Most cite increased video game use and other indoor activities as the reason kids just don’t seem to be getting outdoors as much as they did in the past.  In addition, people are working more in order to maintain desirable lifestyles and thus spend less time participating in outdoor leisure activities.  Whatever the causes, it’s no secret that fewer people are fishing and hunting now than just a decade or two ago, and a recent AP article reveals some stunning numbers that confirm this notion.

Sales of Vermont hunting and fishing licenses have dropped more than 20 percent over the last 20 years, leaving the Fish and Wildlife Department pleading with lawmakers for extra funding.

Arkansas hunting license sales dropped from about 345,000 in 1999 to about 319,000 in 2003.Pennsylvania sold about 946,000 hunting licenses in 2006, down from just over a million in 1999, and a peak of 1.3 million in 1981.

Oregon had 100,000 fewer licensed anglers last year than in 1987, and 70,000 fewer licensed hunters.

West Virginia sold 154,763 resident hunting permits in 2006, a 17 percent decrease from 1997.

There’s no question these aren’t the only states that have experienced such declines.  When comparing results from creel surveys I conducted in northern Maine to numbers from a decade before, it appeared that people simply weren’t fishing as much.  Older folks were dying out and weren’t being replaced by the next generation.  Growing up I’d heard about the congregations of anglers that would once crowd in front of the inlets of local lakes to fish for smelts.  The smelts are still there, but in many areas, the crowds aren’t.

Fewer people participating in outdoor activities ultimately means that fewer licenses dollars are available to fund state fish and wildlife agencies, which rely on license proceeds for a good portion of their budgets.

Many states are beginning to take extra steps to introduce youngsters to the outdoors in hopes that they will become regular participants in these activities and support fish and wildlife management in the coming years.

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, is an infectious fish disease that appears to be spreading rapidly and threatens to wreak havoc on fish populations in areas throughout the Midwestern and Northeastern U.S.   Vermont has already implemented regulations, hopeful to prevent the spread of the disease, and it appears that Minnesota is following suit.

Regulations to prevent VHS spread involve thorough fish testing protocols and restricted movement of fish among lakes and streams.  The threat of VHS will certainly influence the thriving baitfish industries in many of these areas and restrict the ability of fishermen to collect live bait for fishing.   Failure to prevent VHS spread, however, may result in much more crippling effects to fish populations and the anglers who pursue them.

Read more about VHS here 

At the request of agencies in Oregon and Washington hoping to protect endangered salmon, NOAA recently approved the removal of up to 60 sea lions near Bonneville Dam to reduce unnatural predation on salmon stocks as they pass through the dam’s fishway.  You can read more about the issue in a blog post I wrote a short while ago regarding this issue.   You can also read the full news story here.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just announced that it is considering placing the coaster brook trout on the Endangered Species List.  The coaster is a unique life-history form of brook trout that spawns in the tributaries of Lake Superior and moves out into the lake to grow to an exceptionally large size.

I wrote a blog entry on coaster brook trout a while back, with links to more information on coasters.  In addition, you can learn more about coaster research from Northern Michigan University’s Fish Biology Lab.

One complication that may arise with the potential listing of coasters is the fact that they are essentially genetically identical to their smaller brook trout counterparts, which exist at healthy population levels.  However, unique subpopulations and life-history forms can be listed separately under the ESA, and have been in the past.

Stay tuned for more info on the status of coaster brook trout.

If you’ve spent much time reading this blog, you’re probably aware that I haven’t posted any new material over the last few weeks. It’s been an awful busy time for me personally. I just landed a job as a fisheries biologist with the state of Montana, and have spent most of my time trying to finish my master’s thesis at Utah State University so I can start work. I’ll have to make some pretty big decisions about the future of the blog over the next couple of months, but for now I’ll try to post new material whenever I get the chance. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you continue to check the Fish Geek blog for updates.