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NORTH DAKOTA () — The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is talking about fishing this week, specifically, rules for fishing tournaments.
A proposed rule will limit fish donations from tournaments to only one non-profit community event.
Game and Fish says this rule would ensure that everyone is following regulations regarding the issue of possession.
However, many tournament directors and community members spoke out against the proposed rule, saying it would lead to lots of fish in the dumpsters.
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“The proposed rule change would not only result in astronomical levels of wasted fish, but it would severely hurt the communities that depend on it,” said Jeff Gooss, the owner and director of the Dakota Walleye Classic Fishing Tournament. “There is not a single entity in North Dakota who could properly receive, store, and consume the thousands of pounds of fish worth of walleye that our tournament alone generates, not to mention the North Dakota Governor’s Cup.”
We reached out to Game and Fish regarding the proposed rule, and they said that it would only affect about five of the tournaments across the state — and they can still donate any leftover fish to a local homeless shelter.
Game and Fish also said in order to limit fish waste, tournament anglers are encouraged to keep the fish that they catch rather than give them to tournament directors.
