Volunteer to help guard Michigan’s sturgeon

Effort takes place on the Black River in Presque Isle County

The Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow in Cheboygan County is seeking volunteers to join in its effort, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement and Fisheries Divisions, to help protect lake sturgeon from illegal harvest during the annual spawning run.

Every spring, mature lake sturgeon, a fish species that is threatened in Michigan and rare throughout the United States, become vulnerable to poaching as they briefly leave Black Lake for spawning sites upstream in the Black River. Read more

Michigan: Gov. Rick Snyder awards $500,000 to Carp Tank innovation challenge winners

Edem Tsikata of Boston, Massachusetts accepts the grand prize at the Carp Tank from Gov. Rick Snyder, David Lodge, Jeff DeBoer and Dr. Denice Shaw.

DETROIT, Mich. – Governor Rick Snyder Tuesday announced the grand prize winner of the Great Lakes Invasive Carp Challenge. The solution proposed by Edem Tsikata, a software consultant at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, received the top award at the Carp Tank competition held Tuesday at the Port Authority in Detroit.

Tsikata’s “Cavitation Barrier to Deter Asian Carp” would utilize a row of specially designed propellers to generate a wall of cavitation bubbles that implode and emit high-speed jets of water. The painful sensation of the bubbles along with the noise of the propellers would repel fish and prevent their passage beyond the bubble barrier. Read more

Michigan: 2018 Fishing License Season Kicks off April 1

For those interested in going fishing in Michigan, a new license is required starting Sunday, April 1. That day is the kickoff to the state’s 2018 fishing license season, as well as the new fishing regulation cycle. All 2018 fishing licenses are good through March 31, 2019.

Anglers have eight options to choose from when making their purchase. All fishing licenses are good for all species.

    • Resident annual – $26
    • Nonresident annual – $76
    • Senior annual (for residents age 65 or older) – $11
    • 24-hour (resident or nonresident) – $10
    • 72-hour (resident or nonresident) – $30
    • Resident combo hunt/fish (base, annual fishing, two deer) – $76
    • Senior resident combo hunt/fish (base, annual fishing, two deer) – $43
    • Nonresident combo hunt/fish (base, annual fishing, two deer) – $266

Read more

Michigan: Conversations & Coffee with DNR fisheries staff scheduled throughout state

Those interested in discussing local and statewide fisheries management activities with Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff are encouraged to stop by one of several upcoming “Conversations & Coffee” events taking place around the state this spring.

The DNR Fisheries Division has hosted “Conversations & Coffee” the past few years to give people an opportunity to meet with managers and biologists, discuss local issues and management activities, and get specific questions answered. These meetings are extremely informal; at many of the meetings no formal presentations will be made.

Information on local and statewide regulation changes affecting anglers also will be made available at these meetings. Refreshments will be provided.

Meeting dates, times and locations include: Read more

Zinke Announces More than $1.1 Billion for Sportsmen and Conservation

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

This year marks $20 billion in hunter and angler conservation funding

HORICON, WI – Yesterday U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke traveled to Horicon, Wisconsin, where he announced more than $1.1 billion in annual national funding for state wildlife agencies from revenues generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration (PRDJ) acts. The Secretary presented a ceremonial check to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for $34,966,603 while visiting the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. State-by-state listings of the final Fiscal Year 2018 apportionments of Wildlife Restoration Program fund can be found here and the Sport Fish Restoration Program fund here. Allocations of the funds are authorized by Congress. To date, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has distributed more than $20.2 billion in apportionments for state conservation and recreation projects.

“American sportsmen and women are some of our best conservationists and they contribute billions of dollars toward wildlife conservation and sportsmen access every year through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts,” said Secretary Zinke. “For nearly eighty years, states have been able to fund important conservation initiatives thanks to the more than $20 billion that has generated nationwide. Every time a firearm, fishing pole, hook, bullet, motor boat or boat fuel is sold, part of that cost goes to fund conservation. The best way to increase funding for conservation and sportsmen access is to increase the number of hunters and anglers in our woods and waters. The American conservation model has been replicated all over the world because it works.” Read more

Researchers to Deploy Wall of Sound to Battle Invasive Fish

Three-year study aims to slow movement of Asian carp

 FRANKFORT, KY  — Researchers will experiment with a riverbed bubbler and sound system as part of the ongoing effort to slow the spread of Asian carp throughout the Mississippi River basin.

European technology originally designed to steer migrating salmon back into main river channels will be tested below Barkley Dam in western Kentucky as an environmentally friendly way to block passage of Asian carp upstream.

The Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence (BAFF) creates a curtain of bubbles, and in conjunction with a powerful sound signal, produces an underwater “wall of sound” designed to deter the passage of fish.

Fish Guidance Systems, LTD, a company based in the United Kingdom, invented the device to herd migrating fish around water intakes and dams in Europe. The company describes the fence as a behavioral barrier that requires less maintenance than a physical barrier, such as a screen or an electrical barrier. Read more

NMMA Condemns Aluminum Tariffs

Thom Dammrich, NMMA President, reiterated the recreational boating industry’s concerns following President Trump’s formal announcement yesterday of new tariffs on steel imports (a 25 percent tariff) and aluminum imports (a 10 percent tariff) – releasing the following statement:

“The Administration’s short-sighted decision to implement new tariffs is meant to fulfill a campaign promise rather than support robust, pro-growth trade policy. This action will hurt countless manufacturers and uniquely American industries like ours that support 650,000 American jobs and $37 billion in sales each year. 95% of all boats sold in America are made in America.

“The recreational boating industry is disheartened that the Administration has chosen to ignore the warnings from American manufacturers, Members of Congress, and aluminum producers alike. Today’s action threatens the livelihood of Americans in aluminum and steel using industries. The President has chosen 150,000 workers in the steel and aluminum industry over the 6.5 million workers in user industries. Read more

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