Gill Nets In Kentucky and Barkley lakes
I have read a thread below about anglers concerns for gill nets in the lakes. Here is my reply.
Concerned Anglers
I appreciate your concerns, and would like to explain our reasons for our decision to allow commercial harvest of rough fish through March 31 and give you more detail concerning the fishermen’s affects on crappie numbers in the Kentucky and Barkley lakes.
There have been several studies that evaluated the potential catch of sportfish in gill nets. One particular study was actually conducted on Kentucky Lake in 1989. In this study, almost 39,000 feet of gill nets were examined. The results indicated that 63 crappie were caught, along with 9 black bass, a few bluegill, and striped bass. The most often caught sport fish was sauger. Of these nets, all sizes (bar mesh size) were considered; 3 inches to 6 inches. Of the crappie caught, 100% of them came from nets with a bar mesh that was 3 to 4 inches. At Kentucky Lake, most commercial anglers are using 5 to 6 inch nets since they are fishing for buffalo and paddlefish this time of the year. We have a regulation that limits the size of mesh they can use for this reason. If they set their net out and leave it over night, the minimum mesh they can use is 4 ½ inch. So, we are not disputing the fact that some crappies are caught and incidentally killed in the fishermen’s nets, but our data is clear that netting is not a major source of mortality to their populations. In fact, it is insignificant when factored into the total mortality rates of crappie in the two lakes.
Commercial gill netting in these lakes has been going on for decades, even when the crappie populations were thriving. As I indicated previously, we limit the size gear they can use explicitly to avoid the sport fish getting caught. We also limit their season (November to-March) to avoid angler conflicts; and have a regulation that limits the number of licenses (25) we sell to commercial anglers that fish at Kentucky and Barkley lakes. More than likely they are never all fishing at the same time, let alone in the same area. Additionally, we believe commercial anglers are helping improve the sport fishery. They are reducing the biomass of rough fish from the lakes. Without commercial fishing, the rough fish would have no predator, and their populations would multiply. Eventually too many rough fish could negatively impact the sport fishery. I have included a few photos of a recent commercial fisherman’s catch. These are Asian carp (bighead and silver carp). We occasionally ride along with commercial anglers to monitor their catch. These were caught just last week in Lake Barkley. Without the commercial fisherman, the Asian carp have the potential to devastate the lakes. This particular angler that we rode with the other day and his son had out 63 nets, which was about 11,025 feet. They caught 39 paddlefish, about 3,100 pounds of buffalo, a few common carp and gar, two striped bass, one largemouth bass and around 7,000 pounds of Asian carp. On average these carp weighed 20 pounds, but they had some as large as 70 pounds. The Asian carp are here in the lakes and we are observing their numbers increase each year. Right now the commercial anglers and the bow fisherman are the only ones that are taking them. I repeat, it is increasingly important that the Asian carps and other rough fish continue to be removed; especially the Asian carps. We have never needed the commercial fishermen more for this, because without their removal, the Asian carp will continue to increase in numbers until there will be no food for any sport fish in the lakes.
The decline in the crappie population is mainly caused by some poor year classes. This means conditions (usually water levels) were not ideal when spawning was occurring. Also, there is likely already an impact from the Asian carps since there are so many of them, and they eat the same food that young crappie and all young sport fish eat. There are also a few other environmental factors that affect crappie, but, I assure you that the decline is not due to gill nets. The nets can not be set after March, and crappie spawn mostly in mid April in these two lakes. So again, the netting is not decreasing spawning levels in the lakes.
We conduct sampling each spring and fall to evaluate the crappie populations at Kentucky and Barkley lakes. In the late 80’s, studies indicated a declining crappie population, thought to be due to drought conditions, and therefore we reduced the limit from 60 to 30. Once we observed a good year class (1989), to protect it, we implemented a 10-inch minimum length limit. The anglers liked this size limit so much that we have left it in place. In recent years we have been monitoring a declining population of crappie; therefore we reduced the limit to 20. To determine if we can help supplement these poor year classes, we plan to stock white crappie in Blood River and Little River for three years. Last fall was the first year of the stocking. We plan to evaluate these stockings and see if they help during the current crappie depression we are in. We are also observing more black crappie as compared to a decade ago. This change from a mostly white crappie fishery to black crappie is thought to be related to environmental changes (water clarity) in the lake, and has occurred throughout the crappie’s range.
One comment that was made regarded nets blocking the bays. The net mesh is big enough that crappie movement is not stopped, they should be able to pass through it, but could require that crappie swim over, under, or around the net. We did a telemetry study a few years ago with crappie. This study looked at the movement of crappie. We did this by placing transmitters in 60 crappie, and tracking their movement. One study was conducted in Blood River and the other in Sledd Creek at Kentucky Lake. At Blood River, none of the tagged crappie ever left the embayment. At Sledd Creek only a few crappie left the embayment. So the thought that nets might be blocking off crappie getting into these embayments is incorrect. Crappie rarely leave the embayments.
One comment was made that a commercial angler had several crappie and other sport fish lying in the bottom of his boat. I have explained how the nets rarely catch sport fish, but it is possible. If they had them in their boat, then it was illegal. The penalty if caught is fines, loss of gear, and loss of their commercial license. Commercial fishing is how most of these anglers make a living, so we believe that they would not risk their livelihood to keep a few crappie.
Another comment indicated that you hit a gill net with your boat prop. By regulation, the nets are supposed to be three feet under the water to avoid this conflict. So technically the net was illegal and should have been reported at that time. You should call 1-800-25ALERT.
I talked with one of our conservation officers on Thursday about these concerns of netting in Blood River. This officer was aware of the commercial anglers fishing there because he had checked them on multiple occasions the past few weeks. When he checked them they were completely legal; right mesh sizes, tagged gear, commercial licenses, no sport fish, nets 3 feet below the surface.
So again I appreciate you concerns, but rest assured we are closely monitoring these fisheries. The commercial anglers are needed to help reduce the numbers of rough fish in the lakes. We have set the regulations that should adequately control their fishing and catch. We understand that there will always be angler conflicts, and we will do our best to minimize what we can. However, these are public resources. The user conflicts are endless from the jet skis, to sport fishermen, to commercial anglers, and dock owners. The declining crappie populations are caused more by environmental affects and possibly the overabundance of invasive species such as the Asian carps. We will continue to work with the US Corp of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Authority on fluctuating water levels during the spring. But, they quickly remind us that these lakes were built for flood control, hydropower and navigation. We have set crappie regulations that should reduce overharvest. We are experimenting with stocking crappie to hopefully help supplement the populations when spawns are poor, and with the help of commercial fishermen, we hope to reduce the number of rough and exotic species in the lakes. I hope this clears up your issues about commercial fishing and its interaction with sport fish and other anglers.
If you wish to discuss these issues further, I will be glad to talk with you.
