Live Fish as Bait: When Opportunity Wins, the Resource Usually Loses...
Nonnative smelt introductions have compromised and even extirpated wild native fish populations throughout Maine, including rare Arctic charr, landlocked salmon, brook trout and lake whitefish.
“Because of the importance of our freshwater ecosystems, we walk a fine line trying to prevent the illegal introduction of harmful fish species while allowing anglers to continue Maine’s cultural tradition of using live baitfish where appropriate.”
The screen scrape below comes from a recent newsletter sent out by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. While they acknowledge the risks associated with releasing live baitfish into or even near the water, they fail to acknowledge the fact that simply using live fish as bait can lead to accidental introductions.
While major strides have been made in the last two decades, Maine’s management of the dangerous use of live fish as bait still falls well short of what is needed. Even the heralded recent live bait prohibition in the critically important North Zone fail well short of what was needed as it grandfathered all waters currently open to ice fishing as well as waters closed to ice fishing but with a history of “prevalence” of live bait use.
To know the risks of this dangerous practice but continue to allow it places a higher value on fishing than fish, and puts recreational opportunity above the health of the resource. Unfortunately, when opportunity wins the resources often loses...
“To use bait is to lose bait. Lose enough and you risk establishing populations of nonnative and highly invasive bait species such as smelts and golden shiners.”