Commercial License Applications Available For Lake Trout

Anglers interested in obtaining one of the 10 commercial rod-and-reel licenses for harvesting lake trout on Lake Pend Oreille need to contact Idaho Fish and Game soon. Applications are being accepted through February 24, 2003. To obtain an application, contact the Panhandle Regional office at (208) 769-1414 with your name and mailing address. Applicants will need to describe: 1) the level of fishing experience they have on Lake Pend Oreille; 2) the type of gear they would use to target lake trout; 3) a market plan to sell the fish; 4) a plan to deal with the spread of aquatic nuisance species; and 5) any other qualifications that would allow them to harvest large numbers of lake trout. Applicants will need to take a fish identification test on the Internet and submit a certificate demonstrating successful completion of the test. Anglers should also be aware of FDA requirements for fresh fish handling. The lake trout population is rapidly expanding in Lake Pend Oreille, threatening a collapse of the kokanee population, the trophy Kamloops rainbow fishery it supports and native cutthroat and bull trout. Lake trout, or mackinaw, are an exotic species introduced into Pend Oreille in 1925, but their numbers have increased dramatically in just the past 10 years. The Lake Pend Oreille Citizenså' Advisory Committee (CAC) recommended a rod-and-reel commercial fishery as one tool to try and prevent a kokanee collapse. Lake trout were approved as a commercial species in Lake Pend Oreille and rod-and-reel as a legal means of commercial take by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission this winter. The CAC recommended 10 licenses be issued to start with. If more than 10 applicants qualify, successful applicants will be drawn by lottery. The cost of a commercial license is $100 for residents and $200 for non-residents. Commercial licenses are good from July 1 through June 30, so successful applicants will need to purchase a new license starting July 1, 2003. Commercial anglers will need to keep close track of the number of lake trout they harvest or purchase from other anglers, the length of harvested fish, and catch rates (hours fished per fish harvested). This information will be used by Fish and Game to determine if the commercial fishery is effective in reducing the lake trout population. Unsuccessful applicants and anglers who arenå't interested in a commercial license due to the cost or reporting requirements wonå't be totally left out. Any angler with a sport fishing license will be allowed to sell up to $500 worth of lake trout per year to a commercial license holder under Idahoå's existing commercial fishing laws. The purpose of the commercial lake trout fishery is to try and reduce the lake trout population quickly and keep it at a low level, not to provide for a long-term, sustained commercial fishery. Without some very dramatic and quick reductions in the lake trout population, it appears that Lake Pend Oreille will follow the path of Priest and Flathead lakes where lake trout dominate at the expense of all other native and popular sport fish populations.