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Govt Survey On Perch Removal


Don Andersen

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Done, and my $0.02. Yah.. my thought is to stock Pike to cleanup the Perch IMHO... don't bother with chemical$. =)

 

Once the damage has been done, it's been done. Just stop stocking it with trout, and be done with it. These are put and take fisheries we are talking about after all. "Bucket bregade" stocking has been unenforceable to date, I am not sure how you are going to stop it, other then increased fines and more importantly education.

 

In that regard, I can only justify the added expense of $1.00 on a fishing fee. When you state it costs $500,000 to cleanup a lake, and yet the proposed fine is only $100,000 with a possibility to fine the offender (uhm, if ever found) for total costs of clean-up.. kinda a loosing battle.

 

Also, lesse 28 lakes times $500,000 -- seems like a lotta cash to me. A lotta wasted cash. And.. whom decides which lakes get done.. and when? I see a loosing battle here, once one lake is cleaned up.. it will be illegally stocked again anyways.

 

I have seen this in Carburn park before when I resided in Cgy and fished there. Great effort was put into draining the lake, and clean-up for perch.. and again years later stocking stopped as perch took over.

 

I have also seen this retenone process done in Spruce & Reesor when I was also a volunteer with SLFH back in the day. I was not a fan of it then.

 

Now... that I reside in Edmonton.. and I fish personally at Cardiff lake, the size of trout that have been stocked in the lake have been abysmal in the past years that I no longer fish there. In fact, if and when I do go there to fish.. I try for the perch that have established as they are larger in numbers and size.

 

A fishery... is a fishery... is a fishery.

 

Oh, now as for the private lakes like Sundance, and others in Cgy.. uhm.. why are we stocking fish in there anyways when only the residents of those areas can fish. Why are they even on the public radar here, oh right illegal stocking... in which case.. make the residents pay for clean-up if they so desire. =)

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The issue here is how does the government deal with any invasive species introduced to lakes that are "Managed as Trout Fisheries". These water bodies generally were void of natural fish. Trout were introduced to create fisheries where there would NOT normally be one.

SRD is trying to establish a policy on how to deal with these situations.

There may be some bodies of water that we say leave the perch or to stock pike to balance the fishery. Here is the problem: What do you say to that when MUIR, STAR, DOLBERG, SWAN, BEAVER AND OTHER SIMILAR LAKES face this situation??? Stocking pike or perch is not a long term solution, otherwise they would have been there all along. The other consideration is that Pike, Perch and Walleye are natural to Alberta waters, Rainbows, Brown and Brook Trout are all introduced. Bull Trout, Cutthroat and Athabasca Rainbows are native to our waters. Natural occurring species in the province have special status, and normally will be under a regulation that would not be removed to stock trout or any other species.

Trout Lakes are generally stocked to provide the public with a fishery that would not normally be there if it wasn't stocked. This allows for more opportunity to fish in some cases the ONLY fishery in the area. It also reduces fishing pressure on other areas. A certain amount of catchability is also required. ie: Chickako formally Brook trout now Rainbows. The other consideration is the cost to produce. Trout are the easiest to raise by the millions in a hatchery situation. Another consideration is the growth rate, as alot of these are put and take fisheries due to winterkill, the fish must achieve a reasonable size during the season that it is stocked. Trout are the only species to acheive these results. Even perch take 4 or 5 years to get to 8 or so inches, the growth rates aren't there, pike and walleye are even longer. This response was given to me when I suggested that we stock perch in urban ponds to get more youth into sportfishing. It just takes too long to grow them. Plus when perch are by themselves (they are the bottom of the food chain), they reproduce in large numbers. The result being you may get 2 or 3 years of good size fish but then they will over populate and end up with lots of stunted fish thereafter.

There are now a number of Alberta Lakes where the good old SLOUGH SHARK is now extinct or catch and release only. Some will be under consideration for a SPECIAL HARVEST TAG. Who ever thought that the pike would ever be under this pressure.

The current regulations call for a maximum $100,000 fine, this is under review and is probably going to increase to the total cost of rehabilitation, which could be in the MILLIONS of $$$$$.

You may see another regulation come into effect as a deterant. This being 0 limit on any other species than trout in trout managed waters.

The $1 levy to assist in this area? There are about 200,000 licences purchased each year. There are approximately a total of 300,000 sport fishers in the province. 1/3 of the people don't even pay for this resource. So do you look at 100,000 times even $20 for a total of $2 MILLION or 200,000 times the $1 for a total of $200,000, which makes more sense. Plus where is the responsibility of the Govt. to provide the required enforcement?

This issue takes into consideration a lot variables. You must understand the complete issue at hand. When you complete this survey, please consider all of the above prior to your completion of the survey.

Please take the time to do this survey, as a very low number (200-300) is generally used by the Govt. when making these decisions. Even these low numbers give them the public support they seek.

:fish_jump:

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I definitely agree with you on the $1 levy versus 100,000 unlicensed anglers, Brian. The only part of the Gov't proposal I don't like is making it illegal to take perch out of trout ponds that have already been hit by the bucket brigade. I understand the idea behind it, but let's face it, the only people affected by that will be law-abiding citizens. There's plenty of poachers out there, and I bet most, if not all members of the bucket brigade would not be bothered by this new law. Meanwhile, the perch population in Hasse, for example, would increase, and the trout fishing would get worse. I guess that wouldn't happen if they dealt with the problem lakes in a timely manner, but somehow I doubt promptness is even in their vocabulary.

 

Rick

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Rick:

The 0 limit on introduced species is meant to be a deterant for waters not infected at this point. I agree it doesn't work for those that have. It hopefully be one of the tools used to prevent further instances. One of the biggest concerns is lack of ENFORCEMENT.

:fish_jump:

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Wasn't that part of the fisheries round table, Brian? I guess it's a recurring issue. I missed that meeting, unfortunately. Did it sound hopeful?

Do you think it would have more impact to write our MLA's individually, or should we do something like a group petition to the minister? Maybe both?

 

Rick

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Perch should be seen as part of the rodent family. If they are discovered - eradication is the only answer. Public resentment of how they got there will slow the spread.

50% of the lakes around Rocky are already "perched". This took the past 30 years. Been increasing over the past while.

 

Rolling over and playing dead is how society got to where it is. Perch stocking/Gangs/drugs are the result of the community leaving the issues to the enforcement types. If we deal with what goes on in our communities, most issues would disappear. Of course, we can continue rent out our responsibilities. We've been doing that for years and look where that got us.

 

 

Don

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