Комиссия Южной Дакоты рассмотрит предложение об изменении правил транспортировки paddlefish

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) Commission is scheduled to consider a paddlefish proposal next week that would affect the Yankton area. During its July meeting in Webster, the GFP Commission proposed to modify the transportation requirements for paddlefish harvested during the archery season below Gavins Point Dam west of Yankton to allow for harvested paddlefish to be cleaned — including the removal of the head, skin and tail — prior to transport. GFP Fisheries Program Administrator Jake Davis, who is based in Spearfish, told the Press & Dakotan that this commission proposal was a result of a recommendation by the state agency, which was part of a package of fishing regulations that GFP staff members presented for the commissioners’ consideration. “On an annual basis, GFP staff review current regulations and consider new regulations, and these recommendations are then proposed to the commission at the July commission meeting,” Davis said. “If approved, they become commission proposals that go out for public comment prior to being considered for final approval at the September commission meeting.” The next GFP Commission meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10-11 in Winner. “While not initiated by a public petition, paddlefish transportation requirements during the archery season are a topic that staff have heard from the public, which is one of the reasons it was brought as a GFP recommendation,” Davis said. According to the state agency, paddlefish prefer the open waters of free-flowing, un-channelized large rivers. In South Dakota, they also occupy the large impoundments and free-flowing reaches of the Missouri River. This fish has a tubular-shaped body with a large paddle-shaped snout. Paddlefish lack scales and teeth — they feed on plankton — and the tail fin is forked and unequally divided. There are two paddlefish seasons on the Missouri River below Gavins Point Dam — an archery season in June and a snagging season in October. “In each season, anglers apply for a set number of permits — 275 in the archery and 1,600 in the snagging seasons — and if selected, can pursue/harvest a paddlefish,” Davis said. “During the October snagging season, there is a protected slot limit where fish of certain size must be released. Because of this restriction, law enforcement needs to be able to determine the length of a harvested paddlefish, and that is the reason for the transportation restrictions.” Currently, for paddlefish taken by anglers below Gavins Point Dam, “only the snout in front of the eyes, gills and entrails of a paddlefish may be removed for transportation,” he said, adding that the head, skin and tail must remain attached. “Final processing may only be completed once the angler has reached their domicile or immediately prior to consumption,” Davis said. “The reason for this is that during the snagging season, there is a protected slot limit where paddlefish between 35 inches and 45 inches — when measured with a flexible tape along and over the center-line contour of the fish, lying flat, from an entire eye to the natural unaltered fork of the tail — must be immediately released to the water from which it was caught. “By allowing only certain portions of the fish to be removed for transportation, law enforcement officers will still be able to determine the length of the fish and ensure that it does not fall within the protected slot,” he said. “However, law enforcement officers only need to be able to determine this length during the snagging season, but the transportation requirements apply to both seasons.” The paddlefish archery season is by permit only, as are all the paddlefish seasons, and runs from June 1-30 on the Missouri River from Gavins Point Dam downstream to the mouth of the Big Sioux River near Sioux City, Iowa. “Legal methods include hand-drawn bow and arrows or crossbows, but crossbows may only be used downstream of the (U.S.) Highway 81 bridge,” Davis said of the Discovery Bridge south of Yankton. “There is no protected slot limit for the archery season, as once a paddlefish is taken with these methods, it cannot be released and must be harvested.” The Gavins Point Dam paddlefish snagging season runs from Oct. 1-31. “A paddlefish that is snagged is able to be released after being caught, as there are gear restrictions (hook size) that are meant to reduce/eliminate post-release mortality,” Davis said. “Because of this, permitted anglers are able to release fish alive, specifically those that fall within the protected slot.” The paddlefish proposal is currently available for public comment, as are all of the fisheries proposals, on the GFP website. Additional information on paddlefish is also available on the state agency’s website or in the South Dakota Fishing Handbook, which is accessible online. To be included in the public record and to be considered by the GFP Commission during its September meeting, each written public comment on this proposal must include a full name and city of residence and be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6. For more information, visit gfp.sd.gov/commission/information/. “Prior to finalization at the September GFP Commission meeting, there will be an opportunity for the public to comment, either in-person or virtually, during the public hearing portion of the meeting (on Sept. 10),” Davis said. ——— For more information on the paddlefish proposal, people may go online to the South Dakota GFP’s website at gfp.sd.gov/commission/information/, click on the “Commission Book” link and search for “paddlefish.”