Fishing Regulations

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Fishing Regulations
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Purpose of fishing regulations prevent
overexploitation protect fish until
spawning allow growth of small fish
Regulations
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Purpose of fishing regulations prevent
overexploitation protect fish until
spawning allow growth of small
fishIssues regulations must be comprehensible
and enforceable regulations should have defined
goal success of regulations in reaching goal
should be assessed
Regulations
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harvest limits (sport fishery)bag and creel
limits - maximum that can be caught per day -
easy to monitor - easy to understand and comply
(but, 5-3-2 rules) - no limit on effort (
people) - doesnt protect small, immature
fish - goal can improve satisfaction - very
popular not always effective
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harvest limits (sport fishery)catch-and-release
- may include gear restrictions to improve
survival - less popular among anglers except in
trophy fisheries - problems during spawning
season - may result in high-grading anglers
keep largest fish, lose oldest year classes -
crowding of younger fish, reduced growth
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harvest limits (commercial fishery) quotas
limit total annual harvest - quota for
individual fisherman, and/or for total fishery -
bycatch harvest continues - quotas can lead to
high-grading - fishermen resent restriction on
public resource - difficult to use for sport
fish
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gear restrictions (sport and commercial)types
of gear that may be used also used to reduce
bycatch (TEDs) amount/number of gear does
not limit entry, effort
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size limits (sport and commercial)minimum size
- protects immature fish - allows fish to
reach spawning age - problems due to
fluctuations in fish growth, size at maturity,
alternate-year spawning - smaller fish
released, can be caught multiple times,
increasing catch rate - survival varies by
fishery, season, size of fish, gear used, skill
of angler, method used to release - role of
extension agencies, education, Sea Grant,
poster - problems with commercial catch release
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size limitsslot limit - catch below and above
slot size - used to reduce competition among
young fish - often does not work well
protected size
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limited entry (commercial fishery) - limited
of licenses - license can be linked to a
individual quota - protects economic health of
fishermen - creates individual ownership of
public resource - allows fishermen to harvest
when market is good
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closed/open seasons (sport and commercial) -
reduce total fishable days, e.g., close fishery
during spawning season
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closed/open seasons (sport and commercial) -
reduce total fishable days, e.g., close fishery
during spawning season - can be used to
promote fishery - opening day fishery
PA Fish Commission
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closed/open seasons (sport and commercial) -
reduce total fishable days, e.g., close fishery
during spawning season - can be used to
promote fishery - opening day fishery
refuges, restricted fishing areas (sport,
commercial) restrict waters that can be
fished close certain waters, streams, etc. such
as spawning areas
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Problems with regulating fisheries compliance
- improved with - awareness of regulations -
angler education - understand what regulations
do, objectives of management - angler
investment in fishery - perceived benefit of
regulations - fishery does improve
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Problems with regulating fisheries compliance
- improved with - awareness of regulations -
angler education - understand what regulations
do, objectives of management - angler
investment in fishery - perceived benefit of
regulations - fishery does improveenforcement -
how do you monitor open-water areas? wilderness
areas? inaccessible rural areas?
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Problems with regulating fisheries compliance
- improved with - awareness of regulations -
angler education - understand what regulations
do, objectives of management - angler
investment in fishery - perceived benefit of
regulations - fishery does improveenforcement -
how do you monitor open-water areas? wilderness
areas? inaccessible rural areas?punishment
lack of judicial support