Mdc Crayfish Ban- Input Wanted.

[Outside Bend]

Looks like MDC is taking comments on their proposal to ban live crayfish sales:

http://mdc.mo.gov/contact-us/crayfish-regulation-comments

or

http://mdc.mo.gov/node/18027

....and a little light reading:

http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/crayfish-regulation-discussions-continue-0

http://www.mostreamteam.org/Documents/Research/AquaticInverts/Pages%20from%20DiStefano_et_al._Fisheries_12-09.pdf

[Wayne SW/MO]

I think we found out long ago that it;s not smart to mess with mother nature. If fishermen want crawdads they should get them from the waters they fish.

[oneshot]

I think we found out long ago that it;s not smart to mess with mother nature. If fishermen want crawdads they should get them from the waters they fish.

What about Minnows and other Bait?

oneshot

[Wayne SW/MO]

Same for any live bait. What can be better than bait the fish recognize? Minnows are easy to trap.

[Outside Bend]

What about Minnows and other Bait?

oneshot

I wouldn't be worried. No one's proposed banning minnows and other bait.

[jdmidwest]

I wouldn't be worried. No one's proposed banning minnows and other bait.

Yet!

Who is to say there are not already studies being done to check the invasiveness of the bait minnow and the lowly cricket. I know several crickets escape the tube when I fish with them. They have been having problems with viruses in the places that raise the crickets. What if that gets out an runs amoke in the wild killing all of the native crickets. And most people dump minnows when finished, they are not native and could cause problems.

Why don't we just ban bait and fish with artificials?

[Al Agnew]

A few differences between minnows and crayfish...there really aren't many commercially raised species of bait minnows. Pretty much, if I remember correctly, emerald shiners and fathead or bluntnose minnows. Both are very well established if not native pretty much everywhere, and not doing any obvious harm. Goldfish are another matter, however, and we probably shouldn't be using goldfish for bait, but they've had a lot of years to do damage and they don't seem to thrive on our wild waters. I've seen some big ones, but you don't see much if any natural reproduction most places. And minnows are probably a lot easier to identify as to species for the average bait dealer and any other interested party, so it would be easier to insure that only the ones that have not demonstrated the potential for harm are being sold.

Having said all that, I have absolutely no problem with banning ANY species that is shown to cause harm.

[Outside Bend]

I wouldn't be opposed to an all-out ban of live bait sales, but it's neither here nor there- the proposed rule only affects crayfish.

I wouldn't be opposed to MDC biologists studying the environmental impacts of minnow or cricket introductions- after all, that's their job. But again, it's neither here nor there- the proposed rule only affects crayfish.

We don't know whether there's anything in the works for other bait, and it's immaterial regardless- it's a slippery slope. There's no logical reason to think MDC is going to ban minnows or cricket sales just because they've banned crayfish sales.

[Chief Grey Bear]

A few differences between minnows and crayfish...there really aren't many commercially raised species

A few years ago I asked a few different bait dealers where the got there minnows. I asked because the looked like nothing I had ever seen before. They came from south OK.