Charlie Henriksen or Dennis Hickey will prepare and provide to Phil a brief history as background on the recommendation. Phil will encapsulate that information into a letter to the DNR conveying the Forum s recommendation to reopen Whitefish Bay to trap netting. Trap netting in deeper water - A second whitefish trap netting issue concerns moving the nets to deeper water. Whitefish appear to be moving to deeper water, perhaps as a consequence of clearer water due to zebra mussels. There is a study currently under way to examine the mortality of incidentally caught fish retrieved from greater depths.
Preliminary observations suggest that initial mortality can be avoided by using a slow lift rate.
Issues of concern to the DNR with deepwater trap net study include juvenile whitefish mortality, bloating and survival of incidental catch. The primary interest to the commercial fishers is whether they catch more whitefish for a given effort. The commercial interests would like to see a rule change take place in time for the March season next year. There was some discussion about preparing a recommendation for the DNR to allow trap nets to be fished in deeper water. The Forum members did agree to send a letter to the DNR recommending that the DNR step up their efforts in the data analysis to determine the biological implications of allowing whitefish trap nets to be fished in deeper water.