NEW BAITFISH GUIDEBOOK ANNOUNCED

WATERBURY, VT - A new guidebook, "Baitfish of Vermont," is being released by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.

The new 38-page guidebook was produced to help baitfish dealers and anglers identify the species of baitfish that are legal to use for fishing in Vermont. A new regulation, developed in 2003 in consultation with several Vermont baitfish dealers, was passed which places controls on the importation and use of baitfish to help prevent the introduction and spread of harmful exotic species.

"With the new baitfish regulation, we knew we needed to better inform people about what baitfish are legal to use for fishing in Vermont," said Shawn Good, the state fisheries biologist who led the Fish & Wildlife Department's effort to put the book together. "Minnows aren't the easiest fish to identify, so we decided to do an identification guide for the minnows allowed as bait in Vermont."

Sixteen species of approved baitfish are described in the book, including color photos and key identifying features.

In addition to the approved list of minnow species, the booklet contains important information on non-native invasive fish species. Two examples of exotic nuisance species that became established in Vermont in the 1990s are the alewife and the rudd. Alewives are now found in Lake St. Catherine and Lake Champlain. The rudd, an aggressive European cousin of the golden shiner, is established in Lake Hortonia, Keeler Bay at Lake Champlain, and Dewey's Mill Pond in Quechee.

"I want to thank the Vermont bait dealers and anglers who helped support passage of the baitfish regulation and production of this identification guide," said Good. "As with many conservation efforts of the past, the people who use and enjoy fish and wildlife resources are often the first to help protect them."

Production of "Baitfish of Vermont" was funded, in part by a federal State Wildlife Grant and the Lake Champlain Basin Program. The guidebook will be distributed soon to Vermont license agents, bait dealers and to individuals upon request.

Vermont's baitfish rules are on pages 27 and 28 of the "2005 Digest of Hunting, Fishing & Trapping Laws."
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Caption for attached photo: "Baitfish of Vermont," a new guidebook to help anglers and bait dealers identify approved baitfish is being distributed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.


For Further Information please contact: Shawn Good at 802-786-3863 or email to shawn.good@anr.state.vt.us