewaters for 20 years.

Jeff Tyson, supervisor of the division’s Lake Erie Fisheries Research Station at Sandusky, said that the division this spring is beginning a multi-year project in cooperation with researchers at Ohio State University. The aim is to sample adult spawning walleye to assess their eggs and hatching characteristics.


http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040309/COLUMNIST22/103090165

[Lunker]

Coouldnt a live fish net trap work better? Why gill nets that kill everything they touch????!?!?

[Toolman]

Lunker,

I attended a presentation by a member of the ODNR Sandusky Fisheries unit (can't remember his name:( ) who summed it up quite well. He said (not a direct quote) that sometimes you have to sacrifie a few for the overall good. The numbers of fish that they harvest in the test nets are miniscule to both the overall numbers of fish in the lake, and to the number of fish harvested each year by all other means (including gill netting across the border). They conduct crucial studies on the fish they capture, which helps in the overall management of the fishery.

He also explained that live traps are both too costly and too dificult to manage to be effective for the program.

Tim

[Lunker]

Wow. Very interesting.