Fish and Game hosts public comment
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game will host a series of public meetings in April about administrative rule changes. The proposed changes should only minimally affect the average angler, but for transparency the department will provide several meetings for public comment from April 5 to May 5.
Topics will include:
• Combining administrative rule chapters 11 and 12
• Organizing definitions for clarity
• Clarifying what defines a float tube
• Deleting language already covered by Fish and Game Commission authority
• Simplifying commercial fishing rules
• Eliminating hook gap restrictions for anadromous salmon and steelhead fisheries.
For information about these, go to the Rulemaking webpage at idfg.idaho.gov/d7/about/rulemaking.
Fish and Game’s fisheries management includes several public processes for regulating fishing, including updating Fisheries Management Plans, seasons and rules brochures and administrative rules, which all affect how anglers participate in their favorite fishing activity or water body.
Fish and Game staff is currently in the early phases of seeking public opinion and holding public meetings on three chapters of administrative rules on the following dates at Fish and Game Headquarters, Owyhee Room, 600 S. Walnut in Boise.
• April 25, Chapter 11 — Rules Governing Fish
• April 26, Chapter 12 — Rules Governing Commercial Fishing
All meeting times are 11 a.m. to noon (PST).
The administrative rules chapters serve several important functions, including defining game and non-game species, defining legal and unlawful types of bait, gear, fishing methods or watercraft. They also describe locations, or aspects of waterbodies, and setting restrictions and application protocols for special uses of fish, such as contests, transport, import, etc.
The public comment period for these chapters is now open, and information can be found at idfg.idaho.gov/d7/about/rulemaking. Anyone interested may comment by sending an email to rules@idfg.idaho.gov, by attending a meeting in-person at Fish and Game Headquarters, or virtually via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83077793532.
The statewide 2019-2024 state Fisheries Management Plan serves as Fish and Game’s guiding document that sets overall goals and objectives. This plan is revised every six years, which will begin in about eight months. The 2022-2024 Seasons and Rules brochure informs anglers about current bag limits, length restrictions and season dates. It's updated every three years by the Fish and Game Commission starting in about 10 months.
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Roger Phillips is a public information specialist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.