According to a press release issued by DEC, on the early morning hours of April 21st, NYS Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Pabes responded to a report of multiple anglers keeping excess and undersized striped bass in the village of Great Neck, Long Island. [Read more…] about Spring Striped Bass Detail Nets Poachers
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Pike, Pickerel, Muskie, and Walleye Season Opens May 1
Fishing season for northern pike, pickerel, tiger muskellunge, and walleye opens on May 1st. Fishing regulation changes implemented earlier this year replaced the floating “Saturday” season openers with a fixed date in addition to other improvements to enhance fishing opportunities across the state. [Read more…] about Pike, Pickerel, Muskie, and Walleye Season Opens May 1
Atlantic Salmon Net Pen-Rearing Projects Continuing at Lake Champlain
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the second year of a five-year experimental Atlantic Salmon pen rearing project on the Saranac River Estuary.
In partnership with the Plattsburgh Boat Basin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lake Champlain chapter of Trout Unlimited, SUNY Plattsburgh, and Paul Smith’s College, the initiative will help improve post-stocking survival of this species. [Read more…] about Atlantic Salmon Net Pen-Rearing Projects Continuing at Lake Champlain
Underwater Eggs: It’s Spawning Season For Pickerel
Each year, soon after ice out, torpedo-shaped fish slip into the lake’s weedy shallows from that offshore zone where the bottom falls away. First comes the female, her flanks green and gold, and her ovaries swollen with eggs. The male swims alongside, alert for an opportunity to mate.
Over the course of a day or two, they will periodically turn their vents toward each other and simultaneously release eggs and milt. In the next moment, they’ll lash their tails to spread the fertilized eggs over submerged vegetation. It’s spawning season for chain pickerel, and every egg faces an iffy future. [Read more…] about Underwater Eggs: It’s Spawning Season For Pickerel
New Freshwater Fishing Regulation Changes for 2022
Recently adopted freshwater fishing regulations will take effect on April 1st.
Following a public comment period on the draft proposals earlier this year, a New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announcement says the new regulations reflect the input received and the support of the angling community in DEC’s efforts to make fishing New York’s waters “less complicated and easier to understand.” [Read more…] about New Freshwater Fishing Regulation Changes for 2022
New Signage For New York Trout Streams
As part of efforts to make fishing more enjoyable, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has posted Management Category signs on most of the State’s 1,500 miles of public fishing rights. [Read more…] about New Signage For New York Trout Streams
American Shad Recovery Plan For Hudson River Announced
Native and colonial Americans fished for shad for sustenance, often smoking the flesh and consuming the roe as a delicacy.
American shad continued to be an important recreational and commercial fishery throughout the 20th Century, especially in the Hudson River. However, the shad stock has since dramatically declined due to shoreline development, pollution and over fishing, and as a result all recreational and commercial fisheries for American shad were closed in 2010. [Read more…] about American Shad Recovery Plan For Hudson River Announced
Striped Bass Management Input Sought
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is seeking public input on the development of Draft Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Striped Bass (PDF) through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).
The Draft Amendment proposes new options to the FMP to help rebuild the stock and significantly update the management program. DEC encourages New Yorkers to review proposed changes, participate through in-person or virtual webinar events, and provide comments to ASMFC by April 15th, 2022. [Read more…] about Striped Bass Management Input Sought
Winter Waters: The Under-Ice Food Web
Earlier this winter, I took to the pond ice – not to skate, but to peek below the surface. Although lake ecologists once considered the plankton in frozen lakes to be dormant during winter, recent studies reveal that the plant-like, microscopic phytoplankton (which move with the lake’s currents) and animal-like zooplankton remain active below the icy surface. [Read more…] about Winter Waters: The Under-Ice Food Web
New Research on Social Change and Sustainable Fisheries
New research published in Fish and Fisheries suggests that slow but steady degradation of recreational fisheries may be common, and points to actions that anglers and fisheries managers can take to help stabilize and improve fisheries today and for future generations.
Fishery biologist Dr. Chelsey Nieman led the study when they were a postdoctoral researcher at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. They explain, “For too long, recreational fisheries were seen as self-regulating. We now know that their sustainability depends on both natural and human features. When these conditions change, it can have big implications for fish populations and the quality of the fishing experience.” [Read more…] about New Research on Social Change and Sustainable Fisheries