News Release from WI DNR

[Lee Borgersen]

                                    Latest News Release from the WI DNR

5/14/14 10:23 AM CST 

Select anglers asked to report what they caught and kept in statewide "creel" survey
MADISON -- In an effort to learn more about statewide catch and harvest numbers for popular Wisconsin fish, state fisheries researchers are mailing monthly fishing logs to randomly selected license holders and asking them to record where they fished and what they caught and kept and to mail the report card back at the end of the month.

"The goal of the fishing creel survey is to get a firsthand representative account from anglers on fishing trends, catch and harvest rates and to see what kinds of fish species are favored in Wisconsin," says Jordan Petchenik, research sociologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "This useful information will ultimately help the agency to make more informed decisions about managing our fisheries."

The creel survey will run from May 2014 until April 2015 with more than 1,000 surveys sent each month to a new group of license holders. The DNR has completed two surveys in the past in 2006 and 2001.

"The survey is entirely voluntary and can be a fun way to keep track of your fishing outings over the course of a month, while helping to improve our fisheries," says Petchenik.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hansen, fisheries biologist, 608-266-6883 JonathanF.Hansen@wisconsin.gov or Jordan Petchenik, resource sociologist, 608-266-8523 jordan.petchenik@wisconsin.gov