MS 413 MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY AND PADDLEFISH COMMERCIAL FISHERY DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009 Report For Project 00109: Freshwater Commercial Fishery Coordination Freshwater Fisheries Report No. 259 Project Leader: Garry Lucas Sections: PADDLEFISH COMMERCIAL FISHERY: First Paddlefish Roe Season Harvest COMMERCIAL FISHERY HARVEST SURVEY: First Survey of Commercial Fishers NON-GAME GROSS FISH SURVEY DATA
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MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY AND … · inland commercial fishery for non-game gross fish (rough fish) and non-native fishes during Fiscal Year 2009 (July 2008 to June
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MS 413
MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY
AND PADDLEFISH COMMERCIAL FISHERY
DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009
Report For Project 00109:
Freshwater Commercial Fishery Coordination
Freshwater Fisheries Report No. 259
Project Leader: Garry Lucas
Sections:
PADDLEFISH COMMERCIAL FISHERY: First Paddlefish Roe Season Harvest
COMMERCIAL FISHERY HARVEST SURVEY: First Survey of Commercial Fishers
NON-GAME GROSS FISH SURVEY DATA
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MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY AND PADDLEFISH
COMMERCIAL FISHERY DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009
Abstract
This report documents data collected during Fiscal Year 2009 associated with MDWFP Project 109,
Freshwater Commercial Fishery Coordination. The report is presented in 3 components: Summary of
the 2008-2009 season for the paddlefish fishery, Documentation of the harvest reported by
respondents to the Commercial Fishery Harvest Survey., and Summary of the Non-game gross fish
survey.
During Fiscal Year 2009, 680 persons purchased inland commercial fishing licenses, permits or tags.
Statistics on 2008-2009 Commercial Fishery for Paddlefish:
Participants – 3 persons had Harvester Permits ($1,000 each)
One person had a Processor Permit ($2,000 each)
Catch - 55 paddlefish were caught; 26 were harvested and 29 released. Of the 26
harvested paddlefish, 13 were females with 73 lbs. of eggs (raw wt.).
Product - 94% of the processed roe was sold as a product packaged for retail sale
identified as originating from Mississippi. The paddlefish flesh went to
private consumption and none was marketed.
Statistics on Survey of Inland Commercial Fishery for 2008.
Participants (FY2008): 715 – 60% indicated they did not get a license for monetary benefit.
Survey returns 249 33% usable return rate
Harvest by respondents to survey for past year, 2008
Buffalo – ½ million pounds; Blue & channel Catfish – 170,000+ pounds;
Flathead 50,000+ pounds; Common carp -70,000 pounds; Asian carp -
60,000+ pounds Freshwater Drum -11,000 pounds; Gar- 14,000 pounds; Other
species harvested – eel, bowfin, shad, and minnows
Non-Game Gross Fish Survey:
During FY2008 and FY2009 74 stationary gill net sets were set in 14 water bodies, that
caught 206 fish of 24 species. Length Frequency distributions for paddlefish, buffalo (species
combined), and catfish (species combined) are presented
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MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY AND PADDLEFISH
A. Commercial Fishing Harvest Survey Packet ............................................................ 19 1. Introductory Flyer .......................................................................................... 19 2. Survey Form ................................................................................................... 21 3. Harvest report Form ...................................................................................... 23 B. Guide to Commercial Paddlefish Harvest ............................................................... 25 C. Paddlefish Harvest Report Guide and Harvest Forms ............................................ 29 1. Paddlefish Sale Transaction Form ................................................................. 39 2. Paddlefish Processor Report Form ................................................................ 40 D. Law Enforcement Information Packets ................................................................... 41 1. Meeting Handout; August 2008 multi-district meetings .............................. 41 2. Paddlefish Enforcement Flow Chart .............................................................. 42 E. Tables of Data Presented as Graphs in Report ......................................................... 45 F. Public Notice F-3798 Paddlefish harvest 2008-2009 Season ................................... 47
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MISSISSIPPI FRESHWATER COMMERCIAL FISHERY AND PADDLEFISH
COMMERCIAL
FISHERY DURING FISCAL YEAR 2009
Project Leader: Garry Lucas
During Fiscal Year 2009, 680 persons purchased inland commercial fishing licenses, permits or tags:
MDWFP sold 649 resident inland commercial fishing licenses, 24 nonresident licenses, and 7 of 8
Louisianans who purchased reciprocal gear tags (153 purchased) did not purchase a Mississippi
commercial license. During FY2009, 522 persons purchased 3,712 gear tags while 107 persons
The Fishery Management Plan for the Mississippi Inland Commercial Fishery has a
discussion of commercial fishing license trends related to changes in license structure and
license prices (MDWFP, 2009).
