08-01-2003, 09:14 PM
When the strawberry post came out a few days ago I remembered something I saw as a small kid growing up in South Dakota and so I shot off this e-mail to the South Dakota Fish & Game:[size 2]
Dear South Dakota Fish & Game Dept.
I grew up in South Dakota and remember in the winter (approx. 1965) on Lake Kampeska (near Watertown) seining for carp through the ice. Do you still practice this form of non-game fish control? We have a non-game fish issue here in Utah and I'm trying to bring to light any possible solutions to the problem. How successful was the seining effort? Where were the fish taken too? Sorry to dust off the old record books but we need to consider all options at this point. Also, if you could direct me to any internet sites about this form of non-game fish control that would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Well I got this response for the F&G Dept. in South Dakota:[size 2]
Greetings from South Dakota to an ex South Dakotan. Yes, our South Dakota Game Fish and Parks does continue to remove rough fish, primarily carp, big-mouth buffalo,fresh-water drum, white suckers,and black bullheads from eastern South Dakota lakes. These activities are done in both open water and through the ice primarily utilizing seines that can be 4000 to 5000 feet long. Hoop nets and bullhead pocket nets are also used. Annually our commercial fishing contractors remove and average of one to two million pounds of rough fish. When rough fish numbers become so problematic in a lake we have also resorted to the use of a piscicide called Rotenone. Unfortunately this can be very costly and there is always the chance of reinfestation. The majority of the buffalo and carp get sold to Stoller Fisheries in Spirit Lake, Iowa. They claim to be the largest processor in the United States, annually processing 6-8 million pounds of rough fish a year. The majority of their product is sold to specialty markets on the east coast,namely Jewish food brokers. Also fish are trucked live to the east coast to be stocked in urban ponds for a put and take fishery. The contractor that does the most work for our state is David Raw, Lake Norden South Dakota (605-785-3470). The state of Minnesota also does a lot of rough fish removal and the contact person would be Ray Johannes (651-296-2308). His e-mail address is Ray.Johannes@state.mn.us Hope I have been of some help to you. Not knowing that much about Utah, I was curious as to what kind of problems your Department is encountering.
Ron Meester
Regional Program Manager-Fisheries
Webster, South Dakota
345-3381
As usual I'm sure that this will get filed into the back closet somewhere - but this option could be the answer to alot of non-game fish issues. They have have doing this for 30 YEARS and I can remember them loading truck loads of non-game fish.[/size][/size]
[signature]
Dear South Dakota Fish & Game Dept.
I grew up in South Dakota and remember in the winter (approx. 1965) on Lake Kampeska (near Watertown) seining for carp through the ice. Do you still practice this form of non-game fish control? We have a non-game fish issue here in Utah and I'm trying to bring to light any possible solutions to the problem. How successful was the seining effort? Where were the fish taken too? Sorry to dust off the old record books but we need to consider all options at this point. Also, if you could direct me to any internet sites about this form of non-game fish control that would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Well I got this response for the F&G Dept. in South Dakota:[size 2]
Greetings from South Dakota to an ex South Dakotan. Yes, our South Dakota Game Fish and Parks does continue to remove rough fish, primarily carp, big-mouth buffalo,fresh-water drum, white suckers,and black bullheads from eastern South Dakota lakes. These activities are done in both open water and through the ice primarily utilizing seines that can be 4000 to 5000 feet long. Hoop nets and bullhead pocket nets are also used. Annually our commercial fishing contractors remove and average of one to two million pounds of rough fish. When rough fish numbers become so problematic in a lake we have also resorted to the use of a piscicide called Rotenone. Unfortunately this can be very costly and there is always the chance of reinfestation. The majority of the buffalo and carp get sold to Stoller Fisheries in Spirit Lake, Iowa. They claim to be the largest processor in the United States, annually processing 6-8 million pounds of rough fish a year. The majority of their product is sold to specialty markets on the east coast,namely Jewish food brokers. Also fish are trucked live to the east coast to be stocked in urban ponds for a put and take fishery. The contractor that does the most work for our state is David Raw, Lake Norden South Dakota (605-785-3470). The state of Minnesota also does a lot of rough fish removal and the contact person would be Ray Johannes (651-296-2308). His e-mail address is Ray.Johannes@state.mn.us Hope I have been of some help to you. Not knowing that much about Utah, I was curious as to what kind of problems your Department is encountering.
Ron Meester
Regional Program Manager-Fisheries
Webster, South Dakota
345-3381
As usual I'm sure that this will get filed into the back closet somewhere - but this option could be the answer to alot of non-game fish issues. They have have doing this for 30 YEARS and I can remember them loading truck loads of non-game fish.[/size][/size]
[signature]
