The text of the letter follows--
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) proposed rulemaking (52 PA. Bulletin 3423; June 18, 2022) to create a no fee stocking authorization as well as to initiate enhanced protections against the spread of aquatic invasive species is a much needed and prudent effort by the PFBC to improve management and protect native and wild fish populations and the ecosystems in which they dwell.
There are currently more than thirty states that already have a similar stocking requirement process. If approved, the PFBC authorization system will be phased in with only a simple notice of the stocking activity to the PFBC being required until 2025.
This much-needed data will allow the PFBC to understand the extent of private stocking and the potential effects it has.
The acquisition of this information will enable the PFBC to make management decisions based on accurate data.
The information compiled will enable the eventual automated system for handling stocking requests beginning in 2025 to be processed quickly and efficiently, allowing authorized private stockings to continue to timely occur while concurrently ensuring the protection of the natural resource.
Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited (PATU) Trout Policy Committee Co-Chairman Lenny Lichvar explains, “There is nothing in this proposal that will diminish opportunities for private stockings or inhibit private hatcheries from raising and supplying fish. The private producers are already complying with these same safeguards while supplying border states that already have these requirements in place. It will, however, assure that private stockings will be conducted in a manner that will protect the natural resources which will actually provide added fish catching opportunities for the recreational angler - not reduce them.”
Pennsylvania Chapter of Native Fish Coalition (NFC) Chair Andrew Mickey stresses “There is significant justification for requiring stocking authorization as well as the amendment or denial of a proposed stocking. If a stocking is likely to cause significant adverse impact to wild native fish species, those impacts need to be considered and managed to protect the species and their habitats. These species can’t be protected if PFBC doesn’t know where stocking is occurring or have the authority to intervene when needed. For example, wild brook trout populations in Pennsylvania have been significantly reduced, due in part to the presence of introduced and invasive species, disease, and parasites related to fish propagation and introduction. Proper management of fish propagation and introduction is essential to preserving ecosystem health and wild native fish populations, and the opportunities they provide Pennsylvania. You should support these proposed regulation changes if you value the future of our wild native fish species.”
The members of Native Fish Coalition (NFC) and PATU work tirelessly and voluntarily to protect and enhance wild and native fish populations and improve the water resources of the Commonwealth that benefit all citizens, not just anglers and boaters.
The efforts of the PFBC to ensure fish stockings are conducted in a resource sound manner is a key element of the proposed rulemaking and meshes perfectly with the objectives of NFC and PATU.
Both organizations applaud the PFBC for moving forward with these important objectives and strongly urge the Board of Commissioners of the PFBC to approve and support this foresighted staff recommendation.
-- Andrew Mickey, Chair, Pennsylvania Chapter of Native Fish Coalition
-- Lenny Lichvar, Trout Policy Co-Chair, Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited
Click Here for a copy of the letter.
Questions should be directed to: pa@NativeFishCoalition.org or info@patrout.org
For more information on programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Native Fish Coalition and Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited websites.
[Posted: August 24, 2022] PA Environment Digest
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