Proposal 286 & 287 Redefine sport possession

[Salty]

Proposal 286 and 287. Redefine sport limits to include “preserved fish until returning to domicile.”

I helped write the ATA proposal several years ago and thought the Board of Fisheries appointed a Board task force to work on this issue between the last SE finfish meeting and this one. I thought we would see a proposal from the Board of Fisheries on this issue for this Board cycle. This is one of the most important issues before the Board of Fisheries this year because it involves what I see as the most serious SE fisheries conservation problem; the inability of our State and Federal fisheries management systems to recognize, adequately account for, and manage the guided sport fishery.
The failure of our management system to deal with this problem led us to initiate a successful local collaboration in Sitka a number of years ago to deal with localized depletion of halibut. While ATA, a commercial interest group, and I, a commercial salmon troller, have initiated these proposals this year the problem transcends guided sport fish/commercial allocation disputes. The disappointment in Sitka and other SE communities with the failure of our Federal and State fishery managers to address the guided sport fish growth and circumventing of sport fish “possession” limits and other management efforts like the National Marine Fisheries Service regulation to manage the guided sport halibut catch in SE Alaska has led to a social attitude problem toward the guided sport fish industry.
Bumper stickers like Charter Fishing is an Organized Crime have become popular in Sitka. Others have been seen that are more hostile. The Alaska Longline Fisherman’s Association, Sitka Marine Stewardship Roundtable, and Sitka Trollers organized a forum with representatives from enforcement, coast guard, and fish & game to try and minimize problems on the fishing grounds in 2007. While conflicts were less noticeable in 2007 there are still deep seated resentments in Sitka as fishing guides continue to resist halibut conservation measures and a local fish box export tax.
I reported a local charter operator to enforcement after he maliciously ran over my starboard float bag with his 24 foot fiberglass guided sport fishing boat at about 25 knots. In addition to endangering himself and his clients he endangered my crew and damaged my equipment. When I cautiously trolled by him later in the day thinking an apology might be forthcoming my crew and I were assaulted with a barrage of foul language that impressed even this salty Alaskan fisherman.
From my perspective as a marine conservationist, a successful leader of numerous community and fishing group collaborative efforts, and a lifelong resident of SE Alaska with grandchildren growing up here, it is critical to the health of our resources and our communities that the Board of Fisheries send a clear message that you are going to manage the guided sport fishery. Other states have changed their possession limits to include preserved fish. (Sample, courtesy of SEAFA, attached) Please adopt this proposal so guides and clients will understand that “possession” limit in SE Alaska actually mean something.




ATTACHMENT B
Proposal #286/287 Possession Limit Definition

Washington State :
Definitions from WA State Sport fishing regulation booklet
Annual Limit: the number of fish that may be taken statewide, during the license year April 1 – March 31.
Daily Limit: The maximum number of pounds of fish, shellfish, or seaweed of a given species and size which a person may legally keep in a single day
Frozen: Fish or shellfish that are hard frozen throughout
Fresh: Fish or shellfish that are refrigerated, iced, salted or surface glazed.
Possession Limit: The number of daily limits allowed to be kept in the field or in transit.
Processed: Fish or Shellfish that have been subjected to heat (including kippering, smoking, canning and boiling)

Harvest and Possession Rules:
You May Not: (not all rules provided, kept to the ones dealing with possession limits)

• Harvest any part of another person’s daily limit, except for person’s who possess a Designated Harvester card
• Possess fish or shellfish that do not meet the minimum and maximum size limit, weight limits, or sex restrictions, or that are in excess of the daily or possession limit.
• Possess salmon or sturgeon eggs in the field without having retained the intact carcass of the fish from which the eggs were removed.
• Possess another person’s game fish unless it is accompanied by a statement showing the name, address, license number, date, county and area where it was taken, and the signature of the angler who harvested it.
• Hold recreationally-caught fish or shellfish in storage by a custom canner, hotel or restaurant without tags listing the name and address of it’s owner.
• You may not offer any recreationally-caught fish or shellfish for sale or barter.


