BEND,
Ore. – Effective immediately, the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife has relaxed fishing restrictions at North Twin Lake (Deschutes
County), which is scheduled to be chemically treated this fall to
remove unwanted brown bullhead catfish.
The agency plans to treat North Twin Lake to remove the
illegally-introduced brown bullhead in order to improve the rainbow
trout fishery. Under the temporary regulations now in place, there are
no daily bag or possession limits, no size limits and anglers may
harvest fish by hand, dip net and angling.
The goal is to give people the opportunity to harvest
these fish before they are removed, said Erik Moberly, ODFW fish
biologist in Bend.
The temporary regulations will be in effect until 12:01
a.m., Oct. 19 when North Twin Lake will close to all fishing during
chemical treatment. The lake will re-open on Jan. 1, 2016 and will be
re-stocked with hatchery rainbow trout in the spring.
“The two-month closure gives us some flexibility in
scheduling the treatments, and will keep the public from harvesting
fish that may survive the treatment,” said Moberly. “While rotenone is
not toxic to humans, we’d rather take a conservative approach in order
to protect the public.”
The agency plans to begin the treatment of North Twin
Lake to remove brown bullhead catfish on Oct. 26. According to Moberly,
brown bullhead catfish compete with hatchery rainbow trout reducing the
overall condition of rainbow trout in the lake.
The treatment of North Twin comes four years after the
successful treatment of nearby South Twin Lake, where illegally
introduced brown bullhead had also decimated the trout fishery. Today
trout fishing in South Twin has fully recovered.
“We have demonstrated that rotenone projects can improve trout fishing and increase angler satisfaction,” Moberly said.
Anglers and other members of the public who have
questions or concerns about this project can contact Erik Moberly, ODFW
fish biologist.
Rotenone is often used to remove undesirable fish species because it is an affordable and effective treatment with little threat of long-term environmental damage. Rotenone has been approved as a fish toxicant by the Environmental Protection Agency. At the concentrations used to kill fish, rotenone is not toxic to humans, other mammals or birds. It breaks down completely in the environment and will not be detectable within weeks of treatment.
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