Massachusetts Fishing News

The Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation invites interested conservationists to a Brook Trout Habitat Restoration event on Wednesday, October 5 at 11AM at the Gulf Brook Conservation Area located at the intersection of Oak Hill and Chestnut Streets in Pepperell.

Massachusetts coastal waters are home to endangered marine animals including sea turtles and whales. Entanglement in marine debris and fishing gear such as rope, netting, and hooks are leading causes of serious injury and mortality for these animals. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) ask all boaters to immediately report sightings of entangled marine animals, alive or dead, by calling the Marine Animal Entanglement Hotline at 1-800-900-3622 or 866-755-NOAA or by hailing the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. An entanglement response team at PCCS is on-call and committed to providing safe and effective disentanglement of marine animals in the waters off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Massachusetts coastal waters are home to endangered marine animals including sea turtles and whales. Entanglement in marine debris and fishing gear such as rope, netting, and hooks are leading causes of serious injury and mortality for these animals. The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) ask all boaters to immediately report sightings of entangled marine animals, alive or dead, by calling the Marine Animal Entanglement Hotline at 1-800-900-3622 or 866-755-NOAA or by hailing the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16. An entanglement response team at PCCS is on-call and committed to providing safe and effective disentanglement of marine animals in the waters off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

Volunteers from high schools, sporting clubs, civic groups, colleges, and other people with a passion for rivers, fish, or fishing are needed to assist the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) personnel in stocking 1.5 million salmon fry (juvenile fish) as part of the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon restoration program. According to Dr. Caleb Slater, DFW’s Anadromous Fish Project Leader, stocking begins in April through early May to release salmon fry into dozens of Connecticut River tributaries. The fry will come from MassWildlife's Roger Reed Hatchery in Palmer and the White River National Fish Hatchery in Bethel, Vermont. Fry will be trucked to meeting sites where volunteers will gather and caravan to release sites. The tiny fish will then be moved from truck to water by bucket using volunteer man- and womanpower. The Fry Stocking Schedule and details on meeting locations and stocking tips are posted at www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/fisheries/anadromous/salmon_fry_stocking.htm.

Bay State anglers with cabin fever and their 2011 freshwater fishing license can look forward to over 529,800 feisty brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout being stocked this spring. These are sizeable fish; 71% of the fish average 12 inches or longer. "We have some high quality fish this spring," observes Chief Fish Culturist Dr. Ken Simmons. "We had to deal with severe drought conditions last summer and early fall resulting in reduced water flows at two hatcheries. The prolonged, severe snow and ice conditions from this winter were also a challenge at all our facilities, but the hatchery crews did an excellent job with the fish."

MINNEAPOLIS (March 9, 2011) - Steven Luce of Dracut, Massachusettts, couldn't believe it when he was told that he won $15,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing presented by Straight Talk held in conjunction with the Walmart FLW Tour. Luce correctly picked his favorite, Chevy pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., to win the Walmart FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake.

This season’s cold and record snowfall make it hard for wildlife, but for fish, mussels, plants and other aquatic life, but on some water bodies a severe winter can be fatal. As ponds and lakes freeze over and snowfall piles up on the ice, the fish and their fates are sealed, literally, under a layer of ice. Winter fish kills (or winterkill) are the result of significant decline in oxygen levels in a water body during a long period of ice and snow cover. Snow-covered ice blocks sunlight, greatly decreasing the amount of oxygen plants and algae once produced. Oxygen levels drop further because all aquatic life, including the fish, are consuming what little oxygen is left in the water. In these conditions, a complete winterkill can occur. This condition is natural and rarely the result of pollution such as illegal dumping, sewage or a chemical spill.

NEW BEDFORD — The city is No. 1, again.

For the 10th consecutive year, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Bedford is ranked first in the nation in revenue gained from fish landings.

July 16--Antlerless Deer Permit Deadline—There are only a couple of days left for deer hunters to apply for an antlerless deer permit! Hunters who bought their hunting or sporting license via computer must go to the MassOutdoors website (www.mass.gov/massoutdoors) to apply for their antlerless deer permit. Hunters with licenses purchased at a license vendor will find their permit application attached to their license. Fill it out (and include your name) and send it to the Westborough address on the back. Applications must be postmarked by July 16, 2010 or hand-delivered to the Westborough Field Headquarters by 4:30PM on that date. Applications postmarked or delivered after July 16 will not be accepted.

Washington, DC – Atlantic coastal states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings