ERIE, Pa. (AP) - Anglers and boaters who enjoy northwestern Pennsylvania’s vast network of recreational waterways might want to take note of a significant milestone this week.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Wednesday celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding on March 30, 1866.
The agency’s roots originated that year in Harrisburg when a convention was held to investigate water pollution caused by the logging of Pennsylvania forests and the effects of sedimentation on mountain lakes and streams.
Another serious agenda item at that first meeting focused on concerns about the reduction of American shad runs in the Susquehanna River.
That discussion eventually prompted then-Gov. Andrew Curtin to sign a law that named James Worrall Pennsylvania’s first commissioner of fisheries.
That one-man operation has grown into an agency today that employs a staff of more than 430 statewide.
The commission operates on an annual $58 million budget funded by anglers and boaters through license and registration fees, and federal excise taxes on fishing and boating equipment, said Erie resident Ed Mascharka, president of the Fish and Boat Commission’s board of commissioners.
“The Fish and Boat Commission is the foremost water conservation agency in the nation, in addition to protecting aquatic resources,” Mascharka said.
Commission surveys show that recreational fishing produces an annual statewide economic impact of $1.35 billion, according to Mascharka.
The commission oversees six statewide districts, including the Northwest District, which encompasses the Erie area.
“Lake Erie is the fishing capital of Pennsylvania and we have a tremendous interest in fishing and boating there,” Fish and Boat Commission Executive Director John Arway said. “We believe it provides phenomenal recreational fishery opportunities. It’s in reach of our state’s second-largest city, Pittsburgh, and that’s an opportunity for anglers to visit Erie and sample the fishery of Lake Erie.”
Arway oversees a state agency that is responsible for policing 86,000 miles of Pennsylvania streams, more than 400,000 acres of wetlands, nearly 4,000 lakes and streams, and 63 miles of Lake Erie shoreline, according to the Fish and Boat Commission.
Commission programs have benefitted northwestern Pennsylvania anglers and boaters through the agency’s Lake Erie stamp/easement program, funding for construction of marinas and boat launches, and development of the region’s world class steelhead fishery.
And five of the agency’s 14 statewide fish hatcheries, which produce and stock fish, are located in the commission’s Northwest Region.
“I spent 10 years researching our commercial fishing industry, and I see the involvement that the commission has had in the development of our fishery. They’ve done a terrific job,” said Jerry Skrypzak, president of the S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie, a 3,000-member fishing advocacy group celebrating its 35th anniversary.
“Our region has a full-time biologist in Fairview who monitors the lake’s quality and who monitors the fish quality and habitat,” Skrypzak said.
The commission supports regulations that promote the growth and health of fisheries, and establishes rules and regulations for fisheries that make them sustainable for future generations of anglers.
“Our fish commission is part of the Lake Erie Committee, which consists of representatives from fisheries of Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Lake Ontario,” Skrypzak said. “These are the people who set the quotas for the lake and do the research to determine the availability of fish, and then they set the quotas accordingly. It’s a multinational thing. Our fish commission is real active in it.”
Some of the region’s best fishing occurs every fall when steelhead anglers from across the nation descend on area waterways and tributaries.
“It’s a big industry and it brings in a lot of income for the Erie area,” said Chad Foster, a Fish and Boat Commission northwest regional education specialist.
A commission fish hatchery built in 1976 in Fairview Township produces and stocks a migratory strain of steelhead trout for the Lake Erie watershed’s yearly fall run.
Mid-October through November is the peak window for the region’s steelhead fishing season, which attracts anglers from various parts of the nation and from abroad.
“We’re known around the world as Steelhead Alley,” Arway said.
According to a 2003-04 commission survey, steelhead fishing produces a nearly $10 million economic impact throughout the state, including a $5.71 million impact in Erie County.
An updated commission survey is currently being researched, and Mascharka said steelhead fishing’s economic numbers will likely increase significantly when results are released.
“You take a ride to Walnut Creek or Elk Creek on any fall day and you’re going to see license plates from 10 different states at once,” Skrypzak said. “It’s a world-class fishery. We have bait stands, hotels, restaurants, and we have all these people coming here. They all need some sort of service.”
Skrypzak said the commission’s Lake Erie stamp and Lake Erie Access Improvement programs have been vital to securing Erie County public stream access on tracts of previously unfishable private property.
“That stamp was put into effect in 1995, when the state decided to ban gill nets,” Skrypzak said. “They imposed an extra fee to the sports fishermen to pay the people who were going to lose their ability to use gill nets, to literally buy the gill nets off of them. That money was used to compensate the commercial fishermen who were in business at the time for the loss of their nets.”
The Lake Erie stamp program evolved in 2000-01 from its original intent to its current easement phase, Mascharka said.
“We had a fund established and we figured why not continue it and reinvest it in the fishery of Lake Erie,” Arway said. “The stamp was continued and it has improved fishing access to the lake and its tributaries.”
The program offers anglers public stream access to properties in Erie County through land acquisition or easements.
“We have improved over 201/2 miles of access of Lake Erie tributary waters,” Mascharka said. “It’s the largest access program nationwide.”
The program is funded through sales of Lake Erie stamps, or permits, which anglers must purchase to fish on Lake Erie and its tributary streams.
“It’s a dedicated fund that can only be used now for access and habitat on the Lake Erie watershed,” Skrypzak said.
Five Northwest Region fish hatcheries — Fairview, Corry, Union City, Linesville and Tionesta — are operated and maintained by the commission.
The S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie, the Wesleyville Conservation Club, the Albion Sportsmen’s Club and the 3CU Trout Association raise and stock fish as members of the commission’s cooperative nursery program.
The Corry hatchery was built in 1876 and is one of the oldest in the state. It produces and stocks brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and golden rainbow trout.
Foster said the Linesville fish hatchery is one of the state’s largest warm water hatcheries, producing and stocking walleye, yellow perch, largemouth bass, channel catfish and muskie.
The Fish and Boat Commission also partially funded construction of Erie’s Lampe Marina, and fully funded construction of the North East Marina and the Walnut Creek Marina fishing access area in Fairview Township.
“Those are three excellent boat ramps, and that’s the big thing — they are free to launch your boat,” Skrypzak said. “In most every state or city around the Great Lakes, you’re going to pay $10 to $12 just to launch your boat to go fishing.”
Mascharka said he sees a healthy future of recreational opportunities for regional anglers and boaters.
“We will continue protecting water and aquatic resources and building a future for fishing and boating throughout the commonwealth for future generations,” he said.
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Information from: Erie Times-News, https://www.goerie.com
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