Cheboygan Tribune

Cheboygan Tribune
DNR issues new baitfish regulations

By MARK SPENCLEY
Tribune Staff Writer

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is warning ice fishermen to be aware of the species and origin of the baitfish on their hook.

For several months now the DNR has been instituting a program to halt the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHSv, a deadly fish virus that was first discovered in a Clare County lake last June.

The program is designed to suppress the spread of the virus by regulating the species of baitfish that can be used for fishing. Anglers can visit the DNR Web site www.michigan.go/dnrfishing to find an updated list of prohibited baitfish species.

Gary Whelan, DNR fish production manager, is urging fishermen to check the Web site often because the prohibited species list will be updated regularly.

In addition, Whelan is reminding anglers that the regulations vary based upon designated management areas, which have been identified to help in controlling the spread of VHSv throughout Michigan's waters.

State waters have been broken down into three basic management areas, which include the VHSv Free Management Area, the VHSv Surveillance Management Area and the VHSv Positive Management Area.

The VHSv Free Management Area includes Lake Superior and all the waters within the Lake Superior watershed.

Waters of the VHSv Positive Management Area include the Great Lakes from Lake Huron to Lake Erie, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River, as well as all tributary streams up to the first barrier that blocks the movement of Great Lakes fish into inland waters. VHSv was found earlier in fish off Cheboygan County shores.

Many waters are covered by the VHSv Surveillance Management Area, including all waters in the Lake Huron, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, and Lake Erie watersheds above the first barrier that blocks the movement of Great Lakes fish into inland waters, as well as the St. Mary's River and the waters of Lake Michigan up to the first barrier that blocks the movement of Great Lakes fish into inland waters.

For fishermen, these three management areas dictate which baitfish can be used inside each of the three established areas. This all hinges on where the baitfish were collected and whether they received disease-free certification.

If baitfish have been certified as disease-free they can be used in any waters across the state. A key issue arises though, when anglers collect their own baitfish.

Baitfish that are collected in the VHSv Free Management Area are free to be used in all state waters, but the same does not apply for baitfish harvested in the other two management areas, noted Whelan.

He went on to explain that baitfish collected within the VHSv Positive Management Area, they have to be used within that management area. Baitfish harvested in the surveillance area can be used in both the surveillance and positive management areas.

“An easy way to determine the management area classification of a particular water body is to determine if Great Lakes fish such as Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, walleyes or suckers can get to that water body. If so, then that location has the same classification as the Great Lake water into which it flows.” said Whelan.

He also said fishermen should carry receipts to verify the certification of their baitfish.

If anglers purchase bait from a retail shop, they will need to carry receipts for any species of baitfish or roe that is found on the Prohibited Species list, said Whelan. Some of the key baitfish species that anglers will need to have receipts for include: emerald shiners, spottail shiners, and white suckers, as well as for roe from Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead.

Each receipt should contain five pieces of vital information.

€ The name of the licensed retail bait dealer and dealer's license number.

€ The date of sale.

€ The prohibited fish species sold and amount.

€ A transaction number.

€ Whether the bait is certified or not.

The information on the receipt is essential to allow DNR staff a chance to trace back any problems, such as a VHSv outbreak.

“Anglers are likely to see a variety of ways the information is provided on or attached to a receipt, since we are trying to be as flexible as possible in working with retailers. As long as the information is made available to the angler, everything will work out just fine,” said Whelan. “Anglers may see cash register printouts with all of the information, cash register printouts that have some of the information on an attached sticker (such as an address or photo slide-sized label) or ink stamp, or cash register printouts with some of the information and a second piece of paper attached to the receipt with the rest of the information.”

DNR officials are also warning anglers to be skeptical of large price increases attributed to testing requirements, citing that the price to test each fish in nominal.

“It is critical that anglers follow these regulations because we need their help in preventing the movement of fish diseases. Without their help, their fisheries could suffer avoidable losses,” said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Kelley Smith.