300
500
700
900
1,100
1,300
1,500
1,700
1,900
NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE
COMMERCIAL FISHERY (By Fiscal Year)
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This report documents activities associated with the management of Mississippi’s
inland commercial fishery for non-game gross fish (rough fish) and non-native fishes during
Fiscal Year 2009 (July 2008 to June 2009). The report is organized into 3 parts. The first part
discusses the 2008-2009 season for paddlefish roe harvest. The next section documents
findings from the first harvest survey of commercial fishing license holders. The last section
discusses effort to survey the non-game gross fish populations of northwest Mississippi.
PADDLEFISH COMMERCIAL FISHERY
The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks closed the state to commercial harvest of
paddlefish in April 2007. The fishery was re-opened in December 2008 on border waters
shared with Arkansas. The fishery was opened with strict regulations that possibly make the
Mississippi commercial paddlefish fishery one of the most tightly regulated fisheries,
anywhere. The regulations for the 2008-2009 paddlefish fishery are found in Public Notice
3798 (Appendix F).
Statistics on 2008-2009 Commercial Fishery for Paddlefish:
Participants – 3 persons had Harvester Permits ($1,000 each)
One person had a Processor Permit ($2,000 each)
Catch - 55 paddlefish were caught; 26 were harvested and 29 released. Eight
(8) of the released fish were less than 34”EFL (eye to fork length),
and 18 were legal size. Of the 26 harvested paddlefish, 13 were
females with 73 lbs. of eggs (raw wt.). The length of the harvested
paddlefish (both male & female) were 34 to 45 inches (EFL).
Product - 94% of the processed roe was sold as a product packaged for retail sale
identified as originating from Mississippi, although mostly in 3 or 5
pound lots. The paddlefish flesh went to private consumption and none
was marketed.
Background –
Paddlefish are a valuable commercial species being sought not only for its meat, but the eggs
are processed into caviar. Paddlefish caviar retails for $260 to-$346 per pound (Spring 2009
prices). The 2003 closure by the USFWS of the importation of beluga caviar from the
Caspian Sea caused an increase in demand for paddlefish roe that caused an increase in
dockside prices for paddlefish egg. Paddlefish eggs have even been found substituted for
sturgeon eggs as product labeled as valuable sturgeon caviar (River Crossings, Vol. 9 #3,
May-June 2000, and Vol. 12 #1, Jan-Feb 2003). Mississippi saw an increase in fishing for
paddlefish by out-of-state persons from 2004 to 2007. Prior to 2007, Mississippi played a
role in the caviar market as paddlefish were then harvested in September and October for
their eggs. It is believed that these eggs were accepted as a low-grade caviar for the
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lucrative December holiday trade and cruise ship trade, but there was no mechanism in place
to document the disposition of the eggs .
Paddlefish populations are sensitive to fishing mortality because of their longevity, late age at
first maturity, and relatively low maximum fecundity values (Boreman 1997). Anonymous
information indicated substantial harvest of paddlefish for their eggs by out-of-state persons
in Delta waters such as Lakes George, McIntyre, Wolf, and Six Mile. Fishery researchers
saw many paddlefish when working in Delta lakes, but encountered few to no paddlefish
in those waters after those lakes were targeted for paddlefish by commercial fishermen.
Public Notice F4-2999, effective April 2007, closed the season for the commercial harvest of
paddlefish
History Of Mississippi Paddlefish Regulations
Prior to 1986 – 32 inch length limit (32 inch total length)
1987 – 54 inch length limit (TL)
1988 – closed season, January – April (Nov. – April on Pascagoula River system ) 1994 – closed season Nov. – April; Statewide 2007 – No Open Season for Paddlefish Harvest
2008 – Open Season Dec. 2008 to March 2009 to harvesters with special permits on
border waters with Arkansas. Harvest was restricted to fish greater than 34
inches (EFL) to match length limit eatablised by Arkansas Game & Fish
Commission.
In 2007 Mississippi began the process to open the paddlefish fishery to sustainable harvest.
The aspiration for the fishery –
Give Mississippians opportunity to benefit from lucrative caviar trade, and use that as
a stepping stone to enhance commercial fishing industry
Develop Mississippi product(s) produced from a sustainable paddlefish population
In 2007 MDWFP met with wildlife agency officials with Tennessee and Arkansas to review
those states regulations and to discuss options for equivalent regulations on border waters.
