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DEC
Announces Two New Tools to Help Freshwater Anglers
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I Fish NY
Beginners’ Guide to Fresh Water Fishing Helps
Novice Anglers,
Trout Stocking Data Helps Anglers Plan Trips
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Albany,
NY – July 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / The
New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) has unveiled two new tools that will help rookie
and veteran freshwater anglers alike improve their skills, Commissioner
Basil Seggos announced Monday (July 11).
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 DEC
has developed a new instructional manual entitled “The I FISH NY Beginners’
Guide to Freshwater Fishing.” The new manual is part of a series of publications
DEC has produced recently designed to get more people involved in the sport
of fishing in New York State.
DEC
also stocks more than 2.3 million catchable-size brook, brown and rainbow
trout in over 309 lakes and ponds and roughly 2,900 miles of streams across
the state each spring. To offer a better angling experience, DEC recently
collaborated with the Office of Information Technology Services to provide
the trout stocking data on the Open NY (Data.NY.GOV) website.
“Fishing
is a proud and economically important tradition in New York and our ‘I
FISH NY Beginners’ Guide to Freshwater Fishing’ and the new portal for
fish stocking data are both designed to provide detailed information on
the best places to fish in New York,” Commissioner Seggos said. “People
of all ages and angling abilities will find these tools helpful as they
fish the more than 7,500 lakes, ponds and reservoirs and 70,000 miles of
rivers and streams New York is home to.”
The
I FISH NY Beginners’
Guide to Freshwater Fishing manual can be downloaded at DEC’s website.
The guide is composed of nine modules:
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The Fishes
of New York
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Basic
Fishing Tackle and Techniques
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Care of
Your Catch
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Safe and
Responsible Angling
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Intermediate
Fishing Tackle and Techniques
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The Waters
of New York
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Fisheries
Management
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Aquatic
Life
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Ice Fishing
The beginners’
guide provides important information for those desiring to get started
in the sport of fishing while also providing a resource for educators to
teach students on fish and the sport of fishing. The manual will also prove
helpful to those conducting free fishing events as part of the Governor’s
expanded free fishing clinic program. Organizations or groups interested
in conducting an event can find instructions and an application form on
DEC’s website at the Conduct
a Free Fishing Clinic webpage.
To
give better access to fishing stocking information, DEC collaborated with
the Office of Information Technology Services to provide searchable fish
stocking data on the Open NY (Data.NY.GOV) website. Previously, the fish
stocking information was only available in county listings on the DEC website.
There
are two different data sets to choose from the Open NY website:
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Current
Season Spring Trout Stocking (link leaves DEC’s website) contains the
current year DEC spring stocking information for “catchable sized” brown,
brook and rainbow trout. This data set will be renewed annually in mid-March.
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Fish
Stocking Lists from 2011 to 2015 (link leaves DEC’s website) contains
the actual fish stockings by DEC and Essex, Onondaga and Warren counties
for all fish species. This data set is particularly useful for people who
want to fish in “put-grow-and-take” waters where fish are stocked at a
small size and allowed to grow to a size anglers can keep. Now, an angler
will be able to look back at the stockings over the past five years in
their search for a fishing destination. This data set will be updated in
May the year after stocking was completed.
There
are also two different ways to view the stocking information. The links
above will take you to a spread sheet-like dataset that allows you to filter
the data on any of the columns (such as County, Waterbody, Species and
size). But you can also search the data with a user interface that allows
you to search multiple fields and then use graph features to add additional
filters. The links for the user interfaces available on the Open NY website
are:
The new
stocking data sets will help anglers to plan their fishing trips to take
advantage of the plentiful fishing opportunities in New York State.
The
I FISH NY fishing promotion efforts along with the trout stocking info
on the Data.NY.GOV website are part of Governor Cuomo’s NY Open for Fishing
and Hunting Initiative. This initiative is designed to improve recreational
opportunities for sportsmen and women and to boost tourism activities throughout
the state. It includes streamlining fishing and hunting licenses, reducing
license fees, and improving access to fishing and hunting in New York State.
Under
the 2016-17 budget, Governor Cuomo’s NY Open for Fishing and Hunting Initiative
provides $3 million for State land access projects and $4 million for hunting
and fishing infrastructure. The 2015-16 budget also created a new capital
account, which, along with federal Pittman-Robertson funds, will be used
to manage, protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat and will improve
and develop public access for fish and wildlife-related recreation. This
year’s commitment builds on the previous $6 million in funding for 50 new
projects to provide access to approximately 380,000 acres of existing State
lands for recreation, including boat launches, bird-watching areas, trails
and hunting blinds, and $8 million for upgrades and improvements to fish
hatcheries statewide.
www.dec.ny.gov
Contact:
NYS-DEC
Lori
Severino
Office
of Communication Services
518-402-8000
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