August 3, 2013 at 2:29 pm
[caption id="attachment_382" align="alignleft" width="225"]
Biologist Jim Pellerin shows a lake trout caught while studying a southern Maine pond.[/caption]
For years conservationists everywhere have been preaching conservative angling practices, such as catch and release, in an effort to safeguard our fishing future. It’s a fine practice in many cases, but sometimes, catch and release may actually do more harm than good to a favorite fishery.
In a state renowned for its wildlife and fish, it’s typical that folks living here and passing through want to see lots of fish and lots of wildlife. But lots of critters isn’t the only thing desired. They want to see big fish and big wildlife. Unfortunately, wild lands and waters don’t work that way. Nature provides for its finned and furry friends, but certain habitats can only produce so much food. That food may be divided up a couple of different ways. It can either feed a large group of smaller critters, or a small group of larger critters, but that same amount of food cannot feed a large group of large critters. Now take that same amount of food and the same group of society-desired critters and factor in competition, other species of animals that eat the same food our original group eats. Now there is even less to go around. The more individuals feeding in the same forage area, the less growth each of those individuals will gain, due to the need to share the food with the others.
Maine is well-known for its landlocked salmon fishery, but on some waters, anglers have been disappointed, claiming that the size of the fish they are catching is decreasing. Commonly, these same anglers will report catching lots of fish, just nothing ‘big’. Most often this is due to one of a handful of things: either the population is too large for the food source to support, or
[caption id="attachment_383" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Successful anglers on Sebago show a lake trout (left) and landlocked salmon (right). These two species often compete for food in Maine waters. (Photo courtesy: Greg Massey)[/caption]
the population of a fish competing with that fish for food is too large, and the food can’t support both populations. Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’ve been noticing such a trend in your favorite fishing hole? Don’t be discouraged, the declining size of your favorite sport fish can be halted, and maybe even reversed, but we need your help.
How can you help? Fry up a fish! How do you know if this situation applies to you? Check the fishing regulations on your favorite pond or river. If the bag limit of a certain species is high, and the length limit is low, that likely means that population is too large, and the bag limit is high in hopes that anglers will help cut the population down to a manageable size. By keeping the smaller fish (within legal size and bag limits), you are essentially providing more food for your favorite sport fish to grow on, while feeding yourself at the same time! Also, keep in mind that like mammals, smaller fish tend to taste better than bigger fish, within the same species. So, next time you fish a water with, for example, an S-27 designation: daily bag limit on togue, 6 fish, minimum length limit 14 inches and 1 may exceed 23 inches, keep those 14 or 15 inchers. They will taste sweeter than the big ones, and the impact you make on the fishery will be pretty sweet too!
Biologist Jim Pellerin shows a lake trout caught while studying a southern Maine pond.[/caption]
For years conservationists everywhere have been preaching conservative angling practices, such as catch and release, in an effort to safeguard our fishing future. It’s a fine practice in many cases, but sometimes, catch and release may actually do more harm than good to a favorite fishery.
In a state renowned for its wildlife and fish, it’s typical that folks living here and passing through want to see lots of fish and lots of wildlife. But lots of critters isn’t the only thing desired. They want to see big fish and big wildlife. Unfortunately, wild lands and waters don’t work that way. Nature provides for its finned and furry friends, but certain habitats can only produce so much food. That food may be divided up a couple of different ways. It can either feed a large group of smaller critters, or a small group of larger critters, but that same amount of food cannot feed a large group of large critters. Now take that same amount of food and the same group of society-desired critters and factor in competition, other species of animals that eat the same food our original group eats. Now there is even less to go around. The more individuals feeding in the same forage area, the less growth each of those individuals will gain, due to the need to share the food with the others.
Maine is well-known for its landlocked salmon fishery, but on some waters, anglers have been disappointed, claiming that the size of the fish they are catching is decreasing. Commonly, these same anglers will report catching lots of fish, just nothing ‘big’. Most often this is due to one of a handful of things: either the population is too large for the food source to support, or
[caption id="attachment_383" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Successful anglers on Sebago show a lake trout (left) and landlocked salmon (right). These two species often compete for food in Maine waters. (Photo courtesy: Greg Massey)[/caption]
the population of a fish competing with that fish for food is too large, and the food can’t support both populations. Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’ve been noticing such a trend in your favorite fishing hole? Don’t be discouraged, the declining size of your favorite sport fish can be halted, and maybe even reversed, but we need your help.
How can you help? Fry up a fish! How do you know if this situation applies to you? Check the fishing regulations on your favorite pond or river. If the bag limit of a certain species is high, and the length limit is low, that likely means that population is too large, and the bag limit is high in hopes that anglers will help cut the population down to a manageable size. By keeping the smaller fish (within legal size and bag limits), you are essentially providing more food for your favorite sport fish to grow on, while feeding yourself at the same time! Also, keep in mind that like mammals, smaller fish tend to taste better than bigger fish, within the same species. So, next time you fish a water with, for example, an S-27 designation: daily bag limit on togue, 6 fish, minimum length limit 14 inches and 1 may exceed 23 inches, keep those 14 or 15 inchers. They will taste sweeter than the big ones, and the impact you make on the fishery will be pretty sweet too!Categories