[kcoderre]

I too received this form letter response. In order to not let them off the hook, I responded to the form letter. Will see if I get a response.

This was my response.

Mr. Blackburn,

Thank-you for your timely and detailed response.

I appreciate the effort you have made to show the evidence for incidental catch and release mortality and its effect on the recovery of depressed populations. I realise that my experiences are only anecdotal but I still believe that the main angler related reason for a population's failure to recover is poaching and not incidental catch and release mortality. Several times per year I see people keeping fish either beyond their legal limit or in streams that are catch and release. Each time I see this happen I confront the person and remind them that this is not allowed. Most plead ignorance, but some become adversarial feeling that they do not need to follow the rules. The big problem is enforcement. In this situation it is not possible for me to contact Fish and Wildlife because I am often in an area with no cell service and I am possibly hours from anywhere where contact can be made. Short of following someone back to their vehicle and getting a plate (which I have done and does not usually end well) there is basically nothing that can be done.

In the last 5 years, I have spent more than 200 days on the water. In that time I have only been approached by Fish and Wildlife Officers twice (and only seen vehicles parked in the area 5 times). The officers are always great to deal with (because I am following the rules), the issue is that they are stretched pretty thin. They cannot possibly cover the area they are required to patrol effectively. The fact of the matter is, poaching is rampant, illegal stream crossings by OHVs are rampant, and there are not enough Fish and Wildlife officers to enforce it all.

I would suggest an increase to the cost of a fishing license to help pay for more officers. $30, for a license is a steal, I would happily pay $50 or $60 if it meant that the main problems facing the recovery of populations could be curtailed. The math seems simple, with 300,000 licenses purchased each year, an increase of $20 means an extra $6,000,000 to finance increased enforcement.

Just a thought...

Sorry but I still don't buy the idea that responsible catch and release fisherman are the main cause for a population's failure to recover.

Thanks again for your time.