The MDWFP decided to not open the fishery in winter of 2007, as the proposed regulations,
if adopted at that time, would only be class III violations ($25.00-$100.00 fine) that would
not be a suitable deterrent to illegal harvest. The 2008 Legislature changed Statute 49-7-90
to give MDWFP the authority needed to manage paddlefish harvest. The Statute made any
violations of laws or agency regulations, concerning paddlefish a Class I violation
($2,000.00 - $5,000.00 fine, 5 days in jail and loss of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges
for a period of not less than one year) . The components of Statute 49-7-90 established in
2008 –
Violations of laws or regulations concerning paddlefish are Class I offence
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Commission may establish permits concerning harvest of paddlefish
Must have commercial fishing license to sell non-native fish
Persons with commercial fishing license are to report harvest
Public Notice F-3798, that became effective September 2008 opened border waters with
Arkansas to the harvest of paddlefish and paddlefish roe (Appendix F). Key elements of the
regulations in PN F-3798 are –
Harvesters must have special permit to harvest paddlefish; cost of permit
$1,000
Harvesters and processors must attend a mandatory meeting on paddlefish
season.
Season December 2008-March 2009
Harvested paddlefish must be at least 34” EF length. (The MDWFP goal is to have
a 38 inch length limit that research indicates will protect 30% of spawning size females. To
try to have consistent regulations in border waters Mississippi harvesters would abide by the
lesser length length between the two states, which was 34 inches per Arkansas regulations.)
Harvested paddlefish must be tagged
Eggs must remain within fish till fish reach processing facility of permitted
buyer; cost of processor permit $2,000, buyer permit $5,000
Sale of paddlefish must be reported within 24 hours
Once the regulations were assumed, Fisheries Bureau staff took actions to inform the public,
commercial licensed persons, and conservation officers of the regulations. The MDWFP web
page had a link to the Public Notice through an icon in the ‘Hot Topics” recent news section.
Persons holding a commercial fishing license were informed by the flyer included with the
commercial fishing harvest survey packet, and by a link to a “Guide to Commercial
Paddlefish Harvest” as part of the commercial fishing digest link on the MDWFP web page.
The commercial fishing brochure also had an icon in the “Hot Topics” section. (The flyer and
Guide are found in Appendix A and B, respectively). Conservation Officers were notified of
the regulations by a handout included with a “information booklet” given to them at meetings
held on August 22, 2008 for officers in the northern ½ of the state and on August 29 for
officers in the southern half. Also a more precise guide was made for use by officers and
their supervisors, that was distributed to officers who would possibly have a direct
involvement in the enforcement of paddlefish regulations. (The handout and Law
Enforcement Guide are included as Appendix D)
Persons seeking to obtain paddlefish permits had to apply for permits through the POS
license system. The applications were available October 1 to October 15, 2008 at any license
agent; cost for the application was $5.00 plus applicable transaction fees. Those applying for
permits were screened to ascertain if they had any previous violations of paddlefish
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regulations within the last five years. Such violation would preclude them from being
qualified to purchase a paddlefish permit.
Persons seeking to obtain paddlefish permits were required to attend a mandatory meeting.
That meeting was held November 21, 2008 at the North West Mississippi Fish Hatchery. At
that meeting paddlefish harvesters and roe buyers were able to meet. The regulations were
explained to the attendees along with how to fill out the Paddlefish Sale Transaction Form to
document harvest of paddlefish. An instruction manual on filling out the forms was
distributed those attending the meeting. The instruction manual also discussed the rules and
regulations concerning fishing for and harvesting paddlefish.
Three paddlefish harvesters and one buyer (processor) participated in the 2008-2009 fishery.
The fishery got off to a rough start as the buyer could not get his processing facility
operational and permitted (by Health Dept.) till January 10, 2009. The regulations required
harvesters to take their catch to a permitted buyer, so they could not fish till the buyer got
established. Since the buyer’s facility was located in Horn Lake, Mississippi, the paddlefish
were harvested from the Mississippi River and adjacent lakes in DeSoto and Tunica
Counties.
Paddlefish CPUE of Paddlefish Harvester Permit holders for the 2008-2009 paddlefish
season:
Total Catch rate for all paddlefish = 0.64 paddlefish per net set
Catch rate for legal size paddlefish = 0.26
Catch rate for undersize paddlefish= 0.38
Catch rate for harvested paddlefish= 0.16
After the season was over those who participated were sent a letter asking them what changes
they would like to see in the regulations for the upcoming season.
1 – Adopt a resident dealer/processer permit
2 -Reciprocal agreement with Arkansas should only be within the main channel banks of the
Mississippi River.
