05-29-2004, 03:33 AM
[size 4]Paddlefish Snagging Season Closes After May 28
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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department announced today that the state's paddlefish snagging season will close effective 10 p.m. Central Time, May 28, 2004, to protect the population level of the fish. This includes closure of all snagging, including days (Mondays and Tuesdays) set aside for "snag and release."
The 2004 fishing proclamation allows for the director of the game and fish department to close the snagging season, with a 60-hour public notice, if it appears more than 1,000 paddlefish will be harvested. If the season had remained open through May 31, the harvest cap of 1,000 fish may have been exceeded substantially, putting additional pressure on the existing population. The Sakakawea-Yellowstone stock of paddlefish has shown a decline since the 1970s.
Once again, low Missouri and Yellowstone River flows in May have kept the fish in North Dakota and have made them extremely vulnerable to harvest. The snagging season normally runs through May 31. The season was also shortened in 2001 and 2002 due to high harvest of paddlefish.
Paddlefish snagging is a unique opportunity in North Dakota and continues to increase in popularity in recent years. Most participants want to see it continue and support the early closure in order to have future opportunity to participate in this activity, said Terry Steinwand, chief of the fisheries division.
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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department announced today that the state's paddlefish snagging season will close effective 10 p.m. Central Time, May 28, 2004, to protect the population level of the fish. This includes closure of all snagging, including days (Mondays and Tuesdays) set aside for "snag and release."
The 2004 fishing proclamation allows for the director of the game and fish department to close the snagging season, with a 60-hour public notice, if it appears more than 1,000 paddlefish will be harvested. If the season had remained open through May 31, the harvest cap of 1,000 fish may have been exceeded substantially, putting additional pressure on the existing population. The Sakakawea-Yellowstone stock of paddlefish has shown a decline since the 1970s.
Once again, low Missouri and Yellowstone River flows in May have kept the fish in North Dakota and have made them extremely vulnerable to harvest. The snagging season normally runs through May 31. The season was also shortened in 2001 and 2002 due to high harvest of paddlefish.
Paddlefish snagging is a unique opportunity in North Dakota and continues to increase in popularity in recent years. Most participants want to see it continue and support the early closure in order to have future opportunity to participate in this activity, said Terry Steinwand, chief of the fisheries division.
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