Just sent Rick Rand an e-mail....for what good it will do...Sigh
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Just sent Rick Rand an e-mail....for what good it will do...Sigh
Get Strader too talk about it on his show Fish&Wildlife just love ole Jim ;)
[QUOTE=dac244;519993]Get Strader too talk about it on his show Fish&Wildlife just love ole Jim ;)[/QUOTE]
Thats not a bad idea. Also social media can be your friend on some of this stuff to...
I agree we all have to do something. I will be sending Rick Rand an email and a phone call too. I will also put in for Nov. 1st off at work tomorrow so I can attend the meeting in Frankfort. I work for the State of Kentucky so I will talk to some people I know. Everyone needs to try to attend the meeting even if u live in Indiana. It not to far of a drive to Frankfort. Any other ideas I want to help.
Can anyone tell me what time the meeting is with Fish And Wildlife on November 1st ?????:confused:
[QUOTE=kyriverblues;519997]Can anyone tell me what time the meeting is with Fish And Wildlife on November 1st ?????:confused:[/QUOTE]
Submit An Event
[TABLE="width: 90%, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 25%"]Event Name/Title[/TD]
[TD]Committee meetings[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dates[/TD]
[TD]11/1/2013[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Categories[/TD]
[TD]Meetings / Banquets[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Description[/TD]
[TD]Agenda TBA[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Registration Required[/TD]
[TD]No[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]County[/TD]
[TD]Franklin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hours[/TD]
[TD]8:30 AM EST[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Location[/TD]
[TD]Department of Fish & Wildlife Headquarters[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Directions[/TD]
[TD]1 Sportsman's Lane, Frankfort, KY[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Contact Email[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Contact Name[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Contact Phone[/TD]
[TD]502-564-3400[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Web Site Address[/TD]
[TD][URL="http://fw.ky.gov/"]http://fw.ky.gov[/URL][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
No one can legally sell catfish or any fish with just a sportfish license. Therefore, anyone fishing (with only a sportfish license) and selling the catfish they catch to pay lakes is breaking the law. A person must have a valid commercial fishing license to sell fish harvested from public waters where commercial fishing is allowed. A propagation permit is required if selling fish harvested from private water. If you know of any angler selling fish illegally, it is up to you to contact KDFWR. This is one case where anglers can help protect large catfish by simply contacting KDFWR at 1-800-25-ALERT. If this activity is occurring at a large scale, your calls could make a difference.
Also, we are going to be holding a public meeting in late October to discuss data collected during the past year during an elevated attempt to get as much information on Ohio River catfish as we can. We will also have discussions with the public attending the meeting to discuss our recommendations for regulations (if any) and potential measures that could be taken to address both the trophy catfish anglers’ and the commercial fishermen’s concerns. We have not set a firm date, but will announce one within the week.
...................
The information below describes KDFWR effort to address this issue:
SUBJECT: Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources -Trophy Catfish Issue
[B]Background[/B]: The Department has received requests during the last 5-6 years to implement harvest restrictions on catfish, particularly the larger (trophy size) fish. There have been other states that have implemented regulations to limit the catfish harvest to 1 fish > 34 (or 35) inches in length. There are three species of catfish in Kentucky, channel, blue, and flathead; however, only blue and flathead catfish grow into a trophy status. Since this issue emerged, the Department has initiated surveys on the Ohio River to document the status of the catfish populations.
The issue in Kentucky has focused primarily on the Ohio River where there is a viable commercial fishery for the harvest of catfish. Previously, the commercial catfish harvest was primarily for smaller catfish to be strictly utilized as a food fish, and there was no market for the larger catfish. Now the commercial market has changed, and there is a market for trophy-sized catfish to stock into commercial pay lakes and a limited foreign food market. The Ohio River is an inter-jurisdictional water resource that is shared by Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Both Illinois and Indiana have commercial fisheries on the Ohio River.
