A slot limit is a tool used by fisheries managers to regulate the size of fish that can legally be harvested from particular bodies of water. Usually set by state fish and game departments, the protected slot limit prohibits the harvest of fish where the lengths, measured from the snout to the end of the tail, fall within the protected interval. [1] For example, on a body of water where there is a protected slot limit on largemouth bass between 12 and 16 inches (30 and 41 cm), largemouth between those lengths may not be harvested. [2] In this example largemouth bass shorter than 12 inches (30 cm) and longer than 16 inches (41 cm) may be removed from the water and kept for personal use in accordance with local fishing regulations.
Slot limits are based on the principle that bass populations exhibit different habitat requirements during different phases of their lives. Slot limits focus on protecting one segment of the life history which can influence overall fishing success. [3]
A minimum landing size is a similar regulation in commercial fishing.
"Slot" may also refer to a fish within the size limits one can keep. For example, a "slot Red Drum" measuring between 18"-27" may be kept, but anything below may not be harvested, and any fish over 27" may only be harvested with a red drum tag
Generally, the purpose behind the implementation of protected slot limits is to improve the angling opportunities in a particular body or bodies of water. Protected slot limits are most often used to regulate the harvest from waters where natural reproduction of the concerned fish species occurs. The protected slot limit is set in such a way that it protects the size of those fish deemed most important to the species spawning success in that fishery. With the size of the most sexually productive fish protected from harvest it is likely that an increased number will spawn during a given year and hence lead to more naturally produced individuals. The effort to increase the number of fish through natural reproduction mitigates the need for artificial stocking of a species to provide for a viable recreational fishery.
In addition to improving natural reproduction success the protected slot limit can also serve to improve the average catchable size of a protected species. This is of particular concern in recreational fisheries where the practice of catch and release is not prevalent. The slot limit protects those fish that evade harvest until their size exceeds that of the lower end of the protected slot. They are then protected from harvest until they exceed the maximum size within the protected slot. Fish within this size range are protected from harvest during the time when their size would make them desirable by anglers. In such a scenario the protection of large numbers of medium-sized fish translates into a higher success rate of those that exceed the slot limit. [4] Hence, the protected slot limit increases the amount of fish that reach the large sizes sought by sport anglers. This model assumes that the lake or stream in question contains a forage base suitable to support fish of this size.
The issue of protected slot limits, in some cases, is marked in controversy. The protected slot limit and the angler's desire to harvest fish can be in conflict. The main challenge lies in the economic, ecological, and social factors that fisheries managers must consider when implementing harvest regulations such as protected slot limits. Take, for example, the situation involving Lake Mille Lacs in central Minnesota. Anglers spend millions of dollars and travel countless miles to fish for Lake Mille Lacs walleye (Sander vitreus) which is highly sought after for its table fare as well as its sporting qualities. In the case of Lake Mille Lacs there has long been a protected slot limit for walleye.
In 2002, the slot limit was from 20 to 28 inches (51 to 71 cm). At the time, state fishing regulations stated that on Lake Mille Lacs an angler could keep four walleyes with only one walleye over 28 inches (71 cm) allowed, and all walleyes within the protected slot limit of 20 to 28 inches (51 to 71 cm) must be immediately released. The protected slot limit worked so well, in a sense, that anglers soon found it difficult to catch harvestable sizes of walleye and they were catching an overabundance of slot-sized fish. Many anglers have become frustrated by the lack of "eater" sized walleye. The intense protection of this size class of fish caused a sharp decline in the natural available forage base for walleyes. [5] The result was a large number of unhealthy and underweight slot-sized walleyes in the fishery. This case represents an exception to the outcomes common to the implementation of protected slot limits. However, it does illustrate the objectives fisheries managers must consider when devising protected slot limits. Managers must balance the health of the fishery, trophy fish potential, and desired angler harvest.