Marine Area Possession Limits:

• Marine Areas 1-6: Anglers aboard a boat may only possess one daily limit of fish or Shellfish in fresh form.
• Salmon – Two daily limit of fresh salmon. An additional 40 pounds of salmon may be possessed in a frozen or processed form.
• Trout – Two daily limits of hatchery steelhead
• Sturgeon – Two daily limits in any form. Statewide annual limit of 5
• Bottomfish – two daily limits in any form
• Halibut – Two daily limits in any form, except only one limit while aboard the fishing vessel.
• Tuna and Mackerel – no possession limit or daily limit
• Shellfish – one daily limit of fresh. Additional shellfish may be possessed in a frozen or processed form.
• Forage Fish – (Herring, anchovies, sardines, sand lance and smelt) Two daily limits in fresh form. Additional forage fish may be possessed in frozen or processed form.
• Other Marine fish – one daily limit in any form


You May:

• Clean or portion fish or shellfish while in the field with the following exceptions: It is unlawful for an angler to fail to retain proof of compliance with species, size, number, weight, sex or wild or hatchery origin restriction, if such restrictions apply, until the angler is ashore and has finished fishing for the day. For all rockfish species and for fish with a length restriction, anglers must retain the fish carcass until coming ashore to comply with the above rule. This does not apply if the catch is in the process of being prepared for immediate consumption.


Oregon State :
Definitions:

• In the Field, Forest or Transit: Anywhere other than a permanent residence
• Permanent Residence: A residential dwelling where a person normally lives, with associated features such as address, telephone number, utility account etc.

General Statewide Regulations:

• Catch and Possession Limits: apply to all waters and across Zone boundaries and apply to all fish and shellfish in possession regardless of condition. This includes fish and shellfish which are fresh, and when lawful, frozen, canned smoked or otherwise processed.
• Daily Limit: Maximum number of fish or shellfish which may be legally caught and reduced to possession in one day. An angler may take daily limits of several types of fish per day.
• Annual Limit: applies to abalone, Pacific halibut, salmon, steelhead and sturgeon only. The annual catch limits are: abalone 5; sturgeon f; Pacific Halibut 6; and 20 for salmon and steelhead, in any combination, when recorded on the Combined Angling Tag. Adipose or otherwise fin-clipped salmon or adipose fin-clipped steelhead legally recorded on a Hatchery Harvest tag do not count toward this annual limit.
• Possession Limit: Maximum number or amount of a type of fish or shellfish that a person may lawfully possess in the field or forest, or in transit to the place of permanent residence . The possession limit is: 2 daily limit for all species, including jack salmon except 1 daily limit for abalone, 1 daily limit on the vessel or three daily limits on land for Pacific Halibut, and no possession limit for adult salmon, steelhead or sturgeon. Anglers are restricted to 1 daily catch limit and 1 annual catch limit for all fish species from the Columbia River, even if licensed in Oregon and Washington.


California State :
Chapter 1.17 Bag and Possession Limit . No more than one daily bag limit of each kind of fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk or crustacean named in these regulations may be taken or possessed by any one person unless otherwise authorized; regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen or otherwise preserved. Exceptions: See sections 7.00, 7.50(a); 27.60 (c ); and 195, Title 14, CCR
Section 7.00 . . . Daily bag and possession limits, unless otherwise provided, mean the total number of trout and salmon in combination. Unless otherwise provided, no more than one daily bag limit may be possessed. Silver (coho) salmon may not be taken in any of the waters of the State , except in Lake Oroville . Incidentally hooked Silver (coho) salmon , except those in Lake Oroville , must be immediately released unharmed to the waters where they are hooked. In waters where the bag limit for trout or salmon is zero, fish for which the bag limit is zero must be released unharmed, and should not be removed from the water.
Section 27.60 The general bag and possession limit of section 27.60 states that no more than 20 finfish in combination of all species with not more than 10 of any one species, may be taken or possessed by any one person. Within this general bag limit of 20 fish with not more than 1- of any one species, special sub-limits apply to many species. There are also many species that have no bag or possession limit.