In July 2012, this issue was an agenda item for discussion at the Fisheries Committee Meeting of the Fish & Wildlife Commission. Some representatives of both sport and commercial anglers attended this meeting and made position statements. Commercial anglers were opposed to any regulation that would impact their revenue. Tournament catfish anglers felt their catch of trophy-sized catfish had declined, and catfish needed harvest protection for sport fish management. Some recreational anglers were opposed to any new restriction and claimed the catfish populations are better than previous conditions in the 70’s and 80’s. The Commission tabled the issue and requested the Fisheries Division continue research activities, conduct surveys, and provide them with a status report at the November 2013 meeting.
[B]The following is a timeline of activities that will be performed prior to this meeting:[/B]
[B][U]Item 1[/U][/B]- Conduct a recreational angler attitude survey to determine attitudes regarding the use of more restrictive limits on catfish species in KY. This will be a random mail survey of resident anglers to obtain a sample size sufficient to target catfish anglers.
- Completed questionnaires will be received by August and data compiled in Fall 2013.
[B][U]Item 2[/U][/B]- A letter has been sent to all commercial anglers on the Ohio River requesting permission to inspect the size distribution of their catfish harvest. To date, a major catfish harvester has agreed to these conditions and other anglers are still being solicited.
- The size distribution of this commercial harvest will be compiled in the Fall 2013 and compared to other sampling methods.
[B][U]Item 3[/U][/B]- Random visits will be made to commercial fish markets to obtain size distribution of their available catfish.
- The size distribution of this commercial harvest will be compiled in the Fall 2013 and compared to other sampling methods.
[B][U]Item 4[/U][/B]- Approximately 7-8 catfish tournaments on the Ohio River have been identified and Fisheries personnel will be present to document their harvest and size distribution.
- Total tournament size distribution will be compiled in the Fall 2013 and compared to other sampling methods.
[B][U]Item 5[/U][/B]- A standardized sampling protocol for catfish has been established, and this methodology will be utilized on 5 different sections of the Ohio River:
One lower river by Illinois Dept of Natural Resources,
One mid-river by Indiana Dept of Natural Resources,
Two mid-upper river by KY Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and
One in WV by WV Dept of Natural Resources.
The WV sample is in a river section without commercial fishing; therefore, these data will be further compared to sections with commercial fishing.
- Sampling will occur May-July and data will be compiled in the Fall 2013 and compared to other sampling methods.
[B][U]Item 6[/U][/B]- Develop a short list of stakeholders (commercial, tournament, & other sport anglers) and invite them to a meeting to share sampling results. Also, there will be a facilitated discussion to determine if there is any common ground or compromise.
- This meeting is planned for October 2013.
[B][U]Item 7[/U][/B]- All data/recommendations will be presented at the Fisheries Committee of the F&W Commission. Any proposed regulatory change will have to be referred to the full Commission meeting in December 2013.
- This meeting is scheduled for [URL="http://www.fishin.com/forums2/x-apple-data-detectors://16"]November 1, 2013[/URL].
[B][U]Item 8[/U][/B]- The Department will report all findings at the Interim Joint Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee meeting.
- The target date is their November meeting, and the date has not been established.
Ron Brooks
Fisheries Division Director
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
#1 Sportsman's Lane
[QUOTE=mhall;519986]Sickening.......I am going to try my best to make that meeting if work will allow and I will send my two cents via e-mail and maybe even a written letter as well. Chuck, what was I saying last Friday evening, Scott said it almost verbatim. The KDFW DO NOT think there is a number problem therefore they aren't listening. Size doesn't matter to them, quantity does and I'm not even sure that matters that much anymore either.
I wonder if Peter Maloney would be interested in us representing this website as a group? Maybe someone from the department can come on here and listen to concerns, we could act as a group, I'm thinking outloud guys......
INPUT please??[/QUOTE]
I believe representing the website as a group is a great idea. I don't fish the Ohio often but I'm all about conserving our natural resources I'm going to school to be a warden as its something ive always been passionate about and its time something gets done or else the fishery may never make a comeback. Only thing of concern would be if the kdfwr takes the website seriously.
