They do not receive general fund (tax) revenues. Most of their funding
comes from fishing license sales and just about all the rest comes from
Dingell-Johnson (Sportfish Restoration Act - excise tax on fishing
tackle,etc.) funds via the US Fish & Wildlife Service. So, you can see why
the focus is on game fish.
Old accounts indicate that the longnose gar was common (and native) to the
lower Susquehanna historically; it doesn't appear that the bowfin was all
that common, and there are differences of opinion as to whether it was
native there. There's not much interest in gar fishing in PA and many still
regard them as "trash fish". Bowfins have been stocked in-in-least 3 Susq.
drainage impoundments - Glendale Lake, Cambria Co., Black Moshannon Lake,
Centre Co., and Lake Marburg, York Co. I don't know what the numbers are
like these days, but they have been collected fairly recently-in-all three.
There's not a great deal of angling interest in them either, although I know
of a guy in Crawford County who used to go after them regularly up in the
French Creek drainage.
The PFBC feels that its unneccessary to stock the basses (which are NOT
regarded as native to the Susq) on a regular basis because they do so well
on their own as reproducing populations and can be effectively managed by
sieasons, sizes, and creel limits. Walleye reproduce in the wild in only a
few PA drainages, but are stocked in considerable numbers as fry and
fingerlings around the state (from eggs of stock taken from Pymatuning Lake
and cultured-in-the Linesville hatchery), - its just too expensive to raise
them to adult size.
And, I don't know what it is about trout, but I'd bet a year's salary (such
that it is) that the agency isn't gonna change its focus anytime soon!
Rob Criswell
>From: "Dean A. Markley" <damarkley-in-earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>To: nanfa-l-in-nanfa.org
>Subject: NANFA-L-- How Does Everyone Feel About.....
>Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:39:32 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
>
>
>I hope this is "on topic" so here goes: I have lived in Pennsylvania all
>my life (47 years, uggh) and for all of that the PA Fish Commissions main
>focus has been trout fishing and the associated stocking programs. I am
>told that most of the Fish Commissions budget goes for trout programs. If
>this is true, it kind of upsets me for a few reasons:
>
>1. They stock Brooks, Rainbows, and Browns. Now only Brooks are native to
>PA so why stock with an invasive species? (yeah yeah, cause people like to
>catch them).
>
>2. With such great fish as smallmouth, largemouth and walleyes, why aren't
>they propagated and stocked more instead? And yes, I know some is done but
>I suspect it is insignificant compared to trout.
>
>3. I understand that Bowfin and Longnose Gar used to be common in the
>lower Susquehanna region but now they are rare if not extirpated. I do
>recall a Bowfin being caught in the Susquehanna a few years back. Why
>doesn't the Fish Commission raise and stock these interesting fish?
>
>Just rambling here so do I have any sort of case?
>
>Dean
>
>
>Dean A. Markley
>3628 Peregrine Circle
>Mountville, PA 17554
>
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/ visit http://www.nanfa.org Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/guidelines.shtml To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get
/ help, visit the NANFA email list home page and archive at
/ http://www.nanfa.org/email.shtml