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New Herring Bait Regs

8K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Reel Force 
#1 ·
The New regs concerning the purchase and land transport of live herring will ruin the striped bass season on the Hudson River for most anglers. I've copied the regs below from the Hudson River Fisherman's Association web site. In short, you can't buy live herring from your local baitshop and drive it to the river. They think you might stop along the way and use it in a pond somewhere to catch brookies and spread disease. Who the hell uses blueback herring anywhere but in the Hudson in march and April? And where else do the baitshops get it but in the Hudson. Clearly this is a regulation written by Cornell desk types who have never fished a day in their lives.

wkempton

How the new Fish Health Regulations affect angling on the Hudson River
Gregory Kozlowski: New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation
Fisheries Outreach Coordinator
Emergency regulations impacting fish movement and the use of baitfish have
been implemented in New York in response to an emerging disease threat, viral
hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS). Historically, VHS caused widespread fish
mortalities in European aquaculture facilities and localized fish mortalities in
Pacific Herring along the North American West Coast. In recognition of its
potential for profound socioeconomic consequences, VHS is one of nine reportable
diseases to the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE). VHS became a
concern in New York due to outbreaks in the Great Lakes. The earliest confirmed
VHS report in the Great Lakes was a frozen Lake St. Clair muskellunge taken
in 2003 that had been retested after VHS was first documented in the
Great
Lakes during 2005. VHS has caused fish mortalities in Lake Huron and Lake St.
Clair, and in New York waters including Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St.
Lawrence River and Conesus Lake. Popular angling fish species involved in the fish
mortalities were muskellunge, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye,
yellow perch, bluegill and pumpkinseed. The Animal Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) lists 37 species of fish across 13 families that are susceptible to VHS,
including all herring species and several popular baitfish species. It is
unusual for a fish disease to affect so many fish species across such a variety
of families. The greatest risk pathway for the spread of VHS was identified
as fish movement, including stocking and the use of baitfish. Given this
information, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
had to respond to the VHS threat.
Emergency Regulations: Take 1: With the growing evidence of the threat VHS
posed to the fisheries resources in New York, the DEC filed emergency
fishing regulations on November 21, 2006. Those regulations strictly controlled the
movement of fish. The significant impact to Hudson River anglers was that
the emergency regulations did not allow the use of herring caught in the Hudson
Rivers tributaries to be used in the main stem of the Hudson. Additionally,
the regulations required that all commercially sold bait fish had to be
certified as "disease free" of six fish diseases, including herring. At the same
time the emergency regulations were filed, the same regulations were
proposed as part of a normal rule making that involved a comment period. Anglers
commented that the herring in the tributaries were the same herring that were in
the main stem of the Hudson and therefore posed no threat if used as bait in
the Hudson River. Commercial bait dealers commented that they could not hold
herring long enough to get the disease testing (takes 3 to 5 weeks) and
that the striper run would be over by the time the herring were certified as
disease free.
Emergency Regulations: Take 2: The DEC reviewed the comments submitted in
response to the proposed fish health regulations and filed revised emergency
regulations effective March 9, 2007. The revised emergency regulations were a
compromise between issues raised during the comment period and the disease
risk of moving fish from one body of water to another. The following revised
emergency fish health regulations impact the Hudson River:
• Personally harvested bait fish, live or dead, can only be used on the same
water body from which they were caught;
• Commercially harvested bait fish, live or dead, can only be possessed,
sold, and offered for sale on the same body of water from which it was caught
unless first certified as disease free;
• The Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery
at the southern tip of Manhattan Island and all tributaries to the first
barrier impassable by fish is considered one water body. Locks and dams are
considered impassable barriers;
• All bait fish, live or dead, that are not certified as disease free cannot
be transported overland by a motorized vehicle;
• Fish taken for consumption may be transported overland but may not be
brought back to the water and used as bait;
• Bait fish collected in the Marine District may be used as bait in the
Hudson provided that the fish were not transported overland;
• Bait fish that is certified disease free may be transported overland and
used as bait provided that the angler has a copy of the sale receipt that
states the baitfish are certified disease free and has the name of the vendor,
date sold, species of fish sold, and quantity of fish sold. A receipt is valid
for seven days from the date of sale.
* Note that not all details of the revised emergency regulations are listed.
For a complete list of the emergency regulations, visit
www.dec.ny.gov.
What do these regulations mean for Hudson River anglers?
The "message" that the revised emergency regulations sends is that there
can be serious negative impacts of moving fish from one body of water to
another. That is why the DEC is restricting the use of uncertified baitfish to the
water from which they were caught. The good news for Hudson River anglers is
that herring caught in the tributaries of the Hudson will be able to be used
as bait in the main stem of the Hudson. However, you cannot put herring, live
or frozen, in your car to transport them overland from Hudson River
tributaries or bait stores to the Hudson. This will change the way anglers buy and
collect bait fish. Since you cannot put your baitfish in your car, you will
have to purchase your baitfish on the water or within walking distance of the
water. If you collect your own herring, you will have to collect them either
within walking distance or boating distance from where you plan to fish. You
will still be able to bring herring home for pickling, but you will not be able
to bring them back to the water as baitfish once they are transported away
from the Hudson.
Why can't uncertified baitfish be transported overland by car? Enforcement!
If uncertified baitfish were allowed to be transported in a car, then the
regulations would be unenforceable. After all, bait fish don't come with the
label "raised in the Hudson River," so it would be impossible to tell where
the baitfish came from. More importantly, people would be tempted to bring
baitfish from one body of water to another. That is the risk the regulations
avoid by not allowing uncertified baitfish to be placed in a car. The regulations
allow a person to collect baitfish and use them on the same body of water.
If you "need" to transport baitfish overland, then buy certified disease free
bait fish and keep your receipt. The choice is yours.
Revised for now: The changes made in the revised emergency regulations were
different enough that they warranted a second public comment period.
Therefore, the DEC proposed a new set of regulations that are the same as the
revised emergency regulations. Comments will be taken through April 27, 2007. For
more information on VHS and how to submit public comments, please visit
_www.dec.ny.gov_ (
http://www.dec.ny.gov/) and type VHS in the search engine.
 