When an angler is fishing, he or she must measure the fish caught to make sure it meets the state's wildlife and fisheries requirements. Every state has their own limits for fish that are native to their ecosystems. If the fish meets the requirements then the angler is allowed to keep the fish, but can only keep a certain amount of fish of that species. Besides a slot limit there are other ways and limits that officials can use to protect a fish population.
Before a slot limit can be put into action, four things must be taken into consideration in order to make sure no harm is done to the ecosystem:
Growth rate can be defined as how long it takes for a fish to reach a given size. Even though growth rate differs from lake to lake, an average largemouth bass can grow up to three pounds (1.4 kg) in less than three years, which is considered rapid growth. [6]
Recruitment is defined as the number of young fish that live to adulthood. Lakes with 20 to 40% coverage of aquatic plants usually have high bass recruitment, whereas lakes with little shoreline cover often have low to intermediate recruitment. [6] If a lake has a high recruitment, this is a good situation for a state to use the slot limit because it will help control the number of small fish in a population. When the recruitment is low, this is where a state would use the minimum-size limit to control the fish population. [6]
Mortality rate is the percent of fish in a given lake that die. To find the true mortality rate of a lake, officials must divide the number of fish harvested plus fish killed from hooks, then divide that number by the number of fish that die each year.
After the growth rate, recruitment rate, and mortality rate have been determined, if all three factors are met, the correct measurements must be chosen to insure that no harm is done to the surrounding ecosystem. If a slot limit is used correctly, not only will the a fish population benefit from this; but the surrounding ecosystem potentially could gain some benefits from a slot limit.
Slot limits can be very beneficial to fish species along with their ecosystem. One benefit from slot limits is that it reduces the amount of competitive pressure between fish the same size. Not only will it reduce competition, but it will also result in a healthier fish population since the slot limit does not allow anglers to keep fish that produce the most eggs during their spawning season. Since the fish are healthier and larger, this will bring more jobs and tourists to a town, which will cause the city's revenue to rise.[ citation needed ]
The Lake Fork Reservoir in Texas is known for its largemouth bass. A slot limit was introduced in the early 1900s in hopes of bettering the chances of catching a trophy bass. The regulations are: [7]
The striped bass, also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has also been widely introduced into inland recreational fisheries across the United States. Striped bass found in the Gulf of Mexico are a separate strain referred to as Gulf Coast striped bass.
The largemouth bass is a carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico. It is known by a variety of regional names, such as the widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, bucketmouth, largie, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, bucketmouth bass, green trout, Gilsdorf bass, Oswego bass, LMB, and southern largemouth and northern largemouth.
The walleye, also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the blue walleye, which is a color morph that was once found in the southern Ontario and Quebec regions, but is now presumed extinct. However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification.
Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.
The Murray cod is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the genus Maccullochella in the family Percichthyidae. Although the species is called a cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the Northern Hemisphere marine cod (Gadus) species. The Murray cod is an important part of Australia's vertebrate wildlife—as an apex predator in the Murray-Darling River system—and also significant in Australia's human culture. The Murray cod is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in Australia, and one of the largest in the world. Other common names for Murray cod include cod, greenfish, goodoo, Mary River cod, Murray perch, ponde, pondi and Queensland freshwater cod.
The Wisconsin Walleye War became the name for late 20th-century events in Wisconsin in protest of Ojibwe (Chippewa) hunting and fishing rights. In a 1975 case, the tribes challenged state efforts to regulate their hunting and fishing off the reservations, based on their rights in the treaties of St. Peters (1837) and La Pointe (1842). On August 21, 1987, U.S. District Court judge Barbara Crabb ruled that six Ojibwe tribal governments had the right under these treaties for hunting and fishing throughout their former territory.
The bluegill, sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, as is common in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains. It is the type species of the genus Lepomis, from the family Centrarchidae in the order Perciformes.
The black crappie is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black spots. Alternate names for the species include calico bass, speck, speckled perch, speckled bass, moonfish, grass bass, strawberry bass, shiner, crawpie, oswego bass, sac-a-lait, and marigane noire.
