The people of Wyoming, and by extension the state Game and Fish Department, have long worked to preserve native fish. That’s why a proposal to allow anglers to kill two more 12- to 16-inch cutthroat per day is puzzling.
Wyoming’s first fish hatchery was developed in the 1880s, several years before statehood. In 1929 the Wyoming Legislature gave Game and Fish the ability to close hunting and fishing to restore populations that suffered from throat trout was designated Wyoming’s state fish in 1987.
This spring Game and Fish is proposing to institute a statewide stream trout limit of three total trout and not more than one that’s over 16 inches, which means anglers could keep two more 12- to 16-inch cutthroat trout than they can now.
Word is that the change to the fishing regulations is an effort to simplify the rules. Simplification can be good, but not at the expense of native fish populations.
The question Game and Fish must answer is: Does it make biological sense?
Catch and release has been the practice of anglers in Jackson Hole for decades: Chase this fish, marvel at it, and then put it back in the river to catch again tomorrow.
Game and Fish’s argument is that the rule change won’t hurt fish populations because few people keep and kill fish.
However, we should avoid even the slightest hint of shifting the fishing culture back to “go kill native fish.”
Adding larger cutthroats to a creel isn’t in the spirit of keeping the health of the West’s native trout in tip-top shape.
Having science-based decisions about our native cutthroat trout is critical.
Public comment is welcomed and needed through June 4. Visit WGFD.wyo.gov.
A public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 14 at the Jackson Game and Fish office.
Bagikan Berita Ini
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