If you’re fishing for lake sturgeon and muskellunge this season, don’t forget to register your harvest within 24 hours — it’s required. You can register two ways: online at Michigan.gov/RegisterFish, or by calling the new number at 906-287-0816.

“Anglers who register their catch provide important information for resource managers, including details about where the fish was caught and how large it was,” said Cory Kovacs, DNR fisheries biologist. “That type of detail helps us appropriately manage these important species.”

Registering your harvest online or by phone should take only a few minutes. Please keep in mind that fish registrations are not accepted at any state fish hatcheries or DNR field offices. Registrations are currently not accepted at DNR customer service centers due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The harvest season for muskellunge opened June 6 and lake sturgeon opened July 16 this year. You can find season end dates and waters open for these two species in the 2020 Fishing Guide. For information on purchasing your 2020 Michigan fishing license, visit Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses.

DEC’s nine cold water fish hatcheries collectively produce over 6.4 million fish annually. Unfortunately, a significant number of these trout and salmon are lost to a variety of predators in search of a “free meal.” One predator that causes most fish losses is the great blue heron. At the Caledonia Hatchery it’s not uncommon to have upwards of 40 great blue herons surrounding the ponds during the spring.

Over the years a host of methods have been employed to deter herons from preying on hatchery fish: from sound cannons, to balloons, to dancing “tube men” and decoys – even getting a watch dog to chase them off the property. The only way to effectively prevent fish losses from predation is to totally enclose the ponds within a building structure. Read more

HONOLULU — Coast Guard and Hawaii County Fire Department crews rescued a kayaker beset by weather 6 miles off South Point, Monday.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) recovered the kayaker with his craft and transported him to Keauhou Bay.

“Even the most experienced mariner can find themselves in trouble when out on the ocean and that is especially true following a large storm,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Lackey, a Sector Honolulu watchstander. “The Islands are still feeling the after effects of Hurricane Douglas and we urge people to exercise caution due to the high surf and strong rip currents caused by the storm.”

No injuries or medical concerns were reported.

At 7:55 a.m., Sector Honolulu watchstanders received a report from the Hawaii County Dispatch reporting they had received a call from a kayaker in distress. The kayaker stated he had become beset by weather while fishing Sunday night and had drifted off shore. He stated he was capsizing and fatigued.

The Hawaii County Fire Department launched an Air 1 helicopter air crew in response while Sector Honolulu watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast notice to mariners, and diverted multiple coast guard assets including the Kimball to assist.

The HCF Air 1 helicopter crew arrived on scene, located the kayaker, and remained overhead until the Kimball arrived.

“The kayak blended in with the whitecaps created by the strong winds,” said Seaman Michael Bassman, a lookout aboard the Kimball. “This made the mission incredibly difficult but also all the more fulfilling with its successful conclusion.”

Because of these difficulties the Coast Guard recommends waterway users wear bright clothing while out on the water to assist search and rescue crews during emergencies.

The weather on scene was winds of 28 mph and seas up to 8 feet.

Amicus brief filed in federal court case brought by Southern Environmental Law Center

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Representatives of thousands of sportsmen and women across the country filed a friend of the court brief today in support of a lawsuit to overturn the Waters of the United States rule (2020 WOTUS rule).

Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), the Izaak Walton League of America, and the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) joined Dale Hall, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on the amicus brief. In the filing, the parties rebut the legal and scientific basis for the 2020 WOTUS rule, and describe likely harms the rule will cause anglers, hunters, and the businesses and communities that rely on clean water.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), representing a group of plaintiffs, filed suit on April 29, 2020, challenging the 2020 WOTUS rule from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The rule redefines which rivers and wetlands are protected as “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. Today’s amicus brief supports SELC’s motion for summary judgment vacating the rule; the motion was filed before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on July 10, 2020.

The amicus groups and Mr. Hall have worked for decades to defend the broad, science-based jurisdictional protection historically afforded our nation’s streams and wetlands by the Clean Water Act. The 2020 WOTUS rule drastically and arbitrarily departs from longstanding law, policy, and science, removing protections for at least half the stream miles and millions of remaining wetland acres in the lower 48 states. It also threatens—rather than maintains and restores, as the law requires—the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. By eliminating the federal water quality standards and permit requirements on these streams and wetlands, the rule will cripple the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water quality. Read more