FISH REGULATION CHANGES PROPOSED

WATERBURY, VT  Vermonts fishing regulations are being updated to help make them easier to understand.

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and Board are working together to improve Vermonts fishing rules. Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche assigned a team of fisheries biologists, state game wardens and fishing enthusiasts to review current Vermont fishing regulations and look for regulations that could be simplified, standardized and consolidated. The team proposed a 27-page package of regulation modifications to begin the process, and the Board gave it a first vote of approval on February 16.

The review process examined fishing regulations at three levels,said Fisheries Biologist Bernie Pientka.

First, we needed to make minor housekeeping changes such as updates to 911 road names, standard formatting of stream locations and site descriptions,

Then we evaluated regulations that may be simplified. For example, the proposal suggests fixed season ending dates, so trout season would end on October 31 instead of the last Sunday in October. Regulations were also updated by adding or removing water bodies where management practices may have changed.

The last approach, said Pientka, was an overall evaluation of Vermonts fishing regulations to determine if some could be combined. For example, in some Vermont waters you are able to use two baited hooks or lures, but in others only one baited hook or lure may be used. Consolidating these into a statewide standard of two baited hooks or lures would help reduce confusion.

This review is a first step in improving fishing rules in Vermont. The 27-page package can be found on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Departments website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) in the Law Enforcement section.

These are some of the major changes:

·       No live transport of fish caught (with some exceptions for live bait and tournaments)
·       Standardizing number of baited hooks, flies and lures
·       Improved definition of ice fishing
·       Requiring names on minnow traps
·       Removing the 5 lb. weight limit in the trout daily limit
·       Year round open season for rainbow smelt on inland waters
·       Seasons to have a fixed ending date
·       Standardizing dates on some spawning waters closures
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board will announce and hold public hearings within a few weeks to gather public input on the proposed regulation.
Fish & Wildlife Board Chairman Rob Borowske said, Once the hearings are announced, we want anglers to attend them to provide input on the existing house keeping proposals, but also to offer suggestions about other existing fishing rules such as the yellow perch daily bag limits on Lake Champlain and inland waters.
I want to thank our fish regulation revision team for their extensive work on this project and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board for considering this first series of changes to improve Vermonts fishing regulations, said Commissioner Laroche. We plan on proposing more changes in the future with an overall goal of making sure fisheries resources are sufficiently protected and fishing regulations are easier to understand, including complex trout rules such as those on the Winooski River. And, we plan to have an improved format in our Digest of Regulations with maps showing where rules change.
                     -30-


For Further Information please contact: Bernie Pientka at 802-879-5698 or email to bernie.pientka@anr.state.vt.us