Laws and Propagation 



For many years the only methods employed for conservation and 

 maintenance of fish were artificial propagation and legal restrictions 

 on size, creel limits, and season. Only recently have the values of these 

 time-honored methods been doubted. 



Legal restrictions on size have been enforced for years by many 

 states to prevent fishermen from catching too many fishes and from 

 catching them until they reached adult size and had a chance to 

 spawn. Under this restriction fishermen had to carry a ruler and throw 

 back any fish which did not come up to exactly the legal length, re- 

 gardless of age. The fact that the undersized fish were liable to be 

 injured and would die after returning to the water caused Minnesota 

 to abolish size limits for hook-and-line fishing many years ago. No 

 bad results can be traced to the removal of this restriction. Under this 

 old restriction the stunted fishes were given preference and were pro- 

 tected. Many of our northern lakes are overstocked with undersized 

 fish and such a restriction would only aggravate this condition. 



Modern investigators in some states are now advocating the abolish- 

 ment of creel limits. They estimate that only a small fraction of the 

 adult fishes are ever caught and that the greater part are left to die a 

 natural death. In order to utilize the fishes which ordinarily die a 

 natural death, some investigators are recommending unlimited catches. 

 It is claimed that a greater removal of fishes will eliminate competition 

 with the younger fishes and will allow them to grow faster and thus 

 maintain the poundage determined by the carrying capacity. The re- 

 sults of this procedure remain to be seen. As we have seen, many Min- 

 nesota lakes are not overfished, but are so selectively fished that not 

 enough large fish remain to reduce the younger fish population to fit 

 the carrying capacity of the lake. Accordingly the removal of creel 

 limits on the larger game fishes such as northern pike and walleyes in 

 northern waters is open to question. Even though many of these larger 

 fish die and go to waste, during the few extra years of life gained by 

 protection they perform a necessary function in reducing the younger 

 age classes which the fisherman will not touch. It is undoubtedly true 

 that unlimited catches of pan fishes and other smaller fishes might 

 produce beneficial results in many northern lakes. Since conditions 

 vary in different lakes and differ from year to year and with different 

 species, it is difficult to provide blanket regulations which would pro- 

 vide for all. 



The original object in limiting seasons was to protect fishes during 

 their spawning season when many species are particularly easj'^ to 



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