Sacramento, CA — State wildlife managers will consider a permanent restriction in the legal catch size for the largest freshwater fish in North America as they try to reverse a near-record decline.
California will look at adopting the same length limits as Oregon and Washington for sturgeon, letting fishermen keep fish shorter than 60 inches instead of the current 72 inches.
The move comes after fishermen objected to a proposal by the Department of Fish and Game to ban fishing for sturgeon during the March-to-June breeding season to help the slow-breeding species recover.
The Fish and Game Commission told the department to instead consider other options like the length limit for emergency regulations that could be adopted by month´s end.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 1:52 pm