Alabama House legalizes gillnetting on Tennessee River

[RiverCanyonBass]

<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">MONTGOMERY, Ala.</span><span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">(AP</span><span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">) — The Alabama House has repealed a law prohibiting gillnetting on the Tennessee River on Thursday. It is the only waterway in the state that is affected by lifting the ban.</span>

<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">The bill's proponents say gillnetting — or dragging a net beneath the water's surface — is the only method of controlling the spread of Silver Carp, an invasive species. The fish can grow to 40 pounds and leap 10 feet out of the water. The large carp have been known to pose a danger to humans.</span>

<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">There is a commercial market for the fish. One legislator says the repeal will be helpful to establishing the Alabama Bass Trail as well.</span>

<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">Conservation officials say they support the repeal, which passed 93 to 2. Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Lauderdale, sponsored the bill.</span>


<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec">Read more:</span>http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/House-legalizes-gillnett...<span style="color: #43647e; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; background-color: #ececec"></span>

 

[Carl Guffey]

<font size="3" face="georgia,palatino">Glad to see this from Alabama. Gillnetting is the only way to slow these creatures down. The nets should be set and the carp are driven into them with boats, not pulled along. There are such huge numbers with Asian carp that it would require an ocean trawler to complete that task. </font></p>

<font size="3" face="Georgia">Since the fish are used for human consumption the nets can not be left to soak. The Carp must be captured and placed on ice as soon as possible allowing most bicatch to be released unharmed.</font></p>

 

[Brock]

I did some research and found out that 70 percent of meat in fish sandwichs is either carp or buffalo so go to your local fast food joint and eat more fish

 

[takenoprisoners]

Here's to hoping it works out well. And also that we don't wind up with a problem around here that requires similar measures.

 

[theweekender]

The only issue will be do these commercial guys know how to catch Asian Carp. They are a different animal to get in the
nets. They really will need to know what mesh size to use. And these crazy fish are hard to get in a net because they will leap over the float lines

 

[shadow2]

theweekender - 12/25/2013 8:23 AM

The only issue will be do these commercial guys know how to catch Asian Carp. They are a different animal to get in the
nets. They really will need to know what mesh size to use. And these crazy fish are hard to get in a net because they will leap over the float lines

If not they will figure it out fairly quick.. That is the great thing about americans they are very adaptive. even more so when you are talking about the southern half of the country.

 

[Dgreen]

shadow2 - 12/25/2013 12:19 PM

theweekender - 12/25/2013 8:23 AM

The only issue will be do these commercial guys know how to catch Asian Carp. They are a different animal to get in the
nets. They really will need to know what mesh size to use. And these crazy fish are hard to get in a net because they will leap over the float lines

If not they will figure it out fairly quick.. That is the great thing about americans they are very adaptive. even more so when you are talking about the southern half of the country.

Not to mention that's how they make a living! emoHungry

 

[Carl Guffey]

<font size="3" face="georgia,palatino">Most of the work to figure out mesh sizes and other issues is now being or has been done by TWRA and the Kentucky Wildlife people. All of the information is readily available and easily obtained. The biggest problem from this point on, is to create a local market to make the price for captured fish high enough tobe profitable. Capturing that many fish is hard back breaking work and there needs to be a pot at the end of the rainbow.</font></p>

<font size="3" face="Georgia">On the up side because the nets can not be left to soak. There is little to no bycatch. If a fish, not of carp lineage, is captured it is most normally released with no stress. There should also not be any nets left to just float off on their own.</font></p>

 

[Lucky Bass]

Gill nets aren't stopping asian carp whatsoever nor will they help to manage them. The Mississippi River is commercially fished/gill netted from end to end and there are still bighead and silver carp in all stretches of it. This is just a proactive move so that a new fishery for the invasive is set for when they arrive.

 

[Carl Guffey]

Lucky Bass - 2/13/2014 6:24 PM Gill nets aren't stopping Asian carp whatsoever nor will they help to manage them. The Mississippi River is commercially fished/gill netted from end to end and there are still bighead and silver carp in all stretches of it. This is just a proactive move so that a new fishery for the invasive is set for when they arrive.

</p>

<font size="3" face="georgia,palatino">The reason there has been little effect on the Mississippi is that the fish have not been targeted. As there is no commercial local markets currently established. Fishing Asian carp is a strenuous task and the carpare not going to caught unless there is a paying market.</font></p>

 

[Lucky Bass]

The market for the fish exists. Asia will take every fish we can send them (no need for local markets). What is not established is the local processing plants and we are not going to see processors pop up in Alabama or East TN when the fish are already in numbers elsewhere on waters more economical for overseas shipping. We are talking about a species that is already established and has a high reproductive output. It only takes a small spawning population to end up with a lot in a hurry. Commercial fishing, electric or bubble barriers are not stopping them and their presence, DNA or actual fish, has been found in all water bodies linked to the Mississippi.

Hopefully they will act like a lot of other aquatic invasives in that their initial numbers will spike and then come down to manageable levels as it realizes carrying capacity.

Here's a good video on a small processor already in KY.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHkM1LQosFs

 

[Carl Guffey]

<font size="3" face="georgia,palatino">Although an overseas market does exist, it does not support the prices neccessary to encourage local commercial fishing because of the highcost of shipping. By creating a local market, prices could be maintained that would supporta local fishing fleet. Without including the price of shipping for fresh cargo.</font></p>

<font size="3" face="Georgia">With a local market, processors can and will showup where ever the fish are readily available. Which will be the entire lenght of the Tennessee River before long.</font></p>

<font size="3" face="Georgia">These fish are not only in waters connected to the Mississippi. They are also showing up in small ponds and lakes not connected, but in the same areas. Asian carp are being moved by animals and/or people.</font></p>