06-15-2007, 04:29 AM
[url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Josh%20Jackett&-nothing"]Josh Jackett[/url] ![[Image: z.gif]](http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/images/z.gif)
June 13, 2007 - Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Executive Director Rebecca Humphries has signed an order outlining tighter controls on fish stocking and bait use to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), other deadly fish pathogens, and invasive species throughout state waterways.
The spread of the virus from the Great Lakes into inland lakes — like those in Oakland County — is a concern for researchers and anglers. The virus causes internal hemorrhaging and eventually internal organ failure.
Humphries signed the order after a hearing during last week's Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting.
"This is meant to bring our anglers and the bait industry together as allies in our struggle with fish diseases — VHS in particular," said Gary Whelan, the DNR's Fisheries Division administrative manager. "It's designed to bring a series of best management practices in place and to educate our anglers that they need to be part of the solution and not part of the problem."
The order, which Humprhies signed during the NRC's Thursday, June 7 meeting, will take effect Thursday, June 28. It was originally presented to the NRC during its Thursday, May 10 meeting for review.
According to Whelan, the two-part order contains general provisions as well as individual provisions pertaining to particular fish pathogens.
"The intent of the order is to slow the spread of diseases and contain them as much as we can," he said. "There's only so much the DNR can physically do. We really need to have our anglers and boaters involved as allies. That's what this order is designed to do."
Whelan said the bait industry is also participating in efforts to stop the spread of VHS and other diseases.
The order's general provisions, according to Whelan, serve as best management practices for fishing and boating.
"There's a heavy emphasis on the use of certified disease-free bait," he said. "If an angler obtains certified disease-free bait, it can be used anywhere in the state."
Under the order, anglers are required to keep bait purchase receipts for seven days to prove where they purchased their bait and that it's certified as being disease-free. Bait sellers will be required to keep receipts for a year.
"Most of these entities keep those records that long for tax purposes," Whelan said. "It's not like we're causing a huge headache for them, but we need to have the ability to conduct tracebacks if necessary."
The order also makes it illegal to move live fish from one waterway to another.
"For those anglers who are doing catch-and-release fishing, as long as the fish can freely swim to a waterbody from where you caught it, it can be released there," Whelan said. "For example, if there was a stretch of river with a dam and you catch a fish on one side of it, you can't move it to the other side because that's an active fish barrier.
"But, for instance, if someone caught a fish in a tournament on the Detroit River and the weigh-in was at Lake St. Clair, (it's) acceptable (to release the fish in Lake St. Clair) because the fish could swim to that (Detroit River) location."
Bait harvested from a particular waterway by an angler would also have to be used in the waterway where it was caught.
Boats' live wells and bilges will have to be emptied on site after being removed from a waterway.
Boaters and anglers have been asked before to follow some of the order's requirements, but Whelan said the requests have never been enforceable.
"We've been advocating these measures for many years, but we've not done it in a regulatory structure," he said. "We've tried the voluntary process for 15 years or more, and it's slowed the spread of zebra mussels some, but it's not had the effect we would have liked it to have. I think that in order to make the tool more understandable to people, we have to make it a regulation."
Whelan said people tend to comply with codes more than voluntary efforts.
"There would be the potential of getting a ticket if someone decides to haul live fish or water from one lake to another," he said.
Some aspects of the DNR's voluntary programs — namely disinfecting live wells and bilges — aren't included as part of the order.
"That would be very difficult to enforce," Whelan said. "But it's pretty easy to determine if you have water in your live well or your bilge."
Violations of the order's provisions could draw tickets and potential fines.
"(Violators) will get a ticket and a standard fine like that which would accompany things like fishing over a limit or not having a license in your possession," Whelan said.
Additional pathogens could continue to show up in state waterways — an expectation that prompted the order, according to Whelan.
"It's to the point now where we can no longer afford to sit back and wait," he said. "We're going to have to take much more proactive steps to control these pathogens and ultimately invasives."
Under the order, pathogen management would take place through a management area concept.
