BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 12, 2021
Most of the time, I defer to professionally trained biologists who’ve spent their careers learning how to best manage our state’s fish and wildlife species. Today, I’ll take (slight) issue with a message that the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is sending to anglers. The headline of a recent blog post on the agency’s website is alarming: “Fisheries biologists encourage anglers to harvest their catch.” Often would-be readers only spend 25 seconds or so on a story. Their entire understanding of that story is derived from the headline. We’ve got thousands of lakes and ponds in this state, and fewer than 30 were highlighted as spots where anglers should try to catch their limits in order to help manage fish species.