NEW ILLINOIS BOWFISHING TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS The 2015 Fisheries Digest is out and there are alot of changes dealing with tournament fishing and bowfishing tournaments. I am going to post those related to bowfishing then bring up and specific changes that effect us. Before we get into a discussion about them I want everyone to know the BAI and I personally have all the faith in the decisions our fisheries dept. makes. They are biologists whos job it is to maintain healthy fisheries for ALL user groups in Illinois. Some may not like the changes some will, but if the IDNR made decisions on what people wanted, thought was the way to do something or liked there would be alot of people lining up to ban bowfishing simply because they dont like it. The IDNR Fisheries division makes its decisions based on science so I think we need to have faith in them. Here are the big changes for bowfishing tournaments as I see it, and Ill paste the entire rule section following. 1-a) A Bowfishing Tournament Permit from the Department of Natural Resources There is now alot more work to do when a tournament is held. A permit must be granted no less than 30 days before a shoot. 2-B) Statewide Bowfishing Tournament Harvest Limits for all waters -- No more than 10 native fish (all species in aggregate) daily tournament harvest (no culling) limit (all fish taken must be legal to take with bowfishing methods). All invasive fish (legal to take with bowfishing methods) have an unlimited take limit. There can be no more that 10 native species taken in a tournament. This is a total of all native species per boat and no fish may be released or culled after shooting them. 3-c) A summary report containing the numbers of each fish species caught and the length of the tournament fishing (hours) must be provided to the Division of Fisheries in Springfield within 10 days. Copies of IDNR Bowfishing Tournament Permits must be in the possession of each individual participant at all times. Reports must be made after the shoot and every person taking part must have a copy of the shoots permit in their possession. And finally at the bottom of the rules it states reasons why a tournament may be rejected at any body of water; So as you can see there are some changes to deal with this year. Alot more work for tournament directors and pretty much the end of native numbers shoots. Here is the entire rule change. Im currently going over the entire rule book to see if bowfishing is effected in any other way. Section 810.95 BOWFISHING TOURNAMENT PERMIT AND TOURNAMENT HARVEST REGULATIONS a) A Bowfishing Tournament Permit from the Department of Natural Resources is required if: 1) The Bowfishing Tournament event is conducted in any of the waters listed in Section 810.45 or at any other public water (open to bowfishing – See 810.15(d)) named as a tournament site. 2) Special Length Limit Regulation Exemption Permits to the site-specific regulations for size limit (not to exceed the statewide statutory limits) are not allowed on identified waters listed in Section 810.45 with restrictive limits. A) The Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash Rivers are not eligible for permits that exempt participants from daily catch and size limits due to regulatory agreements with neighboring states. B) Statewide Bowfishing Tournament Harvest Limits for all waters -- No more than 10 native fish (all species in aggregate) daily tournament harvest (no culling) limit (all fish taken must be legal to take with bowfishing methods). All invasive fish (legal to take with bowfishing methods) have an unlimited take limit. b) Requests for a Bowfishing Tournament Permit shall be made on applications provided by the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fisheries and available online on the IDNR and IFISHILLINOIS websites. Applications must be received not less than 30 days prior to the first tournament date and must be completely filled out or they will be rejected. c) A summary report containing the numbers of each fish species caught and the length of the tournament fishing (hours) must be provided to the Division of Fisheries in Springfield within 10 days. Copies of IDNR Bowfishing Tournament Permits must be in the possession of each individual participant at all times. d) Issuance or denial of a permit shall be based upon the following criteria: 1) The capability of the fishery resource to absorb the tournament with minimal impact to its well-being. The inclusion of no more than 10 native fish daily harvest limit (all legal to take with bowfishing methods). All invasive fish (legal to take with bowfishing methods) have an unlimited take limit. 2) The location of the tournament; special management zones on rivers and streams and waters with restrictive creel and length limits identified in Section 810.45 are not eligible for permits. 3) The evaluation of the adverse impacts resulting from the additional fishing pressure generated by the tournament on the fish population and the targeted fish species. The evaluation must demonstrate minimal and short-term impacts in order for the Department of Natural Resources to issue the permit. Specific items to be considered include: A) biological status of the fish population, including the species sought; B) length of the tournament; C) number of boats and anglers participating in the tournament; and D) safety of anglers and potential boater-user conflicts. 4) Appeals to denied permits must be made in writing to the IDNR Division of Fisheries within 10 days of receipt of the denial. Any supplemental infor mation requested must be included in the appeal.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 21:03:34 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015