kickingfrog Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 http://www.nugget.ca/2015/08/18/new-chief-pulls-plug-on-walleye-nets All First Nation fishing nets will be removed from Lake Nipissing as of Saturday at noon. Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod informed local fishermen today that the fishery is being closed this weekend, putting a stop to gill netting to ensure the health and long-term sustainability of Lake Nipissing and the walleye fishery. “I have been speaking directly with fishers to inform them of the closure, to encourage compliance and to let them know that we are actively working to develop plans to mitigate the economic impact of our decision,” McLeod said Tuesday. A special meeting of council was held Monday evening to discuss the closure. “We met last night to discuss the recommendations from Nipissing First Nation''s Natural Resources Department and to maintain sustainable harvest levels we needed to take action and close the fishery for the season,” McLeod said. He also stated that Nipissing First Nation is aware that some people may not respect council's decision, however the situation will be monitored through active patrols. The closure will remain in effect until the end of the 2016 spring fisheries moratorium. According to Nipissing First Nation closing the fishery before Aug. 31 effectively reduces the season by more half – to just over three months from the seven months is was in the past. This isn't the first time NFN has amended its Fisheries Law. In 2014, the community was informed gill netting would stop in Oct and wouldn't resume until spring when the recreational walleye fishing season opens. Council has also implemented several regulations that came into effect in 2015 to include the elimination of spear fishing and gill netting during the spring spawn, reducing the number of nets from five panels to three, changing the minimum mesh size from 3.5 inches to 3.75 inches, reinstituting the fish hatchery on a small experimental scale, hiring fishermen to seed a barren spawning grounds and studying the impact over a number of years, withdrawing licenses from any crews using non-members as part of fishing crews and actively patrolling and confiscating all unmarked nets. The Ministry of Natural Resources indicated in March 2014, the walleye fishery is in serious decline and is now only half of what it was in the 1980s, mainly due to the combined pressure of both the recreational and commercial fisheries. As a result the ministry did away with a slot size restriction aimed at preserving spawning walleye 40 to 60 centimetres in size and instead introduced a new minimum size limit to protect walleye up to 46 centimetres. The move was aimed at safeguarding young fish that have not yet had a chance to spawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pics Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Wow, it's about time but there will be dissenters for sure.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 lip service - at best. "encourage compliance" "some people may not respect councils decisions" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskieman Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Scott rocks , he'll fight tooth and nail for Lady Nipissing , believe me , wait until spring , il vas avoir d'la merde dans la fan . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneak_e_pete Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Its a step in the right direction....and acknowlegement of an issue. Better than going backwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerritt Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 Its a step in the right direction....and acknowlegement of an issue. Better than going backwards! Well said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted August 18, 2015 Report Share Posted August 18, 2015 you know what, you're absolutely right. it has to start somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkpie Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Yes, it won't take much for that lake to recover. It is a walleye factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhickey Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 About 10 years at least. Yes, it won't take much for that lake to recover. It is a walleye factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeytier Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Nipissing is still full of walleye, wont take ten years for 14" fish to reach 18" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishindevil Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Well let's hope it's not smoke & mirrors Steve said it above !!! Asong as everyone abides by it and we will see... But at least it's a step in the right direction !!! But is it a day late and a dollar short ? Time will tell I guess we need some info from fisheries biogists to now say what it will take to further help the recovery and how long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkpie Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Nipissing is still full of walleye, wont take ten years for 14" fish to reach 18" Exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 No lake recovers in less then 1 year. No netting forever is the real solution to this problem. BUY OUT THE NETTERS and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosebunk Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Thanks for posting Rob. Never any interest ever to fish that lake, and many have certainly read about it's walleye issues over the years. McLeod puts a good foot forward with this decision, hoping it helps that fishery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenboater Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 (edited) I think this is also a strategic move. The ball is basically in the court of sportfisher now so we'll see how this plays out. Any further decline will be less focused on nets. But I believe the overall intent is to protect the fishery for future generations. I can imagine Chief had his work cut out for him trying to get this passed. Good for him though taking a strong stand. Edited August 19, 2015 by woodenboater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 It took a commercial walleye netting buyout and ban and a few years for Lake Erie in Ohio to recover from decades of over harvest. A poor or bad spawn in a year or two might create the same problems if most to the fish being caught are from the same spawning years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlrap Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 I think this is also a strategic move. The ball is basically in the court of sportfisher now so we'll see how this plays out. Any further decline will be less focused on nets. But I believe the overall intent is to protect the fishery for future generations. I can imagine Chief had his work cut out for him trying to get this passed. Good for him though taking a strong stand. I disagree, the recreational angler can only keep two walleye greater 18 inches which is only 3 percent of the population. Therefore you have to release 97 percent of the walleye you catch. The commercial fisherman targets @ 70 percent of the population. I would say that's a big difference. Although I would be in favour of a complete shutdown of fishing in the winter. That's when it sees the most fishing pressure and the kill rate must be elevated when you have to release 97 percent of your fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmer Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Nice to see the Chief make this decision, hopefully it works out. Have there been any mortality studies done on the release of walleye caught in 30+ feet of water and then released? It was one of my concerns when they changed the limits and size. Letting fish go while ice fishing with swim bladders sticking out of their mouths turned me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oggie Posted August 19, 2015 Report Share Posted August 19, 2015 Good decision by the Chief. Now it's up to the Band to pressure those that decent and continue to fish. Things must be pretty bad for the Chief to make that decision. Sounds like the Fishery is in real trouble. My next concern was where will the nets go? Surely they aren't just going to STOP fishing. Mattawa River? Ottawa River? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akaShag Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 This is a very positive development, and I am happy to see it. I note some "cup half empty" responses, but suggest this really is a "cup half full" situation. I do hope it is successful, and it beats the snot out of doing nothing. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr blizzard Posted August 20, 2015 Report Share Posted August 20, 2015 A positive step is still a step in the right direction, fished that lake with dad for many a year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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