Sportsmen frustrated with temporary success of Pebble’s delay tactics for protections to Bristol Bay’s world-class fishery

ANCHORAGE, AK – U.S. District Court Judge Holland today released a ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Pebble Limited Partnership. The ruling allows the case to proceed into discovery and temporarily keeps the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to protect Bristol Bay on hold. Judge Holland did not rule on the merits of the claims, but only that the claims are plausible, and could not be dismissed, as the Environmental Protection Agency had requested in its motion.

Though Pebble has succeeded in temporarily delaying the protections proposed by the EPA, the facts remain: the EPA has authority under the Clean Water Act to protect Bristol Bay; the people of Bristol Bay and Alaska overwhelmingly oppose the Pebble mine; and if built, Pebble would harm the region’s incredible wild salmon runs. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources today announced that the survey vessel (S/V) Steelhead is back on the water to conduct surveys of Lake Michigan fish populations. The S/V Steelhead will collect data used to estimate relative abundance, biomass, age and growth, health, diet, survival rates, natural reproduction and movements of fish in Lake Michigan.

The S/V Steelhead will be 50 years old in 2017 and has been in continuous operation since 1968 – spending almost 200 days on the water annually. It is used in a variety of fisheries assessment operations – including spring evaluations of adult yellow perch, lake whitefish, lake trout and Chinook salmon populations. Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds anglers to monitor their live bait purchases this holiday weekend and also to look for juvenile Asian carp during the entirety of the fishing season. The DNR is taking many steps to prevent adult Asian carp (bighead and silver) from entering the Great Lakes, but many people don’t realize that juvenile Asian carp pose a threat to the state’s waters, too.

Juvenile Asian carp can be confused with common baitfish – such as gizzard shad, emerald shiner, spottail shiner or golden shiner. Because bait often is transported across state lines, including from areas with breeding populations of Asian carp, it would be possible for juvenile Asian carp to make their way into the bait supply without anyone realizing it.   Read more

The Department of Natural Resources’ popular Master Angler program, which recognizes those who catch fish that exceed certain minimum standards, has undergone a major change for 2015.

Originally, Master Angler status was determined by the weight of the fish. But with catch-and-release fishing growing in popularity, in 1992 the program began recognizing anglers who released specimens by the length of the fish they caught.

Now, in a move to simplify the program in 2015, the DNR no longer will require weights for Master Angler consideration, even if the fish are kept. Weights, however, still will be used to determine state-record fish.

Michigan anglers submitted fewer trophy fish to the program in 2014 than they did in 2013, but they set five state records nonetheless. New state marks were established for black buffalo, brown bullhead, flathead catfish, quillback and white perch.

“Overall, the number of fish entered into the Master Angler program was down in 2014 from the previous year,” said Lynne Thoma, who runs the program for the DNR Fisheries Division. “It was down in both categories – catch-and-release and catch-and-keep. But we did have five new records. I think that’s the most new records ever.” Read more

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone that the annual Summer Free Fishing Weekend is set for Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14. That weekend, residents and nonresidents can fish without a license, though all other fishing regulations still apply.

Michigan has celebrated the Summer Free Fishing Weekend annually since 1986 as a way to highlight the state’s vast water resources and high-quality fisheries. With more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes and tens of thousands of miles of rivers and streams, fishing and Michigan go hand in hand. Read more