There are already daily limits in place in North Dakota for all game fish species. Why then does it matter how one goes about harvesting a limit of fish if the total fish that can be taken is already limited?

The daily limit is the maximum that can be harvested by an angler in a single day. However, the method of take is also an important regulation to protect fish population across North Dakota for a number of reasons.

The first of these explanations is simply in context of fair chase. "Fair chase" may be defined as the pursuit or taking of free-range wildlife (fish, in this case) in an ethical manner where the angler does not have an unfair advantage over the fish. A lot of fishing and hunting regulations are in place to ensure fair chase, and our fishing regulations are very specific when it comes to defining the manner of take.

Some of the technological advances in fishing and boating gear could potentially give anglers an unfair advantage over fish. Entrepreneurs are always trying to invent better equipment or methods, and our clear and consistent regulations make it possible for them to design their innovations within the bounds of what most consider as fair chase.

Another factor to consider is that many of our daily limits have stood the test of time, based on how easy it is for anglers to catch fish. The daily limit typically comes in to play when the fishing is really good. When more anglers can catch and harvest a limit of fish, this ensures that the resource is evenly shared among all the anglers and protects the fish population from overfishing.

However, on an annual, statewide basis, most anglers harvest less than a daily limit every time they go fishing. If we allowed more liberal techniques so more anglers could catch and keep a daily limit of fish more frequently, we would start seeing negative impacts to many of our populations. This in turn would necessitate a reduction in the daily limit for some/many water bodies.

The Department feels it is more important to give anglers the opportunity to harvest more fish when the fishing is good while using/following traditional methods versus allowing a wider range of options for catching fish but then reduce the number of fish they catch/keep.

Lastly, there are some methods of fishing that could lead to higher mortality of all fish caught. An extreme example would be the use of gillnets to catch a limit of walleye; by doing so, one would also kill a lot of other fish in the process.

A more realistic example might be our regulation requiring anglers to attend to their lines. Allowing anglers to use overnight set lines and not be in attendance would lead to deep hooking and consequent mortality of some fish, preventing them from being released alive. North Dakota's fishing regulations are designed to minimize this unneeded mortality.