Well I finally heard back from one of the emails I sent out asking two questions 1) can our contestants fish in canadian and ohio waters and 2) bring fish back to Michigan waters for wiegh-in.
Here is the response I got:
Hi John-
Director Humphries asked me to respond to your note. As you know, the
US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) issued an emergency federal order last October prohibiting the
movement of live fish of certain species between the 8 Great Lake States
and Canada, or out of the Great Lakes region to any other State, in an
attempt to prevent the spread of VHS. That order was subsequently
amended in November 2006, and I have attached a copy of the amended
order along with the list of species affected.
Based on that order, the specific responses to your questions are:
1) "will we be able to allow our contestants to fish in Ohio and
Canadian waters" - answer: yes, the current
order does not prohibit fishing in any way, and
2) "will we be able to ... bring fish back to our weigh in" - answer:
no, except under either of two conditions:
a) the fish are dead, or
the particular species being transported is not on the
prohibited list of species identified in the
amended emergency federal order from APHIS.
We understand that the use of political boundaries to prohibit fish
movement in the Great Lakes makes little sense, particularly in the area
where you are holding your tournaments. APHIS is now working on an
interim rule to replace the emergency order, and the Department of
Natural Resources has sent comments regarding the issues to be resolved
in the interim rule, including the use of a watershed approach to
identifying prohibitions on fish movement, and to exempt tournaments
being conducted on a waterbody regardless of poiltical jurisdiction. We
are hopeful that APHIS will carefully consider our comments and include
them in the interim rule.
Until the interim rule is released, the emergency order stands as
written and precludes the movement of live fish (as depicted in the
attached list) between the States and Canada, unles the fish have been
certified disease (VHS) free. Obviously that can not happen during a
tournament.
We will keep everyone posted as the interim rule moves towards public
comment. If you have further questions, please contact me at your
convenience.
Sincerely,
Kelley D. Smith, Ph.D.
Chief - Fisheries Division
MI Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 30446
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Office 517-373-3375
Fax: 517-373-0381
e-mail: smithk@michigan.gov
Like it or not thats the rule for now!!!
Here is the response I got:
Hi John-
Director Humphries asked me to respond to your note. As you know, the
US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) issued an emergency federal order last October prohibiting the
movement of live fish of certain species between the 8 Great Lake States
and Canada, or out of the Great Lakes region to any other State, in an
attempt to prevent the spread of VHS. That order was subsequently
amended in November 2006, and I have attached a copy of the amended
order along with the list of species affected.
Based on that order, the specific responses to your questions are:
1) "will we be able to allow our contestants to fish in Ohio and
Canadian waters" - answer: yes, the current
order does not prohibit fishing in any way, and
2) "will we be able to ... bring fish back to our weigh in" - answer:
no, except under either of two conditions:
a) the fish are dead, or
prohibited list of species identified in the
amended emergency federal order from APHIS.
We understand that the use of political boundaries to prohibit fish
movement in the Great Lakes makes little sense, particularly in the area
where you are holding your tournaments. APHIS is now working on an
interim rule to replace the emergency order, and the Department of
Natural Resources has sent comments regarding the issues to be resolved
in the interim rule, including the use of a watershed approach to
identifying prohibitions on fish movement, and to exempt tournaments
being conducted on a waterbody regardless of poiltical jurisdiction. We
are hopeful that APHIS will carefully consider our comments and include
them in the interim rule.
Until the interim rule is released, the emergency order stands as
written and precludes the movement of live fish (as depicted in the
attached list) between the States and Canada, unles the fish have been
certified disease (VHS) free. Obviously that can not happen during a
tournament.
We will keep everyone posted as the interim rule moves towards public
comment. If you have further questions, please contact me at your
convenience.
Sincerely,
Kelley D. Smith, Ph.D.
Chief - Fisheries Division
MI Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 30446
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Office 517-373-3375
Fax: 517-373-0381
e-mail: smithk@michigan.gov
Like it or not thats the rule for now!!!