Why You Should Get Involved in Fisheries Management & Ecology

A lot of work goes into managing fisheries and the environment. It's important for us all to get involved so we have clean water and lots of fish to catch.

Fisheries management and ecology requires a team approach from many different players. Sure you can stock a lot of fish in a lake, river, stream, or ocean but what do you do when they're all caught? Managing fisheries is important for the long haul, and there is no more important time for the conservation of fish resources than now.

Sport Fish Restoration Program

Ten percent of funds originating from sales on selected tackle as well as taxes on motorboat fuel is used for fisheries management, fish stocking, and for improving water quality and habitat. Purchases that you make revert back to our fish and our watersheds. Read more about the benefits of the Sport Fish Restoration Program.

Catch and Release combined with Pack Out What Your Packed In

Each of us can have a positive impact on fisheries management and ecology by releasing fish. Humping out trash whether or not it's ours is always good too. Every little bit helps keeping our fish stocks and our environment healthy.

Managing Fisheries

Fish conservation for striped bass along the Eastern Seaboard includes work between NOAA, the Department of Marine Fisheries and each of the individual states. These three groups consult with each other and weigh in with regards to daily recreational quotas, length limits, slot limits and if there will be a commercial fishery. It's quite a juggling act to arrive at regulation that works for everyone but these groups work diligently to make a positive impact.

Conservation of Fish Resources

While Maine's Downeast Salmon Federation raises wild Atlantic salmon they work on more than just fish stocking. Currently the group is involved with FERC with regards to dam relicensing. Part of sustainable fisheries management includes opening closed waterways to allow for fish passage to spawning grounds. Atlantic salmon will benefit but so will forage and game fish like menhaden, sea run brook trout, and shad.

These days it's essential that we work together and play an active part in fisheries management and ecology. There are plenty of things to do. For example, you can check these great catch and release tips to
get involved, for no one benefits more than we do!

Tom Keer

Tom Keer is an award-winning writer who lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He is a columnist for the Upland Almanac, a Contributing Writer for Covey Rise magazine, a Contributing Editor for both Fly Rod and Reel and Fly Fish America, and a blogger for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s Take Me Fishing program. Keer writes regularly for over a dozen outdoor magazines on topics related to fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor pursuits. When they are not fishing, Keer and his family hunt upland birds over their three English setters. His first book, a Fly Fishers Guide to the New England Coast was released in January 2011. Visit him at www.tomkeer.com or at www.thekeergroup.com.