$400,000 For A Mobile Cleaning Station?

[Rusty]

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_064004800.html

Miami council agrees to participate in state’s spoonbill catfish program

By Debbie Robinson

news@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — Fishermen in Northeast Oklahoma will no longer have to pay for a Miami permit to pursue spoonbill catfish under a plan from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, which intends to harvest the eggs of the fish for worldwide sale as caviar.

Keith Green of the state department and Brent Gordon, supervisor of the agency’s Northeast Region Fisheries, presented the proposal Monday night to the City Council. The council approved the three-year pilot program with the condition that the city could opt out on annual intervals if issues, such as too many fishermen along the banks, cause problems.

Under the plan, the city would receive about $20,000 annually from the state, compared with the current annual payment from fees of $9,500. Money the city receives could be used to upgrade banks along the Neosho River, install accessible restrooms and improve parking or roads leading to the river, Gordon said.

“When you put a fee on the park, it discourages out-of-state anglers from parking and fishing,” he said. Councilman John Dalgarn questioned the removal of the permit because of safety issues that arose in the years before the permit fee was implemented. Dalgarn said so many people were fishing from the banks that some were injured by the snagging hooks as they were being cast. Since that time, Green said, more people are fishing for spoonbill from boats. “I don’t see it back like it was 10 years ago,” he said.

Green said the state is spending $400,000 for a mobile cleaning station to be located at Twin Bridges State Park. Two trucks, one of which will be stationed in Miami, will be used to collect fish from anglers up and down the river. State workers will remove the eggs from the spoonbills and fillet the fish. The fillets, in turn, will be returned to the fishermen, Green said.

The state currently is spending $250,000 a year for research on the spoonbill, and for management and enforcement, Green said.

He said 92 percent of 456 fishermen surveyed by the department said they would participate in the program. Fishermen are limited to one spoonbill per visit, Green said.

The council approved participation in the program because the fish will begin to run when the females begin to spawn in a couple of weeks, Green said.

Gordon said the project also will keep fishermen from dumping carcasses in trash bins.

“We’ll be taking all of those carcasses to Carthage (Mo.) and rendering them into fish oil,” he said. He noted that the program is voluntary. “There’s not any state law that says you have to bring your fish to the cleaning station,” Gordon said.

[msubobcats]

So...Instead of replacing the $30,000 boat dock/cleaning station that washed away, the gov is going with the $400,000 'mobile' station (i.e. not permanent) to make some coin. Nice.

Go Cats

[Chief Grey Bear]

A Spoonbill Catfish? What the heck kinda fish is that?

I appriciate them cleaning the fish for me but, shouldn't I get some money for the roe?

Hey Bobcat, You wouldn't happen to know Gary and Jo Pierce would you?

[Trav]

If only that money would go towards regulation enforcement. They could pay salaries for 10 officers with that kind of money.

[msubobcats]

A Spoonbill Catfish? What the heck kinda fish is that?

I appriciate them cleaning the fish for me but, shouldn't I get some money for the roe?

Hey Bobcat, You wouldn't happen to know Gary and Jo Pierce would you?

Checking with the wife, but I think that's a no go Bear.

[jomoflyfisher]

I feel the cleaning station os a good idea but i feel they really need to rebuild the dock it couyld be brutal to launch and get in the boat without the dock there to load in. all alot of people use the dock to fish off of. has anyone heard of any bills being caught yet ima dian to go.

[Rusty]

I am going to go drive over that way in a while, I will snoop around and see whats up.

[Rusty]

Not a lot going on at Twin Bridges. A few people fishing from the bank on the Neosho side. Three boat trailers in the lot. Somebody that thought they were more privileged than others, decided to park their truck on one of the two boat ramps. Nice!

I did stop and look at the mobile cleaning station. Pretty nice setup. They have already started using it. I talked with one of the biologist, and their plan is to have it payed for by the end of this season, from the processing of the spoonbill eggs. Just to let a few know, I was told that each female provides 5-6 lbs of eggs and when the eggs are ready to be wholesaled they are worth $200 per lb. It will be a self-sustaining work station and will add additional money to the fishery and wildlife department. So Trav, it may be money well spent, especially if they hire more agents/biologist. I just hope the department gets to keep all the money and not have the state come in and decide it needs to go into other pockets.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Ya know, I got to thinking about this today and I think they are on to something. Now IF they would or could establish a season, from about March 1 to the end of April, make it from say, 0600 to 1800 daily and then make where all fish have to come through one of their stations, like you would checking a deer or turkey, they then could process the all of the eggs and possibly cut down on poaching.

Does this even sound plausable?

[Trav]

Sound plausible to me. It is a "mobile" station after all.

I didnt realize they were selling the eggs. I thought the state biologists were the ones incubating them.