COMMERCIAL FISHING

WHERE IN MINNESOTA IS COMMERCIAL FISHING.

• Commercial fishing happens on many of the large lakes of Minnesota.
• Mainly for food and to remove rough fish out of the lakes.
• Only 25 licenses are given for Lake Superior per year.

HOW DO THEY COMMERCIAL FISH?

• Large nets are placed in the water for fish to swim into, then when the nets are taken out of the water the legal and rough fish are kept and the illegal game and pan fish are thrown back.

WHAT ARE SOME LAWS?

• You can only fish the lake you are given.
• Game fish must be returned Immediately.
• Commercial fishing licenses only allow you to keep invasive and rough fish. (Some are the same)
• Wi- Carp taken as bait can not be transported away from the lake they were caught on unless it is authorized.

WHAT IS A ROUGH FISH

• Carp family, Bowfin, Burbot, Crisco, Goldeye, Rainbow Smelt, Bullhead (black, brown, yellow), Lake Whitefish, Sucker Family, Sheephead, and Gar.

HOW DOES THIS IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT?

• Takes rough fish out of lakes.
• Over fishing is not a current problem in many species in MN lakes.
• Crisco counts in Lake Superior are low because Wisconsin doesn't have limits on them.

HOW DOES THIS CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT?

• Nothing major only slight overfishing in certain native species like Crisco.

WHAT ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT COMMERCIAL FISHING?

• Commercial fishing started in Minnesota on Lake of the Woods in the late 1880's.
• On a good day on Lake superior 1 commercial fisher can get 400-800 lbs of Crisco.
• In 2013 25 fishermen on Lake Superior caught 214,000 lbs of Crisco, this is only half of what they caught in 2012.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS IN THE NEWS ABOUT COMMERCIAL FISHING?

• Bighead Carp may be added to the legal fish list due to new discovery in the Minnesota River.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

• http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/03/lake-superior-herring
• http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/02/24/invasive-bighead-carp-found-in-minn...