Will Emergency Bait Rule Become Law?
120 Day Emergency Measure Ends February 19th 2008... Hearings To Be Scheduled
Tuesday January 8, 2008
By Mike Cameron
The days of heading to a favorite tributary of Lake Champlain to net bait fish for the old “pond box” could be over. if Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Biologists are successful in their attempts to end the longtime practice of netting wild, native baitfish for sale by bait wholesalers, retailers and private sportspersons.
Times have changed for fishermen in Vermont who enjoy using live bait.
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) a disease that is primarily spread from fish to fish has resulted in an Emergency Baitfish Rule that is currently in effect here in the state.
The rule was implemented to prevent the spread of VHS according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s web site.
The reasons for the rule are clearly delineated on the site but it is important to note that the emergency rule implemented to prevent the spread of VHS is expected to expire on February 19, 2008 and that presents some important questions about what happens after that.
Beginning in January of 2008, a permanent regulation is expected to be presented to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board for consideration. “As part of this permanent rule adoption process, public input and comment will be received via hearings that will be held around the state,” according to information posted on the VFWD web site as of Friday, January 8, 2008.
Bait dealers the Voice has contacted are less than enthusiastic about the emergency rule or the fact that it could become a permanent law.
Having to purchase “certified bait fish,” from a certified source, approved by VFWD and enforced by Vermont Game Wardens is a process that has not been popular with many of them. “The certified bait is expensive and it is not as good as native bait for catching fish,” one dealer told us.
Many bait shop owners question the current scientific evidence that Vermont waters are now or will be effected by the disease.
Netting wild baitfish for sale at their businesses from waters they have utilized for generations here in Vermont has been a way of life. They depend on the income generated from selling the bait.
The emergency rule which has been in effect since this past fall has stopped them from netting or purchasing bait that the State has not recognized as “certified.”
Certified baitfish are not wild bait fish but raised commercially in a controlled setting under a strict protocol to guard against being infected by viruses that can threaten the life of the fish.
To monitor the Emergency Rule process, bait dealers are required to have bait customers sign a purchase order for the bait they buy. They (the fishermen), relieve a copy showing that they are fishing with certified bait in an approved body of water.
The bait can only be fished in waters that the shop is authorized to sell for and the unused bait must be disposed of and not returned to the water they are fishing in or any other waters when the fisherman is finished with it.
There is a 48 hour window to use the purchased “certified bait.” If for example you take a dozen or so golden shiners on the ice to fish for pike. You can not bring them off the ice alive when you are done fishing to be used the next day. They must be disposed of. However if you left some of the live golden shiner “certified bait” in a bucket in your vehicle and did not bring them on the ice, it is our understanding from talking with a state biologist that the bait left in the car and not brought on the ice in the first place, can be used another day as long as it is used in the 48-hour window you signed for at the bait shop where you originally bought the bait. “The 48 hour window and the signed slip is are important control points in this process,” State Fish and Wildlife Fish Health Biologist Tom Jones explained to the Voice. “After 48-hours all the bait has to be disposed of.”
We asked Jones why the emergency rule was imposed.
He explained that VHS has spread quickly throughout the Great Lakes and into several inland waters in some Great Lakes states. In every case, the existence of the virus was not detected until fish began to die in large numbers. The insidious nature of the virus is what makes it such a potential threat.
Scientific evidence suggests that the virus is likely to be present in a body of water for one or more years before causing noticeable fish kills.
Biologists also believe that by controlling all fish movement at this time they can more accurately eliminate the risk of spreading VHS in Vermont waters.
As to what happens after the Emergency Rule runs its 125 day course on February 19, 2008?
The wheels have been set in motion for a permanent rule adoption process. The process will include public input and comment. These informational hearings will begin within the month according to VFWD Chief Warden, Colonel Robert Brooks.
When asked if Vermont bait dealers could legally sell non certified baitfish in their shops after the emergency rule ends on Tuesday, February 19th of this year, Colonel Brooks told The Voice, “technically they can.” His department however discourages the practice citing the increased risks involved in spreading Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) through the sale of wild non-State Certified bait fish.
Another factor is the ability to harvest bait this time of year. Ice and ice cold water presents a significant safety issue for those seeking to harvest bait after freez-up occurs . It doen’t mean however that it can’t be done by those who know how to do it.
In 2008, Vermont Fish and Wildlife officials will be significantly increasing its VHS surveillance program state-wide.
The Emergency Baitfish Rule could become The Baitfish Law in 2008.
Opponents of the measure are planning to organize and attend the public hearings in their area to lobby against a permanent rule and sources tell the Voice that petitions are already being circulated and signed by those who do not want to see these bait restrictions made into a permanent law.
The Voice will publish the public hearing dates and times and post them on our web site as we receive them.
For complete details on the VHS Emergency Baitfish Rule you can find them at: www.vtfishandwildlife.com
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