Lynn Vermeulen, Anne Brown and Mr Walleye last winter
The DNR has changed some fishing rules that largely apply to waters other than Clark Lake. It appears there are a couple that may have some bearing on Clark Lake. These are changes to “bass catch and immediate release” and crayfish. You can investigate the changes at the DNR website. According to Senator Mike Shirkey “it is necessary to look at the online document that shows revisions to the current physical booklets”. He further notes that “Updates can be viewed by visiting www.michigan.gov/dnr and clicking on the “Fishing” tab on the webpage. From there, individuals can click on the “Licenses, Regulations, and Seasons” link.”
Below you’ll find the complete news release of earlier today from Senator Mike Shirkey’s office:
LANSING, Mich.–Local fisherman will want to note the non-standard updates to Natural Resources Commission’s regulations pertaining to fishing practices.
The fishing season officially started April 1, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commission distributes yearly booklets that show the regular, annual revisions. However, this year parts of those booklets are out of date due to some changes in the Commission’s rules.
These changes only affect some areas, and only some species, but the new regulations are listed in a document available online at the DNR website. For example, the modifications include a possession limit on lake trout in the northern third of Lake Michigan, and a 15 inch minimum size limit. There is also now a limited possession standard for Rusty Crayfish for consumptive purposes only.
Sen. Mike Shirkey
There are other adjustments in the online version. “These after-press changes are fairly unusual,” said State Senator Mike Shirkey. “We think it’s important for the state to really limit these types of changes in the future. In the meantime, we’re trying to help spread the word so that well-intentioned people don’t accidentally run afoul of these newer rules.”
In order to get a complete, up-to-date view of the DNR’s fishing regulations, it is necessary to look at the online document that shows revisions to the current physical booklets.
These rapidly changing regulatory updates point to the broader issue of how these laws are enforced, and what bearing a person’s knowledge of the law has on that enforcement. In other words, reasonable enforcement standards should be put in place so that individuals are not held responsible for breaking regulations that they neither knew about nor could be expected to know about.
Updates can be viewed by visiting www.michigan.gov/dnr and clicking on the “Fishing” tab on the webpage. From there, individuals can click on the “Licenses, Regulations, and Seasons” link.
