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Not sure if this has been posted yet but the St.Louis Post Dispatch has mentioned the gateway cats and USCA in a report on Blue Catfish.
Decline of catfish quality concerns anglers
Capt. William L. Heckman, in his 1950 book "Steamboating, Sixty-five Years on Missouri's Rivers," made note of a 315-pound blue catfish pulled from the Missouri River near the town of Morrison, Mo.
A 315-pound blue or any North American catfish species is almost beyond the comprehension of anyone pursuing catfish today.
Missouri catfishing has had its ups and downs since Heckman's time. As the first settlers pushed the frontier ever westward, reports were commonplace of catfish weighing 100 or 150 pounds and often even more. But a lack of regulations, combined with overfishing early Americans had to feed their families resulted in a serious decline in catfish throughout the fishes' range.
The advent of modern wildlife and fisheries management techniques harvest and length limits and, in some cases, closed seasons halted the decline. And fishing for almost every species of game fish, including catfish, soon improved.
In the early to mid-1990s, however, fisheries biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation began hearing concerns about the declining quality of the blue catfishery at Truman Reservoir, in the west-central region of the state.
The Department of Conservation decided to find out, on a larger scale, what anglers were thinking. "The '2002 Statewide Catfish Angler Survey' was initiated," explained Greg Stoner, a fisheries biologist who works out of the department's Camdenton office. "Of those who provided an opinion, almost 50 percent agreed that catfishing on Truman had declined."
Of special concern to the department was the status of the blue catfish, a long-lived, slowly growing species that is prized by anglers for its firm, white flesh and hard-fighting ways. Unlike channel cats and flatheads, blue catfish seek out clearer waters of lakes and rivers where sandy or rock bottoms prevail, which probably explains why their meat is so tasty and devoid of the oily some say "muddy" taste of other catfish species.
To find out why catfishing in Truman had declined, Kevin Sullivan, a fisheries biologist who works in the department's Clinton office, conducted a five-year "Reservoir Catfish Evaluation Angler Exploitation" study starting in 2003. Three hundred blue catfish and 194 flathead catfish, all longer than 19 inches, were tagged with $50 reward tags. Anglers could keep the fish and turn in the tag or remove the tag and release the fish to fight another day. Study numbers were corrected for tag loss, for anglers who might not turn in tags and for natural mortality.
Five years later, the results were in. Sullivan had learned that Truman anglers kept blue catfish longer than 19 inches at a rate of 74.2 percent, and those measuring 24 inches or longer at a rate of 84.4 percent. "This is two to three times higher than what has been reported in other, similar studies nationwide," Stoner said. Flathead catfish were kept at a rate of just 9.4 percent. Only 7 percent of all the tagged blue catfish were released.
It's the slow-growing part of the equation that has biologists most concerned. "Blues are breeding just fine," Stoner said. "Recruitment the numbers of young blues being added to the population each year is good. But fishing pressure is high. Combine that with slow growth and blues are unable to grow into the larger sizes (in any significant quantity) at the rate in which they are being harvested."
These concerns are no longer limited to Truman Lake. Anglers at Lake of the Ozarks have recently been complaining of a decline in catfishing as well.
The department convened a catfish working group in 2009. The group gradually arrived at a list of management objectives for blue catfish, the species of concern, at both reservoirs, their tributaries and in the no-boating zone (bank fishing only) below Truman Dam. From those objectives, a series of regulation proposals were presented to anglers, catfishing guides and other interested parties during a series of stakeholders meetings in May. The proposals include the following:
A daily limit of 5 or 10 blue catfish daily. (The possession limit would remain 10, which is the statewide possession limit.)
A protected slot limit to be determined, but likely to be 24 inches to 34 inches, or up to 26 inches to 36 inches. Fish measuring within the slot must be released.
Allow a daily harvest of one or two blues above the protected slot limit.
"The majority of the people who attended the meetings were in favor of increased protection," Stoner said. "Some wanted a higher slot limit; others wanted a daily harvest of just one fish above the protected slot limit.
"Catfish anglers are a diverse crowd. Some just want to catch a really big fish and would be happy to put it back. Others fish tournaments (like the members of our town's Gateway Cats), while still others just want some fish to eat. The slot allows people to catch blue catfish and keep five or maybe even 10 a day. The fish they'd be able to keep could weigh up to 5 or 6 pounds each, more than enough for a fish fry, plus one or two over the slot if they're lucky."
One goal of any new proposed regulation is to meet the diverse needs of anglers to the greatest extent possible while also enhancing the blue catfish population.
As word of the meetings has spread, mild controversy has followed, particularly in online communities like Blue Catfish - Channel Catfish - Flathead Catfish. Many online posters have weighed in in favor of the restrictions. Some want tougher restrictions, while another complains that the science doesn't support the proposals being offfered, stating that a study at Wilson Lake in Alabama arrived at an entirely different recommendation to protect fish smaller than 24 inches. "Lakes are unique in terms of growth rates, recruitment and fishing pressure," Stoner said in response. "Comparing them is often like comparing apples and oranges. In the case of Truman and Lake of the Ozarks, (there are plenty of smaller fish). Protecting them could further reduce already slow growth."
The Conservation Department is no stranger to controversy. "The 9-inch length limit on Lake of the Ozarks crappie was debated fairly hotly when it was proposed, too," Stoner said. "Now, anglers want to know why we don't increase it to 10 inches. That's how happy they are with crappie fishing these days."
A recommendation will be considered by the Missouri Department of Conservation's Fisheries Division. Pending approval, it will go to the department's Regulations Committee in July for Wildlife Code review. Pending approval, it may go into effect as early as 2012.
