{"id":124894,"date":"2016-03-07T18:42:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T18:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/guidelines-for-competitive-fishing-events-for-muskellunge-in-ontario\/"},"modified":"2016-03-07T18:42:40","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T18:42:40","slug":"guidelines-for-competitive-fishing-events-for-muskellunge-in-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/guidelines-for-competitive-fishing-events-for-muskellunge-in-ontario\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidelines for Competitive Fishing Events for Muskellunge in Ontario"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 2007<\/strong>. Guidelines for Competitive Fishing Events for Muskellunge in Ontario.<\/em> Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Peterborough, Ontario.<\/p>\n

Click ici<\/a> to view summaries from all archived OMNR publications.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/strong>
\nCompetitive fishing is a growing industry in Ontario (Kerr and Kamke 2003, Kerr 2004). Bass (Micropterus spp.) are the most commonly targeted species at these events. Although competitive fishing events for muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) have been relatively uncommon to date, there apparently is increasing interest in organizing these events on some of Ontario\u2019s trophy muskellunge waters. There are already several large muskellunge tournaments in adjacent U.S. jurisdictions.
\nMuskellunge are subject to physiological stress associated with capture and handling (Miles et al. 1974, Beggs et al. 1980). With the unique nature of wild muskellunge stocks in Ontario, their vulnerability as a low density predator, and a strong desire to protect the fishery, there was the need to develop best management practices for tournaments specifically directed toward muskellunge.
\nWhile it is believed that large prize tournaments for muskellunge should be strongly discouraged due to the unique characteristics of the species (low density populations and high susceptibility to post-release mortality), the following guidelines have been developed for tournament organizers who may still choose to hold a muskellunge tournament in Ontario. These guidelines endorse a varying or \u201ctiered\u201d approach for different events depending upon the magnitude of the event, characteristics of the muskellunge population in that water body, and the minimum size limits which are in place. It is proposed that a more cautious approach be taken in those events being held in low population density, less sustainable fisheries (e.g., trophy waters) and where fish are being retained for longer periods of time in order to verify size for entry into the event. Appendix 1 provides an outline of the Tiered Approach to Tournament Guidelines.
\nGuidelines on good catch-and-release practices for one species may not be appropriate for other species (Tufts 1999, Cooke and Suski 2004). These guidelines are not intended to apply to tournaments involving other fish species although there may be some practical application of these practices to other fisheries.
\nKey Principles<\/strong>
\nThere are a number of key principles which form the foundation of these guidelines.
\n1. Competitive fishing is recognized as a legitimate activity in Ontario with many
\nsocial and economic benefits.
\n2. At catch-and-release events every effort should be made to ensure fish
\nexperience minimal stress in order to maximize post-release survival. Catchand-
\nkill events for muskellunge should be discouraged.
\n3. Competitive fishing events should not threaten sustainability of the resource.
\n4. Competitive fishing events must comply with the Ontario Fishery Regulations and
\nthe Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.
\n5. Safety sho<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 2007. Guidelines for Competitive Fishing Events for Muskellunge in Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Peterborough, Ontario. Click here to view summaries from all archived OMNR publications. Introduction Competitive fishing is a growing industry in Ontario (Kerr and Kamke 2003, Kerr 2004). Bass (Micropterus spp.) are the most commonly targeted species at these events. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-omnr-mfpp-publications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124894\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/muskies.kracmedia.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}