Public hearings set on draft fishing tournament rules

MADISON – Proposed changes to rules governing fishing tournaments are the topic of public hearings set for late October and early November, with Wisconsin’s fisheries director urging anglers, boaters, and other interested citizens to attend the hearings or submit written comments on the proposals.

“Changes to fishing tournaments rules, and fishing tournaments in general, can be controversial,” says Mike Staggs, Wisconsin’s fisheries director. “There’s no one set of rules that will make everyone happy, but we’re committed to finding middle ground. It’s important for people to read the proposals and raise their concerns during the public hearings or in written comments.”

Fisheries staff will review public comments and finalize the proposals before returning to the state Natural Resources Board (NRB) to seek approval of the rules, likely in 2007, he says.

A 2004 law responded to public concerns raised about tournaments and instructed the DNR to update tournament fishing rules where there were significant, documented problems. Larger tournaments have been governed by a permit system since the mid-1990s, and the number of permitted events has increased from about 300 events a year to 400 since then. See the June 2006 Issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources for an article on fishing tournaments.

DNR staff developed proposed rule changes by working with an advisory group that included fishing clubs, lake associations, fishing tournament organizers and the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The group focused on addressing documented problems with crowding at boat ramps and on some lakes during certain times of the year like holidays, and concerns over fish dying after being caught and released in tournaments. Studies have indicated that such “incidental mortality” doesn’t affect the fish population over all, but “no one likes to see the resource wasted,” Staggs says.

The original proposal was modified to address Natural Resources Board concerns about invasive species, incidental mortality, and recovering costs associated with managing the tournament permit program, he says.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the proposal is that tournament participants would have to immediately release fish in tournaments held in July and August instead of bringing them back to a weigh station, Staggs says. Water temperatures are the highest in those months, and there’s the greatest risk of increased mortality of fish caught in those events. In recent years, several highly publicized incidents occurred when fish died after being caught in live-release bass tournaments on the Mississippi River and walleye tournaments in Green Bay.

According to Patrick Schmalz, the DNR fish biologist who led the rule development, key provisions are:

The hearings will be begin at 7 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

A copy of the draft rules, hearing dates, and other materials concerning fishing tournaments can be found on the DNR Web site.

The proposed rule and fiscal estimate may be reviewed and comments electronically submitted at through the State of Wisconsin Administrative Rules Web site (exit DNR). Written comments on the proposed rule may be submitted until Nov. 17 via U.S. mail to Patrick J. Schmalz, Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat Protection, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. Written comments whether submitted electronically or by U.S. mail will have the same weight and effect as oral statements presented at the public hearings.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Staggs - (608) 267-0796; Patrick Schmalz - (608) 266-8170