I went to a seminar a while back at the boat show at the Ky Fairgrounds. There was a guide there giving a seminar from the Mississippi River. He billed the seminar "Katfish Kollege". How could you pass that up!
He said a 50 pound blue cat would be 40 years old. If he was correct (maybe he exaggerated to make his point) that takes an awfully long time to replace. He was preaching conservation.
Here is a study from another state regarding weight/inches of blues.
[URL]http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishing/research/bluecatfishmanagementresearch.pdf[/URL]
There is another file attached if your browser cannot read the one at the link.
The growing season is longer on Oklahoma I would think.
Mr. Brooks - I appreciate you engaging with the public and I wish the Dept would chime in more often.
We eagerly await to hear the results from the study. I can let you know the angling catfisherman in this state will be extremely disappointed if a compromise consists of liberal regulations (4 over 40 and unlimited under).
This is a summary of a study done by KY itself, taken directly from their fw.ky.gov here's the summary from that study, which used the fish from the Ohio river in Kentucky. I think it was performed in 2004 and published in 2007.
The oldest male flathead catfish collected to date was a31-year-old fish that measured 41 inches and weighed approximately 38 pounds while the oldest female flathead collected was 21 years of age, measured 33 inches and weighed approximately 18 pounds.
Similar differences in growth rates for male and female blue catfish are also being observed in the Ohio River. By age 15, male blue catfish (36 inches) begin to outgrow female blue catfish (29 inches). The largest female blue cat collected was 24 years old, measured 33 inches and weighed nearly 15 pounds compared to a 24 year old male that measured 45 inches and
weighed just over 50 pounds.
Flathead
male 31 y/o = measured 41" and weighed only 38 lbs...... a female flathead 21 y/o measured 33" and weighed only 18 lbs!
bluecat
female 24 y/o measured 33" and weighed only 15 lbs..... a 24 year old male measuring 45 " weighed only 50.
Plenty of studies out there support a slow growth rate.
Mr. Brooks, I feel like the best way to catch these people that do not have the lisence and that are selling these fish is to have the pay lake owners fill out some sort of a forum or paper that shows the lisence number the amount and sizes of the fish. These pay lakes need to have a limit on how many fish they can buy and of what species because clearly a blue cat will not thrive in these environments because of the lack of flowing water. I know this probably won't change your thought but I hope it will. I hope to be able to fish the rivers and lakes of Kentucky when I'm old. I'm not one to often fish the river but I feel like its only right to keep the lakes and rivers in balance. I would also like you to look at the conversations on here about the dead fish in the river because of the dams. I was told there were many dead fish from a variety of species in the water. Thank you very much, drew
[QUOTE=KDFWR Fisheries;520000]No one can legally sell catfish or any fish with just a sportfish license. Therefore, anyone fishing (with only a sportfish license) and selling the catfish they catch to pay lakes is breaking the law. A person must have a valid commercial fishing license to sell fish harvested from public waters where commercial fishing is allowed. A propagation permit is required if selling fish harvested from private water. If you know of any angler selling fish illegally, it is up to you to contact KDFWR. This is one case where anglers can help protect large catfish by simply contacting KDFWR at 1-800-25-ALERT. If this activity is occurring at a large scale, your calls could make a difference.
Ron Brooks
Fisheries Division Director
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
#1 Sportsman's Lane[/QUOTE]
I very much respect your answer, but the enforcement aspect of this would be almost impossible.
Hypothetical: I tell a person at the launch about my great success that day and that I'm going to sell my catch for big bucks to "Paylake Ripoff". Unless an enforcement person sees me sell that catch, there is no crime.
But if someone ever told me that on the river, I'd be darn sure to take down hull numbers and/or license plate tags and report them so the river LEOs could keep an eye on them.
I've got INpoacher and KYpoacher numbers on my cell phone.