FWP Commission approves mandatory walleye kill

The Associated Press | GreatFalls

KALISPELL (AP) — The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved a rule designed to combat the illegal introduction of non-native walleye in Swan Lake southeast of Kalispell.

The rule requires anglers on Swan Lake and the Swan River to kill any walleye they catch, report the catch to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and bring in the dead fish for examination within 10 days.

The rule is effective immediately.

Region One Warden Capt. Lee Anderson said if an angler fails to perform any of the conditions required by the rule, he or she could be fined up to $500 and have their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges revoked.

“The other thing they open themselves up for is if they caught a fish and kept it, they would be in possession of an illegal fish,” he added.

The penalty for that charge can include a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail and the loss of the offender’s hunting, fishing and trapping privileges.

Fish and Wildlife Commission Chair Dan Vermillion said he hopes the mandatory kill order will serve as a disincentive to anglers aiming to mount a robust walleye population in the Swan Lake system.

“There is some kind of seemingly underground but consistent effort to put species that are not native and are not authorized in a particular watershed by folks who are taking biology into their own hands,” Vermillion said. “These folks are in my opinion nothing more than vandals and they are disregarding the public management of these waterways.”

Joel Tohtz, the state’s fisheries management bureau chief, said the mandatory-kill measure is unprecedented, but that turning the fish in is necessary because forensic laboratory analysis can determine how long a fish has been in the system and possibly reveal where it spawned. Those details might help nab the culprit who introduced the fish, and help biologists understand the extent of the infestation.

While the walleyes do not represent the first such introduction in the region, state biologists are concerned because the large, predatory fish have a reputation for taking over and displacing other species once they get into a body of water.

Biologists are trying to determine whether the fish have established a reproducing population in the lake.