BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2023
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has proposed prohibiting bass tournaments in the North Zone. I support this. Nonnative fish are the number one immediate threat to Maine’s wild native salmonids. They have forever changed the ecological face of the southern half of the state, and have imperiled numerous wild native salmonid populations in the northern half of the state, an area that is critically important habitat for wild native brook trout, Arctic charr and Atlantic salmon. As part of the recent proposal to remove protective regulations on bass from 14 waters in the North Zone, four waters that straddle the border between the North Zone and South Zone would be moved into the South Zone for regulatory purposes, which would allow for the issuance of bass tournament permits going forward. ~ Bob Mallard