Canada :

• It is illegal to possess any fish caught while sport fishing that is dressed or packed in a manner so that the species cannot be easily identified. This includes removing the carapace, or shell from any crab.
• It is illegal to field can any fish outside of a person’s ordinary residence, other than at a registered licensed facility.
• Possession Limit definition – the number of fish of any species that an angler may have in his/her possession at any given time, except at place of ordinary residence. In most instances, the possession limit is two times the daily limit for that species, however there are exceptions.
• Canada publishes a sport fish packaging guidelines to assist angler in complying with the law while transporting sport caught fish. Basically the fish must be left on the skin but the fillet can sliced up to the skin with wax paper between the sections before being frozen to allow for portions. (This bullet point summarized)


Montana :
Daily Limit: The number of fish that may be legally taken during a calendar day. A fish when landed and not immediately released becomes part of the bag limit of the person originally hooking the fish even if the fish is donated to another person. If you receive fish from another angler, those fish also become part of your daily limit.
Possession limit: The number of fish that may be possessed at any time in any form: fresh, stored in freezers or lockers, slated, smoked, dried, canned or preserved.

Minnesota :
Definition Daily and Possession limits (bags) – For most species of fish, the daily and possession limit is the same. One exception would be the inland limit on yellow perch, which is 20 per day and 40 in possession. The daily and possession limits include fish possessed by the person at all locations including such places a livewell, cold storage, at home, or at a resort. Daily limit is the number of fish an angler can take in one calendar day. Eating those fish or gifting them away on the same day does not allow an angler to possess an additional fish taken in the same calendar day.
Possessing Fish

• Daily and possession limits are the same unless otherwise noted. Fish are in an angler’s possession whether on hand, in cold storage, in transport, or elsewhere.
• Once a daily or possession limit of fish has been reached, no culling or live-well sorting is allowed.
• While on or fishing waters with size restrictions, all fish for which the size restriction applies must have their heads, tails, fins and skin intact and be measurable. A person may prepare and use the fish for a meal while docked or moored to shore, or while on the ice. Fish prepared and used for a meal still count towards the daily possession limit.

Fish prepared for Transportation , shipment, or storage are defined as follows:
Undressed fish must have heads, tails, fins and skin intact. Entrails, gills and scales may be removed.
Dressed Fish may have heads and scales or skin removed, in addition to gills and entrails.
Fillets are fish flesh, excluding cheeks, that have been removed from a fish. Scales or skin me be removed or intact. A fish may not be reduced to more than two fillets.
 Fish must be packaged or transported in such a way that they can be readily unwrapped, separated, identified and counted.
 All dressed fish and fillets must have a 1-square-inch patch of skin with scales intact from a portion of the body other than the belly.
Shipment

• Licensed angler may make three shipments of fish per year. A permit issued by a conservation officer is required for each shipment. A shipment cannot contain more than a possession limit of one species.

Storage

• A person who stores fish for another must plainly mark the package, in ink, with the name, address, and fishing license number of the owner, and number of fish in the package, the waterbody where taken, and total length of each fish with a size limit.


Mexico :
In ocean waters and estuaries the limit is a total of ten fish per person per day, with no more than 5 catches of a single specie, except of the species of Marlin, Sailfish, Swordfish and Shark, of which only one specimen from this group is allowed per day, and which counts a five toward the overall 10 fish limit or Dorado, Roosterfish, Shad or Tarpon, of which only two samples from this group are allowed, and which count as five toward the overall 10 fish limit.

Limit on inland bodies of water (rivers, lakes, dams, etc) is five fish per day, whether of a single specie or in combination.

Underwater fishing is limited to five fish per day, using rubber band or spring type harpoons, and only while skindiving.

There is no limit to the practice of “catch and release”, as long as the fish that exceed the bag limit be returned to their environment in good survival condition.
When sportfishing is conducted from boats out at sea for longer than three days, the bag limit will be the equivalent of three times the amounts mentioned above.

Australia
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is there a limit to the number of fish I’m allowed to catch?

• It depends on the species of fish. If the experts decide that the fish is abundant, there is no limit.
• Other species may be regulated by number, known informally as a “bag limit”. This limit varies from species to species. The aim is to conserve fish populations and spread the catch more fairly among all fishers.
• The limit means that you are not allowed to catch and keep more than a set number of the particular type of fish at any one time. It doesn’t matter when the fish were caught, so if five (say) is the limit, you cannot take five today, put them in your esky or your fridge and take another one or two tomorrow. You can only catch more when the supply in your fridge falls below the official limit .

[Ocean Gold]

I should have read "clarify sport "