"In that, there are positive zones where we know a pathogen exists, surveillance zones where it's likely a pathogen will show up in the near future, and pathogen-free zones where we don't expect them to show up in the near future," Whelan said.
Bait harvested from positive zones must be used in positive zones; bait from surveillance zones can be used in surveillance and positive zones; and bait from pathogen-free zones can be used anywhere in the state.
The restriction on transporting fish from one waterway to another applies to 32 species listed in the order. The species include black crappie, bluegill, bluntnose minnow, brown bullhead, brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, emerald shiner, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, lake whitefish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, Pacific herring, pink salmon, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, rock bass, round goby, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, smallmouth bass, spottail shiner, trout, walleye, white bass, white perch, white sucker, and yellow perch.
"Bait fish and fish eggs can only be used on a hook (under the order), but spawn sacs are acceptable," Whelan said. "The broadcasting of eggs to attract fish is prohibited under this order if the species are on the prohibited species list. If someone wants to broadcast another species' eggs, like sisco, which is not on the prohibited species list, they can continue to do so. If they wanted to broadcast chinook salmon eggs, which is on the list, they would be prohibited from doing so by this order."
Whelan said that a single egg, or a few eggs in a spawn sac is considered a pretty minimal risk as opposed to someone broadcasting five-gallon buckets full of eggs, which could potentially spread a number of diseases.
"That also holds true for bait fish," he said. "You can't just release bait fish after you're done with their use. When you leave a waterbody, you need to dispose of that bait. We don't want live bait moved from water to water. It's a great way to spread diseases around."
According to Whelan, the order requires the species list to be published on the DNR's web site, [url "http://www.mich.gov/dnr"]www.mich.gov/dnr[/url], and that as VHS and other diseases spread, the number of species could grow.
"We're asking anglers and the bait industry to keep their eye on the web site (for species list changes)," he said. "The way the order is set up is that both the management areas and their descriptions, as well as the species list, are included in appendices. That will be updated by a certified letter from the director. We would put it on the web site and issue a press release telling people when the order is amended and what was amended. Most of the (provisions) won't change, but potentially the actual locations where (VHS) is will change, as well as the species we find with the virus."
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June 13, 2007 - Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Executive Director Rebecca Humphries has signed an order outlining tighter controls on fish stocking and bait use to prevent the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), other deadly fish pathogens, and invasive species throughout state waterways.The spread of the virus from the Great Lakes into inland lakes — like those in Oakland County — is a concern for researchers and anglers. The virus causes internal hemorrhaging and eventually internal organ failure.
Humphries signed the order after a hearing during last week's Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meeting.
"This is meant to bring our anglers and the bait industry together as allies in our struggle with fish diseases — VHS in particular," said Gary Whelan, the DNR's Fisheries Division administrative manager. "It's designed to bring a series of best management practices in place and to educate our anglers that they need to be part of the solution and not part of the problem."
The order, which Humprhies signed during the NRC's Thursday, June 7 meeting, will take effect Thursday, June 28. It was originally presented to the NRC during its Thursday, May 10 meeting for review.
According to Whelan, the two-part order contains general provisions as well as individual provisions pertaining to particular fish pathogens.
"The intent of the order is to slow the spread of diseases and contain them as much as we can," he said. "There's only so much the DNR can physically do. We really need to have our anglers and boaters involved as allies. That's what this order is designed to do."
Whelan said the bait industry is also participating in efforts to stop the spread of VHS and other diseases.
The order's general provisions, according to Whelan, serve as best management practices for fishing and boating.
"There's a heavy emphasis on the use of certified disease-free bait," he said. "If an angler obtains certified disease-free bait, it can be used anywhere in the state."
Under the order, anglers are required to keep bait purchase receipts for seven days to prove where they purchased their bait and that it's certified as being disease-free. Bait sellers will be required to keep receipts for a year.
"Most of these entities keep those records that long for tax purposes," Whelan said. "It's not like we're causing a huge headache for them, but we need to have the ability to conduct tracebacks if necessary."
The order also makes it illegal to move live fish from one waterway to another.
