Gillnets have been illegal on Maine’s fresh water for decades. There’s a good reason.
They kill not only the species the person is trying to catch but any fish not small enough to swim through the net’s holes. The net holes are big enough for the fish to get its head through, but it cannot get back out because its gills get hung up on the net, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service.
That’s why when a gillnet with dead fish in it was found discarded on the bank of the Magalloway River — one of Maine’s premier trout rivers — people were outraged. Two of the dead fish were large brook trout.
A fisherman found the net Monday and by Thursday, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Operation Game Thief was offering a $2,000 reward for information. On Friday, the Maine Warden Service was still following possible leads on who may have used the net, described as 36 feet long and 9 feet deep.
“It’s an extraordinary insult to all sportsmen in Maine to find something like that in Maine’s fresh waters. [Magalloway] is a world-class fishery that doesn’t receive the protection it deserves,” said Steve Brooke, the Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s longtime delegate to the Maine Council.
The state, Trout Unlimited and other groups have made extraordinary efforts in the last few decades to support Maine’s native trout and salmon populations, especially the brook trout, helping them to survive manmade hazards like development, invasive species and other threats to their well-being.
In some places, they thrive. Magalloway is one of those special places.
The stretch of river where the illegal gillnet was found is fly fishing only, and brook trout caught there must be released alive at once, according to Mark Latti, DIF&W’s spokesperson. Using barbed hooks is prohibited as well.
The daily bag limit is one fish for landlocked salmon, but from Aug. 16 through Sept. 30, all trout, salmon and togue must be released alive immediately, Latti said.
Brooke, who said he’s been fishing in Maine since around 1948, said whoever used the gillnet needs to be found and given a chance to explain.
One of the beauties of fishing in Maine is that there are so many great places to fish and get away from the rest of the world. That perfect quality can be a disadvantage to those who police the safety and health of our native trout and salmon.
People can get away with putting in a gillnet and not get caught right away and do significant damage.
How long this gillnet was in use and what effect it has had on the river have not been determined, but it is clear that all ethical fishermen need to help police the waters we love for the sport we love.
Anyone with information about who set up this gillnet can contact Operation Game Thief at 1-800-ALERT-US, submit a tip using the Maine OGT app “Tip 411” or through the website at maineogt.org.
