06-08-2008, 11:55 AM
[cool][#0000ff]I think you have everything turned around. It is not a money contest, it is research. When DWR tags fish it is not just to decorate them. They record measurements and weight at the date of tagging and then compare that with the stats when they recover the tags. It gives them a read on survival and growth rates.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Probably cheaper and more effective to have a public catch contest than netting. Also provides something fun for participants.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Why read so much negative into it. A tagging program on one lake, near Vernal, will have absolutely ZERO effect on Utah fishing as a whole.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fishing license sales have dropped over the past few years. Part of that is the result of increased fees and unpopular changes in regulations. DWR is trying a lot of things to increase the number of licenses and angler hours. And, it is not a profit generator...it is a suvival mode. Very little of the license revenue goes directly to DWR. They have to take whatever crumbs trickle down to them from the state budget. That's why there are too few biologists and COs to cover Utah properly, and why it so hard to keep good people in the Division. They are all overworked and underpaid...by comparison to other states.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, I wouldn't start speculating that DWR is going to do this on all lakes. Nor would I put a lot of stock in what might be said on Reece's program.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Probably cheaper and more effective to have a public catch contest than netting. Also provides something fun for participants.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Why read so much negative into it. A tagging program on one lake, near Vernal, will have absolutely ZERO effect on Utah fishing as a whole.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Fishing license sales have dropped over the past few years. Part of that is the result of increased fees and unpopular changes in regulations. DWR is trying a lot of things to increase the number of licenses and angler hours. And, it is not a profit generator...it is a suvival mode. Very little of the license revenue goes directly to DWR. They have to take whatever crumbs trickle down to them from the state budget. That's why there are too few biologists and COs to cover Utah properly, and why it so hard to keep good people in the Division. They are all overworked and underpaid...by comparison to other states.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And, I wouldn't start speculating that DWR is going to do this on all lakes. Nor would I put a lot of stock in what might be said on Reece's program.[/#0000ff]
[signature]