3 - Limit the harvest of meat
4 -Have an unattended net law
5 - Have mandatory educational programs
6 -Have a shovelnose sturgeon season
7 - Ban the harvest of large catfish by commercial fishermen
8 – Do not let out-of state persons to fish for paddlefish in Mississippi
9 – Adopt Arkansas regulation in regards to removing eggs while on the water
10 – Reduce permit fees
11. – Open interior waters to summer/meat harvest
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Comments were also received concerning paddlefish regulations from 10 persons responding
to the Commercial Fishing Harvest Survey. Additional comments from those respondents -
1. Make paddlefish regulations fair – Fees are expensive and discriminatory (5)
2. Open Mississippi to non-residents: That would increase license sales
3. Reduce length limit to bordering waters limit
4. Allow a 24 inch block out rule
5. Allow more time to apply for permits so persons can prepare nets
6. Eliminate 100 yard rule between nets
7. Go back to paddlefish regulations in effect prior to 2007.
8. Permit harvest of paddlefish caught during the summer that do not survive nets (3)
9. Permit harvest of paddlefish statewide
10. Permit sale of paddlefish outside of range of where season is open
11. Allow person to keep one paddlefish per day for personal consumption
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
EFL Length (1/2 in. increments)
Length Frequency of Paddlefish Harvested during 2008-2009 Season
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COMMERCIAL FISHERY HARVEST SURVEY
During the 2008 Mississippi Legislative session, Statute 49-7-90 was amended to require
that persons with freshwater commercial fishing licenses report their harvest of nongame
gross fish A harvest survey was sent to each of the 715 persons who purchased a
commercial fishing license during FY2008. Each license holder was sent a packet that
contained a notice letter, commercial fishing survey form, harvest report form and an
addressed envelope to return the forms. The notice letter stated the requirement to report
harvest, highlighted recent changes to commercial fishing regulations, and notified recipients
of upcoming paddlefish season and how to apply for paddlefish permits. The survey form
had questions that elicited why a person purchased a commercial fishing license and asked
for recommendations to changes in regulations or things to improve fishing or fish stocks.
The harvest form asked questions on what gear were used and the how many fish were
harvested. The gear use included questions on number of days, number of gear units used,
and preferred fishing location.( Copies of the inclusions in the packet are found in Appendix
A.) The packet was mailed September , 26, 2008, with a deadline for return of January 31,
2009. Two hundred fifty two (252) surveys were returned, of which 23 were returned
undeliverable, including for one person who had deceased.
Statistics on Survey of Inland Commercial Fishery for 2008.
Participants (FY2008): 715
Survey returns 253= 230 sent in surveys + 22 returned as
undeliverable + 1 deceased
33% usable return rate
Harvest by Commercial Fishing License Holders for “Past Year”, 2008
Species
Harvest reported by respondents to survey
(33% of Licence holders responded to
survey)
Estimated harvest by All
Licensed persons
Buffalo 500,000 pounds 1,500,000 pounds
Blue & channel catfish 68,600 fish @ 212,000 pounds 205,800 fish @ 636,000 lbs.
Flathead catfish 6,200 fish @ 53,000 pounds 18,600 fish @ 153,000 lbs.
Common carp 70,000 pounds 210,000 pounds
Asian carp 80,000 pounds 240,000 pounds
Freshwater drum 11,000 pounds 33,000 pounds
Gar 14,000 pounds ( 216 alligator gar reported) 42, 000 lbs.
Other species harvested – eel, bowfin, shad, minnows
65 persons reported they harvested no fish in past year (28% of respondents)
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Commercial fishers are required by law and regulation to report harvest on forms supplied by
MDWFP. Although the response rate was relatively low for a regulatory requirement, the
low response rate may be explained by the dynamic nature of the fishery: Only 348 of the
715 persons who purchased licenses in FY2008, also purchased licenses in FY2009, the
fiscal year during which the surveys were sent.. Many of those who received survey forms
probably threw them away, as they thought that since they did not have a license at the time
they did not need to participate in the survey. And, they were correct. This significant change
in participation in the fishery could also explain the high number of persons (28%) who said
they did not harvest any fish in the past year (see table on page 10), or the 59% of
respondents who did not answer any of the questions on why they participated in the fishery
(see table on page 11).
Fishing effort by respondents to survey (230 respondents – 33% of license holders)
Fishing effort reported by respondents to survey (for 2008)
Gear
Number of persons
who fished gear (% )
Avg. # days
fished in a yr.
by persons
who fished
that gear
Avg. # gear
fished per day
by persons who
fished that gear
(range)
Gill net
(range)
47 (20%) 88
(3-365)
3.7 nets
(1-10)
Hoop nets 83 (36%) 56
(2-250)
6.5 nets
(2-25)
Slat Boxes 19*(8%) 76
(3-300)
2.6 boxes
(1-5)
Trotlines 72 (31%) 71
(5-300)
4.6 lines
(1-18)
No fish
harvested
65 (28%)
Other gears reported fished – rod & reel, special gear ( for Asian carp)
Percentage will not total 100% due to persons fishing multiple gears
* 93 persons purchased slat box licenses in FY2008
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Locations most frequently mentioned as preferred fishing sites
Locations most frequently mentioned
Most freq. mentioned gear for that location
2nd
most mentioned gear
Gear not mentioned or rarely mentioned
#1 - Pearl River Hoop nets (78%) equal response rate for other gears