"For those anglers who are doing catch-and-release fishing, as long as the fish can freely swim to a waterbody from where you caught it, it can be released there," Whelan said. "For example, if there was a stretch of river with a dam and you catch a fish on one side of it, you can't move it to the other side because that's an active fish barrier.
"But, for instance, if someone caught a fish in a tournament on the Detroit River and the weigh-in was at Lake St. Clair, (it's) acceptable (to release the fish in Lake St. Clair) because the fish could swim to that (Detroit River) location."
Bait harvested from a particular waterway by an angler would also have to be used in the waterway where it was caught.
Boats' live wells and bilges will have to be emptied on site after being removed from a waterway.
Boaters and anglers have been asked before to follow some of the order's requirements, but Whelan said the requests have never been enforceable.
"We've been advocating these measures for many years, but we've not done it in a regulatory structure," he said. "We've tried the voluntary process for 15 years or more, and it's slowed the spread of zebra mussels some, but it's not had the effect we would have liked it to have. I think that in order to make the tool more understandable to people, we have to make it a regulation."
Whelan said people tend to comply with codes more than voluntary efforts.
"There would be the potential of getting a ticket if someone decides to haul live fish or water from one lake to another," he said.
Some aspects of the DNR's voluntary programs — namely disinfecting live wells and bilges — aren't included as part of the order.
"That would be very difficult to enforce," Whelan said. "But it's pretty easy to determine if you have water in your live well or your bilge."
Violations of the order's provisions could draw tickets and potential fines.
"(Violators) will get a ticket and a standard fine like that which would accompany things like fishing over a limit or not having a license in your possession," Whelan said.
Additional pathogens could continue to show up in state waterways — an expectation that prompted the order, according to Whelan.
"It's to the point now where we can no longer afford to sit back and wait," he said. "We're going to have to take much more proactive steps to control these pathogens and ultimately invasives."
Under the order, pathogen management would take place through a management area concept.
"In that, there are positive zones where we know a pathogen exists, surveillance zones where it's likely a pathogen will show up in the near future, and pathogen-free zones where we don't expect them to show up in the near future," Whelan said.
Bait harvested from positive zones must be used in positive zones; bait from surveillance zones can be used in surveillance and positive zones; and bait from pathogen-free zones can be used anywhere in the state.
The restriction on transporting fish from one waterway to another applies to 32 species listed in the order. The species include black crappie, bluegill, bluntnose minnow, brown bullhead, brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, emerald shiner, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, lake whitefish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, Pacific herring, pink salmon, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, rock bass, round goby, shorthead redhorse, silver redhorse, smallmouth bass, spottail shiner, trout, walleye, white bass, white perch, white sucker, and yellow perch.
"Bait fish and fish eggs can only be used on a hook (under the order), but spawn sacs are acceptable," Whelan said. "The broadcasting of eggs to attract fish is prohibited under this order if the species are on the prohibited species list. If someone wants to broadcast another species' eggs, like sisco, which is not on the prohibited species list, they can continue to do so. If they wanted to broadcast chinook salmon eggs, which is on the list, they would be prohibited from doing so by this order."
Whelan said that a single egg, or a few eggs in a spawn sac is considered a pretty minimal risk as opposed to someone broadcasting five-gallon buckets full of eggs, which could potentially spread a number of diseases.
"That also holds true for bait fish," he said. "You can't just release bait fish after you're done with their use. When you leave a waterbody, you need to dispose of that bait. We don't want live bait moved from water to water. It's a great way to spread diseases around."
According to Whelan, the order requires the species list to be published on the DNR's web site, [url "http://www.mich.gov/dnr"]www.mich.gov/dnr[/url], and that as VHS and other diseases spread, the number of species could grow.
"We're asking anglers and the bait industry to keep their eye on the web site (for species list changes)," he said. "The way the order is set up is that both the management areas and their descriptions, as well as the species list, are included in appendices. That will be updated by a certified letter from the director. We would put it on the web site and issue a press release telling people when the order is amended and what was amended. Most of the (provisions) won't change, but potentially the actual locations where (VHS) is will change, as well as the species we find with the virus."
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