Effectiveness of Restricted Areas in Reducing Incidental Catches of Game Fish in a Gill-Net Fishery

A small-scale gill-net fishery for suckers Catostomidae has existed in specified areas of Lake Seminole, Georgia, but has been a source of conflict between the netters, who have continually asked for expansion of the legal areas and season, and sport fishermen, who have opposed netting because they view it as a threat to game-fish populations. Test netting was conducted to (1) assess the gill-net catch in the legal netting areas, (2) determine the effects of the recently expanded fishing season and legal fishing area, and (3) evaluate other areas that could be opened to gillnetting without harming game-fish populations. The catch composition of game fish, suckers, rough fish, and commercial catfish Ictaluridae varied significantly (P < 0.05) among areas. The legal areas were appropriate for netting due to a low catch of game fish, abundance of suckers, and moderate numbers of commercial catfish. Restriction of gillnetting to carefully selected areas may be a valuable technique for limiting the incidental catch of game fish and the associated biological or sociological problems.