Much On PA Fish Commission's Agenda for April Meeting

Fish & Boat Commission to Hold Quarterly Business Meeting

 

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will hold its spring quarterly meeting on April 11-12 at its Harrisburg office.

 

Commission committees will meet beginning at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, April 11, and again at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 12. Formal consideration of the agenda by the full Commission will begin at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, April 12. All committee meetings and the formal meeting are open to the public.

 

Commissioners will address a variety of issues during Tuesday’s formal meeting, including:

• A recommendation to place permanent catch and release regulations on smallmouth and largemouth bass in portions of the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers in order to reduce fishing mortality. The regulations have been in place since January 1 under a temporary order issued by PFBC Executive Director John Arway;
• A proposal related to the above-mentioned bass regulations which would extend the regulations to a point one-half mile upstream from the mouth of all tributaries within the affected areas of the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers. The proposal would also create a closed season during the bass spawning period. If approved through a final rulemaking, these amendments would take effect Jan. 1, 2012;     
• A recommendation to acquire property rights along Elk Creek in Fairview Township, Erie County. Acquiring the property would provide anglers with increased access to this popular steelhead fishery;
• A recommendation to renew a property lease at Franklin County’s Letterkenny Reservoir, an approved trout water which is heavily used by anglers;
• A proposal to require mandatory life jacket use during the cold weather months from November 1 through April 30 for anyone operating a canoe, kayak or motorboat 16 feet or less, including when boats are anchored;
• A recommendation to remove the “slow, no wake” designations on Hawns Run Cove and Anderson Bay in Raystown Lake;
• A recommendation to approve a grant to the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited of $10,000 per fiscal year for the next three fiscal years to further expand the Trout in the Classroom program;
• A recommendation to approve a final rulemaking order which would allow anglers to use three rods when fishing. Current regulations allow for the use of two rods;
• A proposal to add 99 new water to the list of wild trout streams; and
• Proposals to renew a grant with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support the Conowingo Dam fish lift on the west side of the Susquehanna River; and award a grant to American Rivers, Inc. to remove the Norristown Farm Park Dam on Stony Creek, Montgomery County and enhance habitat.        

A complete copy of the meeting schedule and the full agenda for the meeting can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.fishandboat.com/minutes.htm.