Live Bait by Exception Not Rule: The Process Worked
Golden shiners are highly invasive to wild brook trout.
Don’t think you have a voice? Can’t make a difference even if you wanted to? Your opinion doesn’t matter? Don’t want to waste your time on lost causes? Deck is stacked against you? Think again…
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) just sent out a Rule-Making notice formalizing the new live-fish-as-bait rules in the critically important North Zone. Effective January 1, 2020, the General Law will be no-live-fish-as-bait versus unrestricted bait, and live-fish-as-bait will be the exception not the rule.
As stated earlier, this is huge as nonnative fish are now the #1 threat to Maine’s wild native salmonids. This includes the last wild native Arctic charr in the contiguous United States, and 90% of the remaining wild native brook trout in lakes and ponds and large rivers, as well as sea-run brook trout.
As many are already aware, members of NFC were involved in this initiative right from the start. While not given a seat in the formal working group, NFC stayed involved where they could and where their involvement would make the most difference.
NFC spent tens of hours pouring over the initial proposal which was two years in the making, documented the trends and areas of concern, and presented their findings to MDIFW at a public hearing in June 2019. They submitted written testimony to MDIFW and the Commissioner’s Advisory Council as well.
The primary concern of NFC was the large number of exceptions at the lake and pond and river and stream levels. NFC focused their efforts on geographic trends rather than a water-by-water analysis while others looked at specific waters.
As a result of public input from NFC and others, MDIFW revised their lists of proposed exception, non ice fishing waters where live bait would be allowed, and submitted the new lists to the public. Satisfied with the proposed changes, NFC stepped back and let the process work.
For those who were not involved, per MDIFWs own words, the revised exception lists protected an additional 84 waters from the dangerous use of live fish as bait, 54 lakes and ponds and 30 rivers and streams. When you consider the inter-connectivity of these waters to other waters, this is significant.
Maine has the best processes for public input as to how its fish and game are managed of any New England state. We can thank Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine for much of this. Maine also has the most active and effective fisheries advocacy in New England, and by far. Might this be part of the reason why Maine also has the most intact wild native fish in the region? I believe so.
The moral of the story? Without formal processes you have no real voice. Without legislative pressure, you will have no binding formal processes. With formal processes, while the going is never easy, at least you have a fighting chance. Fail to take advantage of them, you will get nothing.