The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission voted to close commercial fishing in Watts Bar Lake due to pollution levels.
The TWRC met last week in Tiptonville, Tenn. They also approved changes in boating registration and boating fees and heard a report on the 2007-08 deer harvest in the state and the effects of the EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease) that affected the deer population.
The Commission voted to close Watts Bar Lake and the Loosahatchie River to commercial fishing due to contaminants, and voted to prohibit the use of fyke nets in Cherokee lake, the upper section of Old Hickory Lake, and sections of Douglas Lake.
Against the recommendation of staff biologists, the commission voted to allow the continued harvest of the shovelnose paddlefish in Tennessee.
It was recommended by the Fisheries Committee of the TWRC that the shovelnose sturgeon season be closed because they are very similar in appearance to the endangered species of the pallid sturgeon.
Paddlefish must be 37 inches in length for legal harvest from Nov. 15, 2008 through April 7, 2009 and after Nov. 15, 2009, paddlefish must be 38 inches or larger for legal harvest in all waters with the exception of the Mississippi River.
Paddlefish must be 34 inches or larger to be legal for harvest from the Mississippi River, but the Commission voted to close the season on March 31 (each year).
Boating registration fees will see their first increase in nearly 10 years, according to Ed Carter, TWRA Boating Chief. Boats 16 feet or less will increase from $10 to $13 for one year and boats more than 16 feet to less than 26 feet will now cost $25. The increase in the registration fees in these categories and other categories of boats represent the 27 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index since 1998.
Additionally, boats must have a validation decal that must be affixed to the vessel on each side of the vessel immediately preceding or following the Tennessee identification number. Vessels with a valid document issued by the U.S. Coast Guard are not required to display a certificate of number but will display a current validation decal issued by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Daryl Ratajcak, TWRA Big Game Coordinator, reported that various portions of the state were affected greater by the outbreak. Some counties experienced little or no outbreak of EHD while others, particularly several in western portions of Middle Tennessee seemed to be affected the most. Tennessee was one of several states in the southeast that was hit hard by EHD and the drought conditions of this past summer.
A total of almost 163,000 deer were harvested during this year’s deer hunting season. The number is about 19,000 less or 11 percent than the 182,000 harvested in the 2006-07 season.
The TWRC’s next meeting will be Feb. 13-14 at TWRA Region II headquarters in Nashville. The dates are a change from the previously announced meeting schedule.