Decline of catfish quality concerns anglers - STLtoday.com
Decline of catfish quality concerns anglers
By Kathy Etling
SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
06/20/2010SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH
Capt. William L. Heckman, in his 1950 book "Steamboating, Sixty-five Years on Missouri's Rivers," made note of a 315-pound blue catfish pulled from the Missouri River near the town of Morrison, Mo.
A 315-pound blue or any North American catfish species is almost beyond the comprehension of anyone pursuing catfish today.
Missouri catfishing has had its ups and downs since Heckman's time. As the first settlers pushed the frontier ever westward, reports were commonplace of catfish weighing 100 or 150 pounds and often even more. But a lack of regulations, combined with overfishing early Americans had to feed their families resulted in a serious decline in catfish throughout the fishes' range.
The advent of modern wildlife and fisheries management techniques harvest and length limits and, in some cases, closed seasons halted the decline. And fishing for almost every species of game fish, including catfish, soon improved.
In the early to mid-1990s, however, fisheries biologists with the Missouri Department of Conservation began hearing concerns about the declining quality of the blue catfishery at Truman Reservoir, in the west-central region of the state.
The Department of Conservation decided to find out, on a larger scale, what anglers were thinking. "The '2002 Statewide Catfish Angler Survey' was initiated," explained Greg Stoner, a fisheries biologist who works out of the department's Camdenton office. "Of those who provided an opinion, almost 50 percent agreed that catfishing on Truman had declined."
Of special concern to the department was the status of the blue catfish, a long-lived, slowly growing species that is prized by anglers for its firm, white flesh and hard-fighting ways. Unlike channel cats and flatheads, blue catfish seek out clearer waters of lakes and rivers where sandy or rock bottoms prevail, which probably explains why their meat is so tasty and devoid of the oily some say "muddy" taste of other catfish species.
To find out why catfishing in Truman had declined, Kevin Sullivan, a fisheries biologist who works in the department's Clinton office, conducted a five-year "Reservoir Catfish Evaluation Angler Exploitation" study starting in 2003. Three hundred blue catfish and 194 flathead catfish, all longer than 19 inches, were tagged with $50 reward tags. Anglers could keep the fish and turn in the tag or remove the tag and release the fish to fight another day. Study numbers were corrected for tag loss, for anglers who might not turn in tags and for natural mortality.
Five years later, the results were in. Sullivan had learned that Truman anglers kept blue catfish longer than 19 inches at a rate of 74.2 percent, and those measuring 24 inches or longer at a rate of 84.4 percent. "This is two to three times higher than what has been reported in other, similar studies nationwide," Stoner said. Flathead catfish were kept at a rate of just 9.4 percent. Only 7 percent of all the tagged blue catfish were released.
It's the slow-growing part of the equation that has biologists most concerned. "Blues are breeding just fine," Stoner said. "Recruitment the numbers of young blues being added to the population each year is good. But fishing pressure is high. Combine that with slow growth and blues are unable to grow into the larger sizes (in any significant quantity) at the rate in which they are being harvested."
These concerns are no longer limited to Truman Lake. Anglers at Lake of the Ozarks have recently been complaining of a decline in catfishing as well.
The department convened a catfish working group in 2009. The group gradually arrived at a list of management objectives for blue catfish, the species of concern, at both reservoirs, their tributaries and in the no-boating zone (bank fishing only) below Truman Dam. From those objectives, a series of regulation proposals were presented to anglers, catfishing guides and other interested parties during a series of stakeholders meetings in May. The proposals include the following:
A daily limit of 5 or 10 blue catfish daily. (The possession limit would remain 10, which is the statewide possession limit.)
A protected slot limit to be determined, but likely to be 24 inches to 34 inches, or up to 26 inches to 36 inches. Fish measuring within the slot must be released.
Allow a daily harvest of one or two blues above the protected slot limit.
"The majority of the people who attended the meetings were in favor of increased protection," Stoner said. "Some wanted a higher slot limit; others wanted a daily harvest of just one fish above the protected slot limit.
"Catfish anglers are a diverse crowd. Some just want to catch a really big fish and would be happy to put it back. Others fish tournaments (like the members of our town's Gateway Cats), while still others just want some fish to eat. The slot allows people to catch blue catfish and keep five or maybe even 10 a day. The fish they'd be able to keep could weigh up to 5 or 6 pounds each, more than enough for a fish fry, plus one or two over the slot if they're lucky."
One goal of any new proposed regulation is to meet the diverse needs of anglers to the greatest extent possible while also enhancing the blue catfish population.
As word of the meetings has spread, mild controversy has followed, particularly in online communities like Blue Catfish - Channel Catfish - Flathead Catfish. Many online posters have weighed in in favor of the restrictions. Some want tougher restrictions, while another complains that the science doesn't support the proposals being offfered, stating that a study at Wilson Lake in Alabama arrived at an entirely different recommendation to protect fish smaller than 24 inches. "Lakes are unique in terms of growth rates, recruitment and fishing pressure," Stoner said in response. "Comparing them is often like comparing apples and oranges. In the case of Truman and Lake of the Ozarks, (there are plenty of smaller fish). Protecting them could further reduce already slow growth."
The Conservation Department is no stranger to controversy. "The 9-inch length limit on Lake of the Ozarks crappie was debated fairly hotly when it was proposed, too," Stoner said. "Now, anglers want to know why we don't increase it to 10 inches. That's how happy they are with crappie fishing these days."
A recommendation will be considered by the Missouri Department of Conservation's Fisheries Division. Pending approval, it will go to the department's Regulations Committee in July for Wildlife Code review. Pending approval, it may go into effect as early as 2012.
Decline of catfish quality concerns anglers - STLtoday.com