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#2 ·
So does this apply to ALL baitfish, creek chubs and smelts and shiners. No one will have bait if thats the case. Of course spreading the disease is detrimental too....if it's shown this is truly a finite source and not just speculation. I never found the 'wash your boat' principal was really very effective, I wash mine the best I can, but with so many nooks and crannies in the conventional boat trailer, hauling out of Oneida lake, car washing the thing, and putting in a week later at Otsego Lake is hardly fool proof against millfoil, or zebra muscles. What happens to the bait fish ejected from a herrons stomach 2 hours after it flew from one wetland to another.
 
#3 ·
Good point Eddie. This new reg will effect fresh water anglers even more than the striper fisherman on the river. What really bugs me about the inclusion of blueback herring in the regulation is that they are NOT used by anglers anywhere else but in the river AND you can't get them anywhere else but in the river or in the river's tributaries.
Anyone out there know of an angler who uses herring as bait on any of the state's freshwater ponds or lakes?

Wayne:pbdoi:
 
#4 ·
It says:
"The significant impact to Hudson River anglers was that
the emergency regulations did not allow the use of herring caught in the Hudson Rivers tributaries to be used in the main stem of the Hudson."

Then further defines this:

"The Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery
at the southern tip of Manhattan Island and all tributaries to the first
barrier impassable by fish is considered one water body. Locks and dams are
considered impassable barriers;"

There may be different breeding populations, or some othe factor. I do not know. It appears to me that they are defining areas, of The Hudson itself. It does not appear this is solely implying the use of Herring to catch fish other than in the Hudson. But in various segments of The Hudson.

It does seem a very vague law. With more loop holes on the side of enforcement. Fopr example if you were to purchase herring for bait, it would need to be done dockside, as overland transport is unlawful.

That being said, you are able to use personally harvested Herring on the same body of water. So hypothetically, you could go to a herring run, harvest live bait, and throw them for stripers there. The question being where does the run become a tributary, and not the Hudson itself. Confusing, to be sure.

It refers to far more than Herring though. I might be tempted to check out my local shop and see what they have done as far as regulations. Perhaps captive breed shiners and such, have a certification. I do not know.
 
#5 ·
Hey Joe,

Marine bait fish (herring or bunker etc) used in the Hudson River between the Federal Dam at Troy and the Tappan Zee Bridge cannot be transported overland by a motorized vehicle unless they are certified. Therefore, uncertified marine bait fish (herring or bunker etc) must be transported by boat upstream of the Tappan Zee. You can scalp in the tributaries between Troy and Tarrytown but you would have to float your catch down to the river; you can't drive it overland. On the water you can catch all the herring you want and use them anywhere from Troy to Tarrytown, you just can't bring any leftovers (alive or dead) overland to home for the next day.
Please write to DEC with your objections to the new regs asap.

Wayne:icon_rolleyes:
 
#6 ·
Hey Joe,

Marine bait fish (herring or bunker etc) used in the Hudson River between the Federal Dam at Troy and the Tappan Zee Bridge cannot be transported overland by a motorized vehicle unless they are certified. Therefore, uncertified marine bait fish (herring or bunker etc) must be transported by boat upstream of the Tappan Zee. You can scalp in the tributaries between Troy and Tarrytown but you would have to float your catch down to the river; you can't drive it overland. On the water you can catch all the herring you want and use them anywhere from Troy to Tarrytown, you just can't bring any leftovers (alive or dead) overland to home for the next day.
Please write to DEC with your objections to the new regs asap.

Wayne:icon_rolleyes:
and i cant drive them home to pickle them?
 
#7 ·
••Smelt, suckers, alewives, and blueback herring taken by dip
nets (page 17) or angling, and suckers taken by spearing, may
be transported overland by motorized vehicle for consumption
purposes only. Once those species are transported away
from the water body, they may not be transported back to
any water body for use as bait.
 
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