3 Ways to Help with Local Fisheries Management

Thanks to its vast freshwater and saltwater resources, there are many diverse fisheries in the United States. Sustainable fisheries management practices vary greatly depending on the species, goals, and aquatic system variables such as watershed size and type, fertility, depth, etc. Fisheries biologists rely on scientific sampling methods for data collection which provides information about fish population quantities and qualities to continue to make data-driven fisheries management decisions not only to support existing fisheries but also to allow for what the fishery may become in the future.

Surveys

If you are wondering how to participate in fisheries management, there are several methods for angler participation in fisheries policy. Creel surveys are a common way anglers can contribute to local fisheries management. Through such means as aerial observations, personal interviews, or email, surveys attempt to gather information such as catch per unit effort, targeted species, and methods used. This information is then incorporated into the biologists’ management plan because it may highlight areas of needed local habitat restoration or even local fisheries education.

Catch and Release

The recreational anglers' role in conservation often is exhibited by the willingness to practice catch and release. A successful, survivable release is aided by such factors as hook type (perhaps barbless or circle), unhooking skill and speed, keeping hands wet, and minimizing fish time out of water. Under extremely stressful conditions, another more drastic method how to participate in fisheries management is to temporarily stop fishing. Low water and/or elevated temperatures can stress more sensitive fish such as trout and striped bass to the point that responsible anglers may take local fisheries management initiatives and simply wait for weather and water conditions to improve before fishing.

Regulations

If harvesting fish, it is important to adhere to the regulations of your state. These figures vary from year to year, and even between bodies of water. Special regulation areas may have “slot limits” where only a number of certain sizes are harvestable to ensure large breeding fish remain. Some fisheries regulations may even stress the removal of certain fish such as invasive snakehead or address other issues such as preventing the spread of aquatic vegetation or releasing live bait.

Local fisheries management can be a complicated task because it is impossible to keep all anglers happy. For example, some anglers always want to be able to catch something, while others are only satisfied with larger sizes of specific species. Not all anglers can have everything in the same body of water. For example, one local lake was originally stocked with walleye. However, walleye reproduction and stocking could not keep up with harvest. Plus, the rapid growth of aquatic vegetation from fertilizer runoff pushed this lake to evolve into a good bass and sunfish fishery, even though walleye anglers became increasingly disappointed. By following various fisheries advocacy groups in social media and local newspapers and magazines, you may be able to contribute to your local fisheries conservation.