Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS) - St. Lawrence River Muskellunge Angler Diary Program

[BlueEye]

Hi LOU members,

 

I had a chance over the last couple months to sit down and talk a lot with Steve LaPan (Section Head, Great Lakes Fisheries) and Dr. Farrell (SUNY ESF) with the goal of creating an electronic option for participating in the research on the St. Lawrence River muskellunge population at their Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS).  This research is funded by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and is guided by an international muskellunge management plan.  The voluntary Angler Diary Program is an important tool used by ESF scientists to help evaluate the status of the St. Lawrence River muskellunge population and sportfishery.  Many members here on LOU already participate in this via the hard copy diary mailed out each year.  This year we are pleased to announce they have accepted an electronic submission option in addition to the hard copy.  More info about the program and the Angler Diary Submission Form can be found here:

 

https://nymusky.com/dec-tibs-muskellunge-angler-diary-program/

 

I'd encourage anyone who fishes the river to participate even if you catch nothing!  All entries are submitted directly to the ESF scientists in support of their on-going efforts track trends in our sport fishery and aid the DEC in their management of the St. Lawrence River muskellunge fishery.

 

Thanks for the consideration and good luck on the water this year!

Chad

 

 

[muskiedreams]

Thank you very much Chad, Steve LaPan and John Farrell.

 

I do have one question for those of us who have been participating in the hard copy diaries. Should this be used instead of the hard copy?

 

I just want to say that there has been a lot of hesitation in trying an online version of the "Diary Study". PLEASE BE HONEST AND ACCURATE. To the fisheries management community, this is a very important tool in their toolbox but the accuracy of this tool is critical for fisheries research and management. So, for those of you who target muskies in the SLR only occasionally or rarely catch any, that information is also important for management of the fishery.  Even if you go out and get blown off by the weather, that information could be useful. Here is a quote from the final paragraph of the form that sums it up.

 

 

Record EVERY trip and ALL warm water game fish caught.  Please record your trip information even if you catch no fish.  Information on the number of trips where no fish are caught is valuable to the DEC in making management decisions about this water.

Edited June 27, 2020 by muskiedreams

[BlueEye]

On 6/27/2020 at 1:32 PM, muskiedreams said:

I do have one question for those of us who have been participating in the hard copy diaries. Should this be used instead of the hard copy?

 

It is your preference in which submission option works best for you.  All we would ask is to not duplicate entries (i.e., if you do hard copy, don't do electronic of same record and vise versa).