This section cites in 58 Pa. Code § 61.2 (with respect to the Delaware River, the West Branch of the Delaware River and the Estuary of the River); 58 pa. Code § 61.7 (with respect to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries); 58 pa. Code § 61.8 (for the Lehigh River, the Schuylkill River and its tributaries); 58 pa. Code § 63.3 (concerning fishing in stocked trout waters); 58 pa. Code § 63.48 (on the authorization to use casting nets or casting nets); Article 58 (65) (24) (on other special arrangements); and 58 Pa. Code § 69.12 (with respect to seasons, sizes and boundaries of gates, Lake Erie, tributaries of Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay, including the waters of the peninsula). (c) Unless otherwise specified, the following size and valve limits apply to the pymatuning reservoir: (e) The following seasons, dimensions and valve limits apply to tributaries of the Delaware, West Branch Delaware and Delaware rivers from the mouths of the tributaries upstream to the tidal line, and the Lehigh River from its upstream mouth to the first dam at Easton. Pennsylvania: d) The following seasons, sizes and valve limits apply to the Conowingo Reservoir, which includes the Susquehanna River, from the Maryland State Line upstream to Holtwood Dam: HARRISBURG, Pa.
— The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that the valve limit for Lake Erie will remain at 30 per day and the limit of valves for pikeperch will remain at six per day. According to an estimated abundance of 96 million pikeperch aged two years or older in 2021, the pikeperch population increased by 35% in 2020, but about half (51%) of pikeperch`s abundance will be two-year-old fish with an average length of 13 inches. The abundance of biennial pikeperch (2019 vintage) will result in a significant portion of pikeperch under 15 inches for much of the 2021 season and will need to be released by anglers. It took three years for Lake Erie Zander to reach the minimum size of 15 inches. The objective of the CBFP is to maintain fishing limits at a conservative level without unduly restricting fishing and to maintain the ability to rapidly adapt management practices when pikeperch or perch populations reach extremely low levels. The CBFP passed regulations in 2012 establishing flexible pikeperch and yellow perch limits based on annual quotas established by the Lake Erie Committee. Under the Regulations, the CBFP sets daily door limits for these species by April 15 of each year. (d) The following seasons, dimensions and valve limits apply to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, including the Juniata River, the West Branch, the North Branch and other tributaries of the Susquehanna River basin, with the exception of the Conowingo Reservoir, see § 61.4 (with respect to the Conowingo Reservoir) and excluding waters subject to special regulations (see Chapter 65 (on Special Fisheries Regulations)): Murray noted that sport fishing is highly self-regulating.
Anglers tend to fish species based on the quality of the fishing. In 2020, 90% of anglers on Lake Erie targeted pikeperch; Less than 1% targeted yellow perch. It is illegal to transport or cause to be transported VHS-sensitive fish species from the part of the Lake Erie basin in this Commonwealth to other watersheds in this Commonwealth unless certain conditions are met. It is illegal to use VHS-sensitive fish species, fish parts and eggs from the Lake Erie watershed as fishing bait in Commonwealth waters outside the Lake Erie watershed, unless the fish are certified negative for VHS. It is legal to transport dead fish caught for recreational purposes from the Lake Erie watershed solely for human consumption. Each year, anglers travel to Pennsylvania`s 85,000 sections of streams, rivers, lakes and ponds, teeming with a variety of perch, crappies, trout and more! “Adaptive fishing rules are based on the latest results of fisheries assessment and are better aligned with the current state of yellow fish and pikeperch stocks,” Murray added. “This regulatory flexibility gives fisheries managers the ability to change daily catch limits before the start of the summer fishing season on Lake Erie.” “The 2020 assessment showed that yellowfish and pikeperch populations in the waters of Lake Erie in Pennsylvania remain at levels that do not require regulatory changes,” said Chuck Murray, CBFP biologist for Lake Erie. “Based on this assessment, the door limits will be maintained at standard limits in 2021. “While pikeperch outbreaks on Lake Erie have broken records over the past five years, yellow perch outbreaks have been poor over the same period.
Both fisheries reflect these trends,” Murray added. “The pike-perch fishing was excellent while the yellowfish fishing was poor.” Pennsylvania fishermen track more than 2 dozen species of fish. While most anglers engage in catch-and-release fishing and return the fish they catch, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission`s regulations provide a structure of seasons, minimum size restrictions, and door limits for those who choose to keep their catch. An infectious fish disease caused by a variant of the viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHS) has caused fish deaths in the Great Lakes. The first list of fish species susceptible to VHS includes black crappie, bluegill, round-nosed minnow, brown bull`s head, brown trout, monkfish, river catfish, chinook salmon, coho salmon, emerald shin, freshwater drum, gizzard, herring, largemouth perch, muscle lung, pike, pink salmon, pumpkin seed, rainbow trout, sucker, yellow perch, black bass, pikeperch, whitefish, whitefish and yellow perch. (d) Unless otherwise specified in this Subsection, the following seasons, dimensions and daily limits shall apply to the internal waters of this Commonwealth and Youghiogheny Reservoir: (d) The following seasons, dimensions and limits of the gates apply to the Lehigh River upstream of the first dam at Easton, Pennsylvania, and its tributaries, and to the Schuylkill River upstream of the I-95 Bridge and its tributaries: Lake Erie`s yellowfish and pikeperch populations are strictly maintained by natural reproduction. Good “hatching” and survival of juvenile fish are necessary to provide fish for sport and commercial fishing. The CBFP Lake Erie Research Unit annually assesses yellowfish and pikeperch populations in Lake Erie. When populations reach extremely low levels, management measures are taken to prevent overexploitation and restore the number of yellow perch and pikeperch in the lake. All jurisdictions bordering Lake Erie adhere to this system. U.S.
shad permits (Lehigh River, Schuylkill River and tributaries) expire at midnight of the date specified in the permit.
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