The shoal bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to waters in Florida and Georgia. It is also occasionally found in rivers and streams of East Alabama where it has been declared an endangered species and cannot legally be kept if caught by fishermen. Of typical size for a black bass, M. cataractae reaches a maximum recorded length of 24 inches (61 cm) and a maximum published weight of 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
The yellow perch, commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill from New York. It is closely related, and morphologically similar to the European perch ; and is sometimes considered a subspecies of its European counterpart.
Lake Vermilion is a shallow freshwater lake in northeastern Minnesota, United States. The Ojibwe originally called the lake Onamanii-zaaga'iganiing, which means “the evening sun tinting the water a reddish color”. French fur traders translated this to the Latin word Vermilion, which is a red pigment. Lake Vermilion is located between the towns of Tower on the east and Cook on the west, in the heart of Minnesota's Arrowhead Region at Vermilion Iron Range. The area was mined from the late 19th century until the 1960s, and the Soudan Mine operated just south of the lake.
Cayuta Lake is a small lake located in Schuyler County, New York, United States. It is within the Town of Catharine, about three miles (4.8 km) north of Odessa. The lake is also referred to locally as Little Lake.
A bag limit is a law imposed on hunters and fishermen restricting the number of animals within a specific species or group of species they may kill and keep. Size limits and hunting seasons sometimes accompany bag limits which place restrictions on the size of those animals and the time of year during which hunters may legally kill them. Those who violate these laws or other hunting laws are known as poachers.
Fish stocking is the practice of releasing fish that are artificially raised in a hatchery into a natural body of water, to supplement existing wild populations or to create a new population where previously none exists. Stocking may be done for the benefit of commercial, recreational or tribal heritage fishing, but may also be done for ecological conservation to restore or increase the population of threatened/endangered fish species that is pressured by prior overfishing, habitat destruction, and/or competition from invasive species.
Fishing for walleye is a popular sport with anglers in Canada and the Northern United States, where the fish is native. The current IGFA all tackle record is 11.34 kilograms, caught on August 2, 1960 in Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee.
Potato Lake is a lake located in the northwestern part of Wisconsin. It is in the far southwestern corner of Rusk County, approximately 12 miles east of Chetek, Wisconsin. Potato Lake is one of Rusk County's 88 named lakes, and can be accessed by a ramped public boat landing. It is a drainage lake that is connected to McDermott Creek and Potato Creek. Potato Creek eventually flows into the Chippewa River.
Mille Lacs Lake is a large, shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
The Turtle-Flambeau Flowage is a 12,942 acres (52.37 km2) lake in Iron County, Wisconsin. It has a maximum depth of 15 meters and is the seventh largest lake in the state of Wisconsin by surface area. The flowage is home to unique wetland patterns and plant species as well as several species of sport and game fish, including musky, panfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, walleye and sturgeon. The lake's water clarity is low, but can vary in different locations. Fishing, camping, boating, and hunting are popular activities on the flowage, and Ojibwe people traditionally harvest fish and game on the lake. Environmental concerns on the flowage include mercury contamination, algal blooms, and several types of invasive species.
Green Lake is a lake in Chisago City, Minnesota, United States. This lake is sometimes also referred to as "Big Green Lake" because it is connected to Little Green Lake by a channel. Green Lake was named from the fact its waters are green from the high algae content.
Fishing in Colorado has brought in a large amount of revenue for the state. In 2019 Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimated outdoor recreation contributed roughly 62 billion dollars to the state economy. Fishing was reported to be the 5th most popular outdoor activity and 110, 511 fishing and hunting combination licenses were sold. Ice fishing makes up part of this total fishing revenue and is a common annual sport for Colorado residents and out-of-state visitors. There is no legal definition of ice fishing season. Rather, people begin to ice fish once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also recommend that people always ice-fish with another person. Typically, this starts in December and ends in April for Colorado. Lakes size, depth, elevation, and seasonal weather can cause variance to the season. Once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice, anglers go out onto the ice, drill holes through the ice, and fish for a variety of species.