MDC backs off test of catfish restrictions
The Missouri Department of Conservation has decided not to
test special restrictions on catfishing in central Missouri. The agency
held four public meetings in July and August to gauge anglers’
attitudes toward a possible trial of more restrictive flathead and blue
catfish regulations. Eight out of 10 anglers who commented on the proposed regulations said they did not want the change.
In a catfish angler survey the Conservation Department conducted in 2002, 55 percent of Missouri River catfish anglers who responded expressed support for some form of harvest restrictions on
flathead and blue catfish if it increased their chances of catching a
trophy-sized catfish.
The agency was considering restrictions on an 82-mile reach of the
Missouri River from Glasgow to Jefferson City and part of the Lamine and lower Blackwater rivers. The changes were designed to increase the
number of large flathead and blue catfish.
The Conservation Department is seeking anglers and business people to
join a catfish-management stakeholder group. The group will meet to
discuss catfish management with Conservation Department biologists. For more information about this advisory group or to ask questions or submit comments about catfish management, contact Resource Scientist Kevin Sullivan, P.O. Box 368, Clinton, MO 64735, phone (660) 885-6981, e-mail Kevin.Sullivan@mdc.mo.gov.
Speaking of Missouri River catfish, check out the story on catching monster catfish in the Big Muddy in the January-February issue of River